THE SONG IN THIS CHAPTER BELONGS 2 ME EXCLUSIVELY. IF U WANNA BORROW IT THOUGH, U CAN! I DON'T MIND SHARING! LOL

John woke up the next morning and took a shower. He went downstairs and grabbed the mail. There was a letter addressed to him, he opened it and his heart sank.

Dear Mr. Cena,

On Monday, May 2, the trial will begin for the defendants Bryce and Dawn Marie Christenson, the presence and testimony of your daughter McKenzie Winters is vital in the proceedings. I understand that she is a little girl, and I would understand if you didn't want to bring her here, however, they can not be convicted with out her testimony. We will begin the proceedings at 9:30 am.

Sincerely,

Donna Jo Williams Esq.

Prosecutor

John sighed and went into the kitchen. Mackie was already there, eating a bowel of cereal and reading a magazine.

"Hey baby girl!" he said, kissing her forehead.

"Hey dad." She smiled, scratching her head.

"Shouldn't you be at school already?"

"Daylight savings time."

"Oh yeah…I forgot about that. Shane coming to pick you up?"

"Yeah. So are Chris, Sammie and Shania."

There was a knock at the door.

"That would be them!" she smiled. She kissed her dad and rolled out of the room. "See ya after school dad!" she yelled.

"Bye." He said. He went up to his room and called Randy.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ran…"

"What's up John?"

"They want her to testify."'

"What?"

"They want Mackie to testify against Bryce and Dawn."

"Okay…"

"I don't want her to have to relive that…she had nightmares about it Randy…I could hear her talking in her sleep last night. She kept screaming "No, stop; leave my dad and JJ alone!" I don't want her to have to keep thinking about it…it's too painful for ME to think about." He sighed.

"But you know she's a strong girl J."

"I know."

"And you know that if everything gets too hard or overwhelming for her she'll say something."

"Yeah, you're right…I guess."

"So, how was her first PT session?"

"She un-pinched the nerve…Mack's got feeling in her toes." He reported happily.

"That's great!" Randy said.

"Yeah, she's at school right now…that Shane kid picked her up."

"Her little boyfriend." Randy laughed.

"Yeah, her little boyfriend. I don't know man, she's only 14…should she even be dating?"

"You were, weren't you? And you know if you say something about it, she's gonna say, 'But DAD you and mom were dating, and doing even more than me and Shane are when you were 14!' John, bad idea…but you're a dad; you're supposed to be uncomfortable with your daughter's boyfriends. I remember whenever my sister had a date; my dad would sit in the living room and clean his shot gun while the guy was waiting for her to finish getting dressed."

"I still don't know Ran, I mean; I was a real little bastard at 14. What if he's trying to…you know, take advantage of her?"

"John, you're STILL a little bastard."

"Shut up Randy!" he laughed.


Mackie wheeled herself into the school and tried to ignore the looks and whisper she noticed. Everything was great until Music Appreciation. She'd been in there alone, Shania had dropped her off after Geometry, and Shane and Chris weren't there yet. She was sitting behind the drums and was just thinking and drawing on her drumsticks with a Sharpie. She didn't notice the people who came in the room.

"You do know you can't play that now, right?" a voice said, snapping her out of her little dream world. Mackie looked up and saw Angela, Shane's ex-girlfriend and her blonde clones.

"Why not? I never used the bass drum anyway…I'm all about the snare, and you should know that by now." She said coolly.

"You know, the only reason Shane's even still going out with you is because he feels sorry for you. I heard him telling Chris. Ask Christie if you don't believe me." Angela said, turning to her friend who nodded solemnly.

"I don't believe you."

"Fine, but you'll figure it out eventually…you can't even stand up and give him a hug…how can you expect him to actually date you?" she said, shrugging. Then she walked across and took her flute out of the cabinet. Just as she sat down, Shane and Chris walked in laughing.

"Hey Macaroni." Chris smirked, kissing her forehead.

"What's shaking Mack?" Shane joked. He kissed her softly on her lips then took his guitar out of the case. He started to play a few chords to a song Mack didn't know. Then he started humming a melody that wasn't familiar to her either.

"What's that?" she said, pushing Angela's words out of her mind.

"A song I'm working on…me and Chris are thinking of starting a band…me, him and this guy Lance on drums."

"Why can I do drums? I'm an awesome drummer."

"Because, you can't drum and sing at the same time."

"Me?"

"You."

"Sing?"

"Sing."

"You want me to sing for your band?"

"That's what he said…blondes." Chris said. She threw her notebook at him and hit him in the arm.

"Hey, I take offense to that…I may be blonde, but I'm not a dumb blonde, like some other people I know…" she said, glancing over at Angela and her friends who were in deep conversation about something completely idiotic.

"Girl's got a point…she's not a mindless blonde."

"If I was, I'd be dating you…" she said teasingly to Chris.

"Oh, I really feel loved…" he said, punching her in the shoulder playfully.

"I can't believe you want to start a band…I'm definitely in if you don't mind having a cripple as a front woman."

"You're not cripple, and you're gonna walk again…I know it, I can feel it Mack." He said touching her cheek and smiling at her. Mackie smiled back and produced a notebook.

"Well, if I'm gonna sing, I need to get material. I better start writing." She said.

"That's my girl!" he said. When he sat down with his guitar again, he started to play the song again…he didn't sing though. He looked up from his playing and noticed Angela and her friends looking at her weirdly.

"Hey, last day of school…Talent Show…that's when we want to do our first gig…so we're having rehearsal everyday for a couple of hours in Chris's garage…before you have to go to PT."

"That'll work…my ankle itches." She said reaching down to scratch it.

"HEY! You can feel your ankle now?"

"I guess I can…this is good." She smiled.


Over the next few weeks, Mackie gradually regained the feeling in her legs…though she couldn't move them very well…just a few toes wiggling so far. She was swimming in this special pool that had a current so the pool felt endless. She swam in it three times out of the 4 she went to PT each week. Her legs were stronger…she could tell from the muscles that were forming in them. She was trying to at least be able to stand by the time the trial came up.

"Come on Mackie…you can do it!" Alisha said, holding her arms out to catch her if she fell. Mackie was at PT and she was at the Parallel bars trying to stand on her own. Mackie put her feet on the floor and held on to the bars tight. She was starting to sweat, and her face was red with frustration. She fell to the ground for the sixth time and let out a scream of anger.

"WHY CAN'T I DO IT?" she screamed. She curled herself in a ball and started to cry.

"Don't cry Mackie…we've been over this…it takes a lot of time to regain feeling and walk again after becoming completely paralyzed. You're making a lot of progress for only five weeks."

"But I want out of this dumb chair. I can't stand the fact that I'm in a band, but I can't dance and sing the songs in front of an audience. I hate this!" she screamed, burying her face in her hands. After about three minutes of fussing, Ali looked down at her smiling.

"Ready to try again?"

"Yeah…I'm gonna do this." She said, wiping her face and reaching up to pull herself up to her chair. Then she grasped the bar tightly and pulled herself up. She let go of the bars…and she was standing.

"I…I did it!" she screamed. Then she fell to the ground. Mackie clapped her hands and climbed back into the chair. "How long was I up for?"

"About three and a half seconds."

"This is so SICK!" she smiled. She grabbed on to the sides of her chair and pushed up herself up. She pushed too hard and flew forwards, landing on the ground. She let Alisha help her up and tried again. She pushed her self up, and she was standing there for about four seconds and hugged Alisha happily.

"Congratulations Mackie…I told you that you could do it!" she smiled, hugging the girl in front of her.

"Thank you…I mean, for everything." She smiled.

"You did the work…I just encouraged you."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Shoot."

"Can you not tell anyone? I want it to be a surprise."


When Mackie went home that night…she didn't tell anyone that she could stand on her own. Every day when she got home, she locked her room and tried to walk around her room. Soon she was able to walk around the room on her own easily without getting tired. She'd been practicing her performance for the Talent Show too…she had it down. Sehe could stand on her own for atleast 5 minutes before her legs started to give way. 'I can get out of this chair…just give me leg braces, or crutches or something,' she thought to herself, smiling. About three weeks later, she smiled to her self. She just went in her room, showered and changed for bed. Then she made her nightly calls.

"Hey dad."

"What's up Bella? How was school?"

"Great…I got the rest of my song finished."

"You're writing songs for your band in school?" he said, half upset, half amused.

"Only in study hall…and English." She said, saying the last part quickly.

"Ha ha…how's everyone?"

"Good…grandma's starting to go to bingo every Friday. And grandpa's going to play poker every Thursday and Saturday. They're social butterflies." She teased.

"I know…oh, how was PT? It was a dry day, right?" he said, meaning that she didn't go in the pool.

"Yeah, it was a dry day…but I'm 'making progress', Ali says." 'I can stand up all by myself!' her head screamed. 'And walk around the room!'

"I'm coming for a visit tomorrow…me Randy and London."

"Killer! You can come watch me at rehearsal! It's at Chris's house in the garage after school. It's the last practice before the Talent show on Friday" She grinned.

"You and your little band…do you have a name yet?"

"Phoenix."

"Why that?"

"Because with all that was going on before I came here, and all that's going on now, it's like I exploded, and I was reborn…given a second chance. Lance, the drummer came up for the name when I told him how I was feeling one day"

"that's deep."

"I know. Oh I wrote a song…want to hear it?"

"Alright…let's hear it."

I sit in my room and I look in the mirror

At the girl that I'm supposed to be

And then I see something that I've never saw before

The girl that's in the mirror isn't me

She's stronger than I think I am

She's smarter than that too.

She has people behind her that help her know just what to do

And when she looks inside her self

She smiles

Because

(Chorus)

The girl in the mirror is different from the one that I saw yesterday

And the girl in the mirror is hopefully truly here to stay

But the thing about it that surprises me

Is when I look closer,

That girl in the mirror

Is me

She has a dad who loves her

She has a family too.

Her best friends are there to help and tell her what to do

She's happier than she's ever been, and I know

That she is stronger than I think I am

She's smarter than that too.

She has people behind her that help her know just what to do

And when she looks inside her self

She smiles

Because

(Chorus)

The girl in the mirror is different from the one that I saw yesterday

And the girl in the mirror is hopefully truly here to stay

But the thing about it that surprises me

Is when I look closer,

That girl in the mirror

Is me

I tried so hard to make everything right

I've been waiting for this moment all my life

I start to smile when I see

That I am stronger thanks to those who helped me along the way

I tried so hard to make everything right

I've been waiting of this moment all my life

I start to smile when I see

That the girl in the mirror

The girl in the mirror

Is me

(Chorus)

The girl in the mirror is different from the one that I saw yesterday

And the girl in the mirror is hopefully truly here to stay

But the thing about it that surprises me

Is when I look closer,

That girl in the mirror

Is me

"That was beautiful baby girl." John said, amazed.

"Thanks daddy. It took me for ever to write it." She smiled. "I got Shane to make up a melody and Chris gave me a baseline…Add in Lance on the drums, and we've got a hit!" she giggled.

"That sounds awesome…guess what?"

"What?"

"We're coming to the Talent Show…"

"NO WAY!" she smiled.

"Yeah, we're coming." He smiled.

"Kick ASS!"

"Mack…"

"Sorry dad, but this is awesome! Shane's mom, Chris's whole huge family, Lance's brother, the guys are gonna be there, and on top of that, the whole school's gonna be there too!"

"I know, you're exited…just watch the language?"

"Sure thing daddy…oh, Smackdown's on…I'll call you after."

"Alright baby girl…oh yeah, I have a ppv coming up…you want to come and try again?" he said cautiously.

"Uh, alright…but only if Shane, Chris, Sammie, Shania and Lance can come. I'll be safe. I'll stay with them the whole time, I swear daddy."

"Alright baby girl…I'll trust you…but you're staying with someone at all times…probably Mark, he doesn't have a match."

"Alright Dad, I understand."

"I love you Bella."

"I love you too dad."

"Byes."

"Later."

Mackie hung up the phone and smiled to herself and fell asleep after talking to Shane for a while.

TWO DAYS LATER

Mackie was kind of nervous. She was going to reveal that she could walk now…that night during her performance. They were going on last. Since the school had Curtains and everything to cover their instruments and stage area before they went on, Mack was going to have Shane and Chris lift her out of the chair and sit her on a stool in front of the mike before the Curtains opened. It was going to be great.

"You ready babes?" Shane asked, looking down at her in her chair.

"More than ready. Shane…do you think that maybe you could lift me onto a stool infront of the mike…I want to look normal out on stage."

"You got it baby girl."

"Pheonix, you're on in five." A voice called.

"You ready Macaroni?"

"Yeah Lance, I'm ready. Remember on 'Girl In the Mirror' to start out slowly, alright?"

"I got it…I know, I know."

"Now, let's get ready!" she smiled, wheeling herself onto the stage. Lance and Shane lifted her out and put her on the stool. They adjusted her feel and she adjusted the mike so it was right in front of her face. Everyone took their places, and soon, the curtains opened. She took a deep breath and smiled.

This is gonna rock.