Help me Pixie-Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope.
by: Lilith Langtree
|
![]() |
Author's Note: I have a Veronica Mars marathon to blame for this one. I always admired her quick wit and thirst for justice, never letting anything stand in the way of completing her case... no matter how bizarre. Pixie D'Angelo is dedicated to that spirit. This is a self-contained episode, much like a TV show. There might be others if the response is good enough to warrant. However, it has a end, for those that must have them or suffer seizures. Photo Credit: Blane Saunders
S1-01 - Help me Pixie-Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope.
Rule One: When beginning hormone treatments, after a year of psychiatric examination to determine whether or not you are serious about becoming a girl, do not, under any circumstances, ask your dad what he and your mom were going to name you if you were born a girl.
It was his last ditch effort to reel me in to remaining masculine.
Being a minor, I was still under his roof and still subject to his law, which I suppose is symmetrical in some way considering he's a cop. He's Chief of Police actually. I'll take what I can get; it keeps the less than serious jerks away from me. Considering we live in a small town, everyone pretty much knows who I am. Having an uncle, my dad's brother, as the principal of my school doesn't hurt either.
You may think that life is a cakewalk with a support system like that. That's where you would be wrong.
I started my hormone regiment eight and a half months ago. Within three months it started to become noticeable in the locker room. There just aren't a lot of guys running around at fifteen with really puffy nipples. Some, yeah, but combining that with a short stature, longer hair, and a rumor that I'm gay, well you see where I'm taking this.
Physical violence was fended off by my dad and uncle. Nobody really wanted to cross them, but that didn't stop everyone treating me like the new social pariah.
Why was I still in the boys locker room at that point? Because I wasn't planning on making the transition official until the beginning of summer. This way I could come back to school, for my junior year, as a girl. The school itself was pretty progressive, the students, about half and half. Some were asses, some would probably be supportive. There were a number of gay and lesbian students attending, but I would be the first transsexual.
~O~
"Ready to go, Pixie?"
See what I mean about not asking your parents about the name thing? I tried to argue with Dad, but his rational was that kids all over the world didn't have a choice in what their name was. If I was supposed to be a girl at birth then I would have to accept the name my mother chose if I was born as such.
Pixie De Angelo. I can already hear the teasing.
"Yeah, Dad."
The school uniform consisted of a Navy colored wide pleat skirt, white Oxford buttondown, white socks and black Mary Janes. At least they weren't the shiny shoes that younger kids wore. Mine were Doc Martins. Jewelry consisted of a single necklace, watch, earring studs, and if I wanted to wear a ring it would have to be a purity ring, no other jewelry was allowed.
It used to be a religious school, but that went to the wayside for the new year in favor of making it a higher end prep school. Private, yes, but considering that my uncle was the principal, I got a free ride. This was good, since dad wasn't really that well off. Sure he was the Chief, but it was a small town and I was looking forward to college in just two years. In other words, any spending money I wanted would have to be earned by me, but I already had a plan for that.
Dad dropped me off at the front door of the school and made sure a number of the students saw him, me, and the big blue and red lights on top of the police issue car he had. A little reinforcement for the people that didn't want to spend the night in a jail cell for assaulting me.
"You've got your phone with you?"
I nodded.
"Leave it on and make sure its on vibrate. Phillip said that he'd let the no cell usage rule slide for you, considering the circumstances."
Phillip is my uncle, the principal, in case you haven't figured that one out. "Yes, sir."
"If anyone gives you any crap today, make sure you report it. I don't care if it makes you look like a rat, or a narc or whatever they're calling it these days. Your safety comes first. If that means I have to make an example in front of the entire school…"
"Dad, I get it." I smiled at him. "Thanks."
He took a little calming breath. I could tell he was worried about me. "Call me at lunch and let me know how things are."
"Yes, sir."
I gave him another few seconds to show me how much he was concerned before I opened the door and made a break for it. While I recognized a few people on the way in, I don't really think anyone figured out who I was. Granted, by the time school was over last year, I looked totally different. I had always worn my just-past-the-shoulder length dark brown hair in a low ponytail and tucked under the collar of my shirt. Now it was dyed a little lighter and had a few highlights added. Ten pounds dropped off somewhere during the summer, mostly out of my face, I assumed, because I was losing those chipmunk cheeks that I really hated. They were almost gone, but not entirely.
Make up, and the new clothes probably didn't hurt matters.
Fooling people wasn't on my priority list. I knew I'd be made before roll call was finished during first period. Growing up with most of the people in my class would see to that. They'd connect my last name with my obvious absence and the name Pixie would stand out as unusual, so that meant everyone would be checking out the new girl, then their brain synapses would start firing.
The last year had pretty much hardened my skin against taunts flung at me by guys. It doesn't get much more worse than that. My plan was to ignore the shlubs and go about my day. I'd keep a list of those that made my life hard and in the end they would get theirs. I'm not a very forgiving person, neither am I a big believer in karma. I've seen too much of my dad's work at the police station.
The bad guys frequently get away, and the good guys don't always win. It rarely pays to tell the truth, because the other guy will lie his ass off as he plants the metaphorical knife as deep as he can into your back, so that you'll take the fall in his place.
My philosophy is to give the people I know one chance. If they screw it up, then destroy them as soon as humanly possible. It may seem like a harsh way to live life, but I've learned my lesson the hard way. You'll probably find out about that soon enough, so I'll leave that little sub-plot hanging for now.
Unless otherwise specified, students keep the same locker year after year. I avoided mine like the plague for the moment. It wasn't like I had fifteen books to drop off or anything. School just started. The thing that took higher priority was to make sure I got the desk I wanted for first period, which was Logic, by the way. Yeah, I'm pretty much finished with the core course load, as are most of the students that attend.
It's a college prep school. The only core classes I'm taking this year are Junior English, and Government. The rest are electives: World history AP, third year Latin, and Study Hall. A light load, I know. But I had better things to do since receiving a pass on Phys Ed. I still had to make sure to get my dad to sign off on self-defense that he was privately teaching me. That was my daily workout and the reason I could blow off that course for this and the following year.
By the time I had made it to class, I knew I'd been spotted by a minimum of three ex-friends who looked at me with curious faces. It was like they knew me from somewhere but couldn't actually figure it out. It might be good for an Oh my God! moment in their own class. Maybe they would get demerits for their sudden outburst in the middle of roll call. Well, I could always hope for the best.
Yeah, we work on the point system here. I was in the running for an academic scholarship against eleven other juniors all within two-tenths of a grade point. Seven of those people I can't stand. The other three are nice enough, but would have to go down if I stood a chance of making Dad's life any easier. He was busting his hump to make sure I had enough money to go to any college I choose. If there's an Ivy League school in my future, he would be hurting. Five demerits and you lose a tenth of a grade point. It takes ten merit points in order to earn it back. Those are infinitely harder to accumulate.
"Del?"
I froze and almost tripped myself right before entering the classroom. Del was my boy name; it was short for Delbert. Yes, my parents had no compassion when it came to naming children. Steeling my nerves I turned my head and saw Alicia Peterson to my right. Her middle of the back curly blonde hair was gone in lue of, ironically enough, a pixie cut with pink tips. Guess who was going to be sent to the councilor's office for dress code violation?
"Hey Alicia." She wide-eyed me for a few seconds before opening her mouth again to state the obvious. Instead of letting her ramble on, I cut her off. "I'm going by Pixie now."
Her jaw dropped open for a second time and she blinked hard. "God, I knew you were a fag, but gheeze!"
Guess who just made the top of the shit list for the day?
"You might want to fire whoever did your hair. I think they over-bleached it. It's looking dry and frizzy" Spinning back around I went to find my seat in the back corner of the class.
A hint to all of you social exiles out there still in school. Always choose the back row. Nobody can throw things at you without you seeing them first. I learned that lesson last February when Brian Ferguson's PB&J sandwich just happen to fall out of his backpack, the plastic baggie it was in, and split itself open before launching itself at the back of my head. Ever tried to get blackberry preserves out of your hair?
Nobody said a thing. No witnesses. The only thing that gave him away was the act of licking his fingers afterward. The following day, for some unknown reason, Dad brought in the drug dog and guess who's locker held a single joint stuffed in the back corner under a rarely used biology book? I'm not saying how he knew to make sure to check that specific locker. I mean it was only one joint. How would the dogs pick up the scent with it being smooshed underneath the book?
Huh. I guess Brian might have rubbed some loose leaves on the outside of the locker just to make sure the dog had something to go on. That might have done the trick. But why would he have done that?
Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies. Suffice it to say that he was expelled, zero tolerance and all.
Rule Seven: Destroy your enemies.
~O~
"Pixie De Angelo."
"Here."
Heads turned and I made it a point to flip open my Logic textbook at that moment and peruse the formulas on the back of the hardcover. There were a couple of snickers, but nothing overt. If that was all I'd experience today, I'd count myself lucky.
Halfway through the incredibly boring introduction I asked for a pass to the restroom. No, not the girl's room. That was off limits. I got to use one of three unisex restrooms located strategically around the school. The good part was that the closest to that particular class was near the office. Hopefully by the time I made it back to class we'd actually be doing work.
It was down the second hall turn off that I heard it, someone sniffling in the vicinity of the glittery "Welcome Back to School" poster hanging from the ceiling. I stopped and turned around, trying to focus on where I heard the sound. It's amazing how quiet the halls were during class. A few seconds later and I narrowed my focus to a single locker. Even I was impressed.
We're in high school for god's sake. How can someone actually be small enough to be shoved into a locker?
"Hello?"
Something banged against the door, but then quieted. "Can you get a teacher?" a boy asked.
"Is this your locker?"
"No."
So much for having the combination to the lock. I set my backpack down and opened the main portion. "Hold on, I'll have you out in a minute."
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, I took out a small black billfold that had a zip close and withdrew a tension wrench and a spring pick.
"What are you doing?" came the boy's voice.
"Lessoning the embarrassment factor. Just hang on."
Twenty seconds later -- it's discomforting to realize how easy school lockers are to pick -- and I popped the latch. Freshman. That explained the size issue.
He literally fell out of the confined space as I was zipping up the billfold and storing it away. "Can you describe the guy that did this?"
At least I hope it was a guy. That would be severely embarrassing for him if it was a girl. He palmed his face a couple of times to cover up the tear tracks and red cheeks It must suck to be saved by a girl.
"There were three of them, with jackets."
I rolled my eyes and waved him with me down the hall. "Come on."
Senior class football jocks. Can they be any more cliché?
"How did you open the locker without the combination?"
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. "You didn't see that."
"I didn't see what?"
"Exactly."
"What?"
Stopping in the middle of the hall, I spun on him. "I can always stuff you back inside the locker if you need an answer that bad."
He looked dejected. "Sorry."
Shaking my head, I started over. "Nevermind. This is the way it works here. Survival of the fittest and all. It's high school. You owe me either money or a favor, your choice. If you want revenge that will be more money or a much bigger favor, again your choice."
Something dawned on his face and then it fell into a mask of despair. "My money was in my backpack." He looked dejected again. "How much do I owe you?"
Lifting my eyebrows, I pondered for a moment. I remembered exactly how much I hated being a freshman. It plucked at my heartstrings. "Ten bucks for the locker spring. Another twenty for backpack retrieval. If you want reimbursement from the jocks that did this, that's fifty. If you want revenge…" I smiled with just a touch of evil added. "Well, that's negotiable."
He thought I was kidding about the money and it showed with the incredulous look on his face. "Who are you?"
Without losing a beat I said, "I'm someone that needs a lot of money. College doesn't pay for itself."
Private school rich kids, pfft. There were seven scholarship/financial aide students enrolled at the moment and none of them were freshmen. So, I stood there and looked at him expectantly.
"Fine. I won't be able to pay you until tomorrow."
I nodded. "That's cool." We continued down the hall. "But fair warning. Don't try to stiff me."
We arrived outside the office doors and I pointed up at the wall of pictures. You have to wonder about schools that love their football team more than their academic achievers. The first two strings of the varsity line up were plastered all over the wall. "There's your mug shots."
It didn't take him long to find them while I made notes with a stack of Post-its.
"Okay, what is it you want done?"
He blinked at me, totally clueless.
With a sigh I gave him the list. "Backpack retrieval? Revenge?"
"Everything."
Ah, a boy after my own heart. "Okay. Do you want this to be anonymous? Or do you care if the teachers find out?"
I saw the fear in his eyes. "Anonymous it is."
His lips pressed together, so I offered something else. "I can always make it look like you planned everything. That way they'll think twice about stuffing you in a locker again."
"I don't want to get busted by the cops or anything."
The office door opened up behind us. "Pixie?"
A bright grin opened on my face. "Uncle Phillip!" He gave me the what-are-you-up-to face before I waved my hall pass. "Just going to the restroom, and helping one of our new students find his way."
"That's very thoughtful of you."
Wrapped around my little finger, I tell ya. He examined my pass. Okay, maybe he's not completely wrapped.
"Do you mind if we checked lost and found. It seems he may have misplaced his backpack."
"Already?"
The freshman looked down, but I nodded. "Yeah, some seniors thought they would be helpful and offered to carry it for him."
Uncle Phillip didn't miss much. He looked at me inquiringly. I gave him the short shake of my head, and he understood that it was a face saving thing. "Go right ahead, Pixie. You know where it is."
"Thanks, Uncle Phillip."
He held the door open for us and we slipped inside the office. I waved at Shannon, the receptionist, behind the desk. She bent down and pulled out a brown leather A&F bag, setting it on the desk. "Looking for this?"
The freshman nearly peed himself with gratitude. The first thing he did was open it up and check to make sure his money was still there. Of course it was. Seniors have better things to do than get busted stealing cash. If it were drugs or steroids then that would be an entirely different matter. Nobody was going to report those particular items missing.
"Everything there?" I asked.
He nodded and then looked at me. "You knew it was here the whole time." His tone was almost accusatory, so I just stared him down.
"The fine upstanding young men of the football team always bring things to the lost and found."
Shannon covered a snort.
~O~
The freshman covered thirty dollars of what he owed me and I gave him the lowdown on operation Revenge of the Nerd. He really wasn't a nerd, just short, but I have to name these things so I can keep them straight in my head. We settled on a price, seventy-five dollars. Hey, it was revenge against three jocks, I gave him a bulk rate discount. Well, that and I really like screwing with the high and mighty.
It was a simple public embarrassment job. I did give him the option of having them kicked off the team, but that ran into some big money. Apparently rich kids do have monetary limits.
While I didn't have the necessary tools to complete the job that day, I went about my normal business. Government was third period. I'd squeezed by English class with only a few giggles and a snort or two, no harm really. However, third period actually had people in it that I was on speaking terms with. In other words, gay people.
Craig Vaughn was an ex-basketball-jock so he towered over most us, me as well. He wasn't as lanky now that he'd actually stopped running back and forth on hardwood chasing a big orange ball and patting his teammates on the butt.
I was sitting in the back row with my legs crossed, perusing the syllabus for the current semester when he sat down in the desk beside me. "Dude, I heard the rumor."
Looking over at him, I said, "Hello, Craig." I didn't try to correct his inaccurate dude comment. He called everyone dude, even girls.
He grinned in a disbelieving way as he looked down at my legs. "You shaved too?"
I nodded. "Waxed actually. It is what girls do."
"Yeah, but you're not a girl."
"Not yet, but I'm working on it."
He leaned back and tried to make room for his overly long legs for another minute or so while we watched others enter and find their seat, then he leaned over. "Well, good for you, I guess."
I nodded. "Thanks for not being an ass, Craig."
He shrugged. "It's not like I have any room to talk."
"True." Tongue fencing with the second string center on the basketball team tended to assign a person into a certain social strata. While it still wasn't on the same level as altering your sex, it did leave questions about throwing rocks in glass houses.
~O~
Within the safety of the unisex restroom, I called my dad, it being lunch time and all.
"How are they treating you?"
Brushing an errant hair behind my ear I answered. "About how I expected. Nothing too evil. There's too many teachers out and about."
"Good. How about you?"
"How about me what?"
"How do you feel about your friends accepting or not accepting you?"
I released a sigh. "They're not my friends, Dad."
"Are you telling me that you have no friends at school?"
And here we go. "I'm not exactly high on the societal standings list at the moment."
Silence answered me after a few moments. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's not a big deal, Dad. I'll be gone in two years and all of this won't make a difference one way or the other." I really believed that. High school wasn't the end all beat all road to my mental well being. Sure some people say that your teenage years are suppose to be the best times of your life. In my opinion, those same people are overweight cheerleaders and jocks that are well past their prime and stuck in the past.
"Well, I'm here if you want to talk."
I hate having serious conversations on the phone. "I got to get going if I want to eat."
~O~
Someone left a present for me in my locker between fifth and sixth period. A note: Fag.
A few minutes with the roll of duct tape I kept in the locker, and I'd sealed off the little vents that would prevent anyone else leaving me love notes. True, it wouldn't stop somebody determined to poke a knife or something thin through to cut the tape, but they would have to be a little more noticeable doing so. I'd have to bring along something tougher to cover them with the following day if I wanted to protect my stuff from vandalism. Being me, I know exactly how easy it is to screw around with people's lockers and their contents. Not that I've ever done anything so juvenile. Really, trust me.
After sandwiching the note in my Government textbook, taking care not to mess up any potential fingerprints, I closed it up and shut the locker. Believe me, keeping any evidence of potential hate crimes and clues as to who the suspects are were on the top of my list of things to do. I'd spent way too much time at the police station watching the bad guys getting away on technicalities or lack of evidence.
Some people think I'm jaded, or pessimistic. I think I'm a thirty year old woman in the body of a sixteen year old boy turning into an eighteen year old girl.
~O~
After the final bell, I stuck around to ask the Latin teacher a few question on a speech we were translating, but really it was so that I could let the halls clear a little. After school was the best time for evil to have its way. There were fewer witnesses and more jocks. Granted, there were also band nerds, and choir geeks that stayed after as well, but they were firmly ensconced on the other side of the school.
Imagine my surprise, as I was making my way to the Commons where I was going to spend the next couple of hours doing homework while I waited for my dad to pick me up, at seeing a mess of books and a familiar leather A&F backpack sitting in front of a locker.
This time someone was banging on the door. A couple of students passed by with covered mouths and not so quiet giggles, without so much as a concerned glance.
"Are you trapped again, freshman?"
"Pixie!"
He remembered my name. Another minute later and the freshman, again, fell out of the locker.
"Either you need some self defense classes or you need to eat more so you won't fit when they try to stuff you in there. Maybe screaming would help."
The burning glare I received, for my unsolicited advice, wasn't very threatening. I mean, come on, he's a freshman; it takes a couple of years in high school to build up the proper amount of hatred for a convincing death glare. "I'll have your money tomorrow."
I shrugged. "You don't have to go the money route. Favors work just as good." Okay, I admit I was feeling semi-guilty for milking the kid.
While he was shoving books into his locker, he glanced back at me. "What kind of favors?"
"Depends on what talents you have to offer." When his confused face showed its ugly head, I explained. "If you're a computer wiz and I need a problem fixed then you're the goto guy."
He shook his head. "I don't like computers like that."
Raising my eyebrows at him, I clarified. "It was an example. What are you good at? Hobbies, favorite pastimes, whatever."
He unzipped his backpack and withdrew a very expensive looking camera. "Photography. I also read a lot of comics."
I'm sure he'd had enough of being picked on for the day, so I left the comics thing alone. "See, now there is a potentially profitable hobby. The right place and the right time can get you some pretty nice blackmail material."
Setting his camera back in the backpack, he zipped it up. "You're a very strange girl."
He doesn't know the half of it. After staring at his backpack and the goldmine within, I pondered exactly how much trouble I would bring down on my shoulders for my naughty thoughts. With a devious grin I motioned down the hall. "Walk with me."
"Where are we going?
"Athletics locker room."
He eyed the front doors as we passed.
"Do you have a bus to catch or something?"
He shook his head. "No. I walk to school. I just don't want to get in trouble."
Hitching my backpack further up my shoulder, I waggled my eyebrows at him. "You're with me. Don't worry. My uncle is the principal."
I could hear the roughhousing outside the locker room when we arrived. Football jocks were currently romping around the room calling each other names and patting each other on the butt, or whatever they do when gathered in large groups. The maintenance door, further down the hall was unlocked as always. It may have been because of the Lock-Tight I squeezed into the deadbolt the previous year. Some schools are cheap and won't replace little things like this.
Once we'd ducked inside, unnoticed, the freshman started to look decidedly nervous. I held up a single finger to my mouth and waited until he understood he had to be quiet. The ladder, bolted into the wall led into the ceiling where we crept along one of the air conditioning vents while I gained my bearings in relation to the locker room. It didn't take long to find the right junction box.
Withdrawing my utility knife sans blades, since that was considered a weapon, I unscrewed the outer panel.
"What are you doing?" the freshman whispered in confusion.
"Get your camera out, and quit staring at my legs."
~O~
"I can't believe I just did that. I feel so dirty."
My foot bounced a little in amusement as I sat there in the Commons with my legs crossed, sifting through my homework for the day. "You'll get used to it. Oh, and make sure you delete any pictures of their equipment, if you get my meaning. That would be considered child porn." At the look in his eyes he whipped out the camera and started thumbing through the pics on the little viewscreen. "Don't worry. You did good for your first case."
He paused and looked up at me. "First?"
I nodded. "Sure." I gave him a wide grin. "Tell me you did not have fun up there, and tell me you don't feel the thrill of knowing that those guys are going to reap what they sewed."
The freshman let the weight of the camera settle onto his lap. "You are so not what I thought high school girls would be like."
That earned another grin from me. "The first thing you should remember about girls is that once crossed, we can be extraordinarily evil in return. Treat us right and we'll do the same… most of the time."
He thought about that for all of three seconds. "Hey, uh, since I took the pictures does that mean I get some sort of discount?"
My eyebrows lifted. "Depends."
The freshman got a little jittery again, but held his nerve. I guess he was learning. "On what?"
With a shrug I explained. "I need a cameraman. Admittedly, I suck at taking pictures. Mine always come out blurred, even with the auto-focus. So I'll need someone to back me up when the occasions arise. You game?"
His mouth dropped open, slightly. "You mean I'd have to take more pictures of naked guys?"
I laughed at that image. "Whatever the case calls for. Usually incriminating shots, some blackmail material, for insurance, whatever."
"Blackmail?"
I nodded. "Look at it this way. After I photoshop those pictures a little, every one of those guys is going to be put into a position of defending their heterosexuality. Guys don't like to do that." He nodded a little in understanding. "This is why I wanted to know if you were skittish about letting them know you were in on it. If they come after you again, you can let them know that you were the one that took the pictures and that you have many more that are much worse."
His eyes widened at the implication.
I just grinned. "Then you get them to back off. You can't go overboard and demand money or anything, then you are getting into actual blackmail and that's a felony. However, you can defend yourself. I'll set up an anonymous web page on Facebook or something and post the incriminating photos that way they can't track it back to you."
"Wow," he said as he pondered the possibilities. "That almost good enough."
With a snicker, I fed him some more. "Oh, that's only the beginning. If they keep giving you grief then I start posting bad gay poetry and emo music about how nobody can understand them and their forbidden love."
That actually got him laughing. "How do you know to do all of this stuff?"
I shrugged. "My dad's the chief of police. I see this kind of thing all the time when I visit him at work. Plus I'm not exactly popular at the moment."
He blinked and then his brow furrowed. "Why not, you so freaking cool."
That made me feel a little warmth in that hardened piece of granite I used to call my heart. Too bad it was coming to a such a quick end. "I'm transitioning gender's at the moment."
Confusion was quickly becoming his trademark look. "What?" He didn't get it.
"I used to be a boy. I'm becoming a girl."
~O~
So much for making a new friend.
The freshman's face went pale as a skin on my butt and then he conjured up lame excuses to make himself not be in my immediate vicinity. Nothing rude or vicious came out of his mouth, but I could see the fear of acquiring transgender cooties written all over his face.
Dad picked me up in front of the school at four-thirty. "Everything okay?"
I nodded. "Can we stop by the bank on the way home?"
He gave me a wary eye. "Withdraw or deposit?"
"Deposit."
"How much?"
"Thirty dollars." It's not much, but add that to the fifteen-hundred I already had in there and interest starts to build. Leaving it sitting in my room or in my purse doesn't earn anything at all. This way I could have a few extra dollars each quarter.
"And where did you get thirty-dollars?"
There are downsides to having a cop as a father. "Services rendered. Nothing illegal. Don't worry."
"Pixie," he warned.
"Some football jocks stuffed a freshman in a locker twice today. I'm making them stop."
He rolled his eyes. "That's what your uncle Phillip is there for."
I nodded. "Quite true, but if the kid want's to live after school hours then there's not much you or he can do."
He pondered that for a few moments. "What are you planning on doing?"
"Like I said before, nothing illegal. If you know then you might feel honor bound to do something about it. This way you have plausible deniability." When I got the don't-shit-a-bullshitter look I went on the defensive. "It's just something to embarrass them enough to lay off."
He laid off at that point, but as always, Dad had to get in the last word. "Don't forget your scholarship is at stake. You don't need any demerits."
Rule Number Three: Always keep your parents in the dark for as long as possible.
~O~
Homework was finished at school. It was the one thing that I liked about staying after in the Commons. That left me with my little photoshop project. The freshman, who I'll have to revert to calling Shutt3rbug since that's what his screen name was, didn't wimp out. An email was waiting for me when I booted up my laptop.
I suppose he remembered my warning about stiffing me. As far as I was concerned the contract was already made. If he backed out then he was still responsible for fulfilling his end of the bargain. After all, I showed him my secret way to gather evidence from the boys locker room. That came at a cost.
It didn't take much to enlarge Pete Samperson's butt a little to make it look like it was being caressed by his best buddy. I didn't even have to adjust one of the shots where Jimmy Herne's hand was strategically located to make it look like he was… um, cupping, I guess, Ralph Masterson in an area I'd rather not talk about.
I'd have to wait to use the school server the next morning to set up the Facebook page. But I did make a few fliers with a random account name, so I could pass those out at lunch. By one o'clock they'd be a laughing stock, and I'd be a hundred and five dollars richer.
~O~
Getting Dad to drop me off to school early got him all suspicious. There's no avoiding certain things in life; Dad's burning desire to protect me stood at the forefront.
The Facebook page was up and running. Mission complete. Operation Revenge of the Nerd was complete. Paycheck time.
The first bell signaling the school's desire for students to get their butts to class in fifteen minutes or else, rang. That's about the time that Shutt3rbug strolled in the front doors. He saw me waiting patiently in the Commons. Before he reached me I flipped open the laptop and turned to around so he could see my handiwork. When I looked up at him he appeared skittish, like I was going to grow claws and infect him with my gender issues. Instead of letting his gaze linger on me it trailed to the screen and the pulsing pink hearts all aglow along the outside of each picture. I went ahead and added the bad gay poetry. I didn't write it, so what the heck.
Instead of saying anything I held my hand out as I gave him the most indifferent face I could manage. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a few twenties and a five.
"I don't have change," I told him.
His eyes flicked away. "The extra ten is for the locker after school."
Ah. He was totally bailing on me. No favors in the future.
"Fine," I said.
His lips tightened and I could see he wanted to say something. I shut down the computer and pulled out the fliers. "Pass these around. It's the URL to the page. We're square. Go away, freshman." Was I a little harsh? Maybe. Pardon me if I get slightly annoyed that he thinks I'm someone totally different than the person he met yesterday morning.
He glanced at me one more time, then surprised me when he looked down at my legs before almost running away. Male puberty must be a total bitch. All those tiny pustules of testosterone exploding in his brain making him confused about his attraction to me despite the fact that he knew that I still possessed a penis.
Did he go home and surf the internet for T-girl porn? Did he get entranced by the sordid stories. Was it shame that he felt when he experienced an erection during it all? Did he dream about me last night? Did he wake up with the most intense morning wood he'd ever experienced, or was that what woke him… his first wet dream?
He was attracted to me before he knew that there was something extra underneath my skirt. That much was obvious when we were crawling around above the locker room. Was he still attracted after he found out; that was the question for him to ponder. Me, I really didn't care.
Granted, we were only separated by a couple of years in age, but those years were a wide gulf in high school. No thank you. I had no interest in freshmen that had marshmallows in the place their spinal column was supposed to be.
The second day of class was a little more intense than the first. Word about my new status had spread on all the social networks, most likely. Just about everyone's eyes were on me at one point or another.
Step right up, see the human oddity. Presenting the amazing girl-boy. She slices, dices and someday soon a doctor will over-circumcise. The urge to run up to the gawkers and scream, Boo! was overwhelming, but I restrained myself. Even the teachers were giving me more attention than usual, making me think Uncle Phillip had said something. I knew he had to alert the staff that there was a transsexual in the student body just in case there was an explosion of hate crime with said student's name written all over it.
The strange part? Even the lesbians were looking at me with loathing in their eyes. Hypocritical self-centered bitches. I guess I crossed some line with their non-existent morality. I could see what they thought; it was plain on their faces. They thought the only reason I would want to be a girl was so that I could spy on them as some sort of perverted fantasy fulfillment.
Yeah, that made a whole lot of sense. I ingested daily what amounted to poison in my system, had my testes removed, and annihilated any chance of a normal social life for the next two years, all so I could see them in their panties. The capacity for human beings to show exactly how retarded they could be amazed me.
Oh, it's not that I'm being politically incorrect. I truly believe they are retarded in the traditional sense, back when it meant possessing an intelligence quotient below seventy. The way I see it, intelligence is based on three things: the ability to acquire knowledge -- to learn and understand, the ability to apply that knowledge -- to problem solve, and the ability to engage in abstract reasoning -- to analyze information and solve problems on a complex, thought-based level.
Judging from the looks I was receiving, I'd say that most of the student body had left number three at home, thus lowering their intelligence quotient to the sixties somewhere… with the football team, possibly lower. I can only assume that, due to the occasional grunts and scrotum scratching that I observed between classes. When guys are confused about math problems, they scratch their heads. When confronted with problems of a more complex nature, the scratching moves south to their balls. This is a purely unscientific observation based on scant anecdotal evidence, but I think it's sound.
I could be totally wrong and maybe that actually is where they keep their brains.
~O~
By the end of lunch, as predicted, there were some very angry, once famous in our school, heterosexual jocks. Now they were infamously playing for the other team. One of them even had the inside of his locker painted in pink with several pictures of Justin Bieber hanging all around decorated with little red hearts surrounding the pop star's face. I'm not saying how that happened, nor am saying I how annoyed I was that I was still picking pink spray paint from under my fingernails.
I will say that the school can't remove the paint until the first four day holiday considering the caustic nature of the industrial strength paint remover they'd have to use. Safety first. I'd love to have seen his face when he found out that it'd be Thanksgiving when that happened.
No, they can't just paint over it. The school governors are very strict about what colors are used and the funds allocated for yearly renovation for lockers was already spent during the summer.
Sadly, the pictures of Justin Bieber would be easy to dispose of. That didn't prevent other's from taping them to the outside of his locker though. Some of the art students were very creative.
The downside to this was their ability to be creative to my locker as well.
I highly recommend blowing a couple of dollars on a small can of non-stick cooking spray, Pam, or the like, lasts longer than the generic brands. A light coating to the outside of my locker prevented any type of tape to adhere properly, even if they tried to wipe it off there would be enough residual oil to work. You just had to make sure that you didn't get any on the combination spindle.
It's like I always say, when life give you lemons, make sure you're prepared when they're squeezed in your face.
End
Comments
Ahhh, yes
Ahhh, yes, very entertaining. Reminds me of some very resourceful kids I used to know, geeks one and all, but everyone came to repect them for the crap they could hand back, and without fingerprints too! Too bad the story is a one-off.
CaroL
CaroL
Someone seems to be able to do
the things others only dreamed about .
Sad but likely true on the complete isolation. Kids are so black and white on things. When someone doesn't fit in the normal categorization, they can't deal with it.
That's not true these days
That's not true these days for all, by any means. Even Teens seem to deal easier with trans and gay stuff than my generation, but you do still have offspring of bigoted parents who seek to replicate them in their own behavior.
CaroL
CaroL
Maybe in the more liberal
Maybe in the more liberal cities or schools where administrators can impose a harsh penalty on those that break the rules. All it takes is cruising Facebook to see how cruel teens can be about those that are different. Or even picking up a local newspaper and reading about a t-girl that wanted to go to Prom in a dress only to to be ostracized by her classmates and the faculty of the school. Experimenting (bi) girls is fairly accepted. Lesbian girls a little less. Gay guys still are made fun of and treated badly. T-girls are still committing social suicide. Will they be totally alone with no friends? Probably not. But they are still isolated.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Gay = bad ?
Have to agree with Lilith here. Otherwise why would people be saying "that's so gay" to mean something is bad? I hear teenagers say it a lot.
Chris in CA
Chris
Yes please
Having suffered at school, I can definitely say, More please!
Susie
Help me Pixie-Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope.
From the Title, I was expecting a more Jedi theme and light sabers.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
My Goodness She's Smart
I'm jealous. This gal is genius stuff. I certainly hope we will find out about more of her adventures.
Portia
Portia
Lilith, Pixie -- Now this is
Lilith,
Pixie -- Now this is a girl after my own heart. Never get revenge in a manner that will hurt someone physically; but definitely get even. Do it in a manner that leaves your protagonist(s) spinning in the wind wondering how and when payback will be coming. They should never think if, they should understand it WILL come, and it will come at a time and in a manner least expected. Jan
Pixie. Ouch. That's cause
Pixie. Ouch. That's cause for trips to the school counsellor in its own right. Although it's also frighteningly realistic, given the 'interesting' names of some of the kids I went to school with thinking about it!
I love the sarcasm and wit that Pixie embodies. Very, very funny. As for Pixie's cunning mind, although the line between good and bad is very blurred with her she seems on the side of angels for the most part in that she doesn't go looking for trouble. Her own rules and motivation make her a complex but likable character. The sort of person we would all have liked to have in school to help us out. And its quite refreshing to see a TS character for whom high school is something to be endured until she can get out of it and go to college. Certainly matches my own experiences.
A very amusing story Lilith with a few laugh out loud moments in it.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
Caustic, ebullient, creative
Superb.
I have a heroine to call my own! Well ok, our own.
There's only one reason I wasn't like this in school - it was all boys until 10 years after I left.
But even now I tell them I was the first girl at my school and it's so long ago, they believe me!
The title
I guess refers to Shutterbug she'd rescued twice the day before. I did enjoy this a lot and particularly the interactions between them. Kool characters! You do a such a great job with character development!
Hugs!
Grover
Yes, pretty much this. One
Yes, pretty much this. One of the things VM did was title all of their episodes with plays on words or something similar using pop culture references. Thanks Grover.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
*Evil Cackle*...
Of course I want more.
a) Anything written by you is always top quality, and
b) Being somewhat of a social pariah in school, I can identify with Pixie. It'd be fun to see how she spreads her revenge.
Thanks for the story.
Please more
Very entertaining. I'd love to read more of her adventures.
I actually knew a Pixie in school. An odd but very fun girl.
luv,
Connie
I wish i had had a friend like her
might have made my time in high school more bearable.
Flexible friendship
...not to mention, a bit more expensive (unless you could work the exchange of favors angle).
If only I thought of doing
If only I thought of doing that stuff in school! Then again that was way before the
Internet. I really love the plot. This begs for more to come!
Nice
I was a Veronica Mars fan, and I miss the show. I think you've done a good job of capturing her attitude with this. I'd love to see more episodes featuring Pixie.
Miranda
Well-written and nicely executed ...
... but Pixie is about as cold a piece of work as I've ever seen, and I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say that I'm glad she's not planning to return any time soon. She's mercenary, selfish, and extremely practical -- and apparently, she checked the warm, friendly parts of her humanity at the door, probably permanently. She's still carrying greed and self-interest around for laughs. If she can't make a dime or a "quid pro quo" off of someone else's suffering, screw 'em. After all, she doesn't really seem to give a damn about anybody else. She regards high school as a battleground, doesn't want friends, and barely tolerates allies.
If I did go to that school, I wouldn't want to try to get to know her. I wouldn't dare. It would be like trying to be friends with an unexploded bomb. One decision that runs counter to her interests would put me on the wrong end of her "retard scale," and that would make me even less worthy than I already would be just existing in her universe.
Even if I were in trouble and needed help, I wouldn't want to see her anywhere in the vicinity. It would cost way more than it would be worth to have her bail me out, in money and self-respect.
I had been thinking about checking out Veronica Mars, because I'd heard good things about it. But if this is what the main character is like, I think I'll pass.
Thank you, though, for another fine piece of writing. *smile*
Randa
It's okay to be in the
It's okay to be in the minority. I'd only disagree with two points, the rest are pretty much right on. It's not greed that pushes her, self-interest, definitely. I look at greed as someone that has a lot of money, more than enough to live very comfortably and then goes out of their way to amass even more simply so they can have more money. Pixie is trying to make enough money so she can actually go to college without breaking her father financially.
The second one would be the "one decision that runs counter to her interests" portion. I find that a little excessive. She gets revenge on those that deserve it. Did she get revenge on Shutt3rbug because he treated her like she had cooties? He wasn't insulting and didn't publicly or privately do anything to her. So she just thought less of him (spineless) for one minute thinking she was "awesome" and the next thinking "ewww."
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
What prompted the "one decision" part ...
... was her overall attitude towards everyone around her, plus this one sentence:
"My philosophy is to give the people I know one chance. If they screw it up, then destroy them as soon as humanly possible."
I've seen supervillians with more forgiveness than Pixie seems to have! *grin* Even if she's been betrayed once, one chance per person? That's just harsh.
Randa
one chance
Hmmmm.
I've found that "one chance" is an excellent way to deal with management.
You get one for free. Pay for it, and you get another one. Don't, and ... well.
Lilith, I have to admit that I'd like this a lot more if it were more VM first-season, with this as the pilot, and *knowing* that more was coming. Forgive me, please, but this single episode leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I can see from some mention in the story (and because I'm a VM fanatic, so she *has* to be this way ...) that there's a background. The brilliance of VM season one is that the story all pulls together so beautifully.
"Want to know how I lost my virginity? So do I."
Season two ... well, welcome to the VM retcon universe. Season three was apparently written by scripties who wanted to alienate the core audience (except for "The Bitch is Back," of course).
Please consider doing a "season" of Pixie? It needs it, *I* think.
Amy!
A compliment
You know you've created a pretty solid character when people start discussing their good/bad points. Congratulations.
not as think as i smart i am
Well
Remember the incident was mentioned that had her check friendship at the entrypoint? We don't know what it was.
Although, she does have a bit of Nabiki Tendo in her. Not taken to THAT extreme, but still noticeable. And another question is - does she warn someone who screwed the chance before going on a quest of vengeance?
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
What's that line?
Oh, yes, now I rememember, "tell us how you really feel". LOL
giggle.
Gwendolyn
More Please
This was absolutely fantastic...you need to write more. It reminds me so much of Veronica Mars that it makes me want to dust off my DVD copies and watch them again.
I never get tired of that
I never get tired of that series. I wish there could have been a fourth season. I would have liked to have seen her as an FBI Special Agent.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Definitely
Me too. It was a fantastic show, it pissed me off when they cancelled it. They moved her to Heroes but it definitely wasn't the same. I'm hoping one day they'll wise up and make some kind of movie.
They've argued it over with
They've argued it over with the various studios and the only thing that's stopping it is funding. Since the DVD sales never took off, the studio heads insist that it's not worth the effort. God forbid they actually release a Smart movie with Intelligent characters, instead lets have a sequel of the A-Team. O_o
Rob Thomas already came out and said it's highly unlikely it'll ever be made.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Simply Wonderful
What a lovely and well written story. I loved it, every bit of it. Your characters and their attitudes have that real life, 'no BS edge' that so many stories here lack and I love.
I do have one criticism. Anyone who considers a high school schedule that includes third year Latin as being light does stretch the outer limits of credibility. As we always used to chant when I was taking second year Latin, 'Latin is a language as dead as it can be. First it killed the Romans, now it's killing me.'
Barva, dear girl. Brava.
Nancy Cole
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
Very entertaining
I had friends in high school, so my life wasn't too bad, but I'm always a big fan of someone smart getting revenge on people that deserve it. Those jocks sure did. If you feel like writing more of this, I'll read it for sure.
-Christelle
"Fun-loving geek-chick who's addicted to sunlight!"
-Christelle
"Fun-loving geek-chick who's addicted to sunlight!"
More Pixie
please!
beg
beg
whimper
Maddy Bell
http://maddybell.com>
Madeline Anafrid Bell
LOL, That's how I feel...
LOL, That's how I feel about Gaby/Drew.
Chris in CA
Chris
I'd love to...
...read more of Pixie and her adventures, assuming you're willing to write them.
Her rules remind me of The 48 Laws of Power and as Randa has already alluded, her philosophy and actions would not be out of place with the likes of Machiavelli or Sun Tzu.
Law 9 Win through your Actions, Never through Argument
Law 15 Crush your Enemy Totally
Law 29 Plan All the Way to the End
Law 31 Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal
Law 37 Create Compelling Spectacles
And it was compelling too, Lilith. I think you've produced another winner here, and I can't but hope that you'd like to extend it.
It occurs to me too, that there would be an opportunity for Pixie to develop as a person in an extended series.
Pixie Schemes
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
Very interesting stuff. The
Very interesting stuff. The ones you've pointed out are pretty much the only ones that apply in her situation. I'm sure I could wiggle around some of the others, but that spells it out alright.
My original plan for this story was to write about five or six "episodes" and then release them one at a time, but I didn't know if it was a viable plot or not.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Oh, I don't know!
The ones I chose were just a random selection that jumped out.
I think the following could apply in whole or in part:
Law 3 Conceal your Intentions
Law 7 Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit
Law 17 Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
Law 23 Concentrate Your Forces
Law 26 Keep Your Hands Clean
Law 28 Enter Action with Boldness
Law 30 Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Law 33 Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew
Law 35 Master the Art of Timing
Law 39 Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Law 47 Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop
And of course, Pixie exemplifies this one:
Law 25 Re-Create Yourself
Preaching Subversion
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
I hope we'll read more about Pixie.
Absolutely great! I loved it.
I hope we'll read more about Pixie.
Kris
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
Worthy of More
With a name like Pixie, you've got to show us more. This story cries out for continuation. Pixie is too strong of a character to settle for a one-shot appearance. Really.
I like her Ender's Game mentality. It's very satisfying. I, like too many here, was bullied so there's something supremely satisfying to see bullies get their comeuppance.
Thanks!
- Terry
Pixie
I truly hope you will continue this story. It is great!
It does bring some of my own memories back, but in a completely
different time period.
Jerry B.
GREAT PIXIE POWER
Dear Lilith:
Thanks for a new heroine. to brighten our days. Pixie seems to have strong parts of Nancy Drew, Scarlett O'Hara & Lucille Ball. I appreciated your inventiveness,originality & humour. It was great to see that you intend to write more enstallments and I look forward to your efforts in this direction. Great read and great characters.
Thanks Another Brian
I personally found the story
I personally found the story interesting and entertaining.
As for the 'greed' aspect? Notice that she opened the locker BEFORE asking for money. She didn't even suggest that she could stuff him back into the locker if he complained. Asking for payment for services rendered vs blackmail. 'You want out? How about 10 bucks? No? Then stay in there."
BW
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
True, but she also gave a
True, but she also gave a reason for not blackmailing someone. It's a felony. Though I don't know if not helping someone out of a locker, except for money would be considered actual extortion. It's more like being a jerk. However that wasn't the issue in this case. What she was offering was a service. By reducing the number of people that witnessed his coming out of the locker and thus the embarrassment factor.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
The thing is ...
... if someone's in trouble, the positive impulse is to help them out without thinking of being compensated for your effort. After all, someday you'll be in a similar position and you want to hope someone else will come to your rescue without presenting you with a bill. To her, opening the locker was a loss-leader. If she didn't get paid, she was out the cost of her time and skill, and she would know the person inside wasn't going to be a good customer. But she did get paid, in the end, and so she wound up making out on the deal. Altruism had nothing to do with it.
On the other hand, if all you really understand about human interaction is the negative aspects, there's no such thing as altruism in your world view. The fact that Pixie took down the bullies in question is irrelevant in the end, since to her it's just a matter of dollars and cents. Like an assassin hired by the government to take down a thug, there's nothing to it but the money. Justice is an accidental by-product, not a goal in and of itself.
In a way, Pixie is a lot like Parker, Richard Stark's anti-hero in his series of noir-ish novels about a career criminal. Parker simulates normal human interaction with both his accomplices and his victims because he knows it's often the easiest way to deal with other humans. By providing them with a framework they understand, he gets them to go along and work with him. For example, he prefers not to kill people in the course of a robbery -- not because it's a bad thing to do, and not even because murder is illegal. It's just because murder adds complications, and makes police more determined to catch you ... because they really are human, and they DO care.
One can hope Pixie will grow enough to become more than she is by the time she leaves high school. To have someone with her skills and intellect out in the world only looking out for herself? That's just too scary to contemplate. *grin* But a heroine as sharp as she is? Now that would be something to see.
Randa
thank you
Thank you for yet another excellent read. I raise a toast to Pixie, and may she continue to help the downtrodden. Even if it comes at a price.
This is a really good story
I delayed getting to some of the recent retcons (which I really like) to read this, and I'm glad I did. It's dark, but it leaves room to go more towards the light or dark side of the force. It has so much potential! I hope to read more Pixie adventures. :)
I'm just imagining her Light and Dark meter, like in the KOTOR video games... and how her aura looks.
Gray
Gray.
Or more like a light gray and not so much a charcoal.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
pretty please
Tell us that this is just "the end" for now, and that we will be seeing more of Pixie over time.
For now? Not knowing the
For now? Not knowing the response I was going to receive to this, I reached an end point for the first story and gave it a semi-conclusion. Meaning I left enough plot holes open, so if the response was enough to warrant continuing, then I would. At this point, I'd say it has.
What's all of that mean? Probably more Pixie. I'm hopping between about four stories, writing a little in each every day, since I have a drunk muse at the moment and she's easily distracted. But I'm making progress in each story, so in a week or so you'll all be hammered again with story after story.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Pixie
All this intellektual stuff hurt my brain trying to follow it.
1) Someone needs a butt whupping for Pixie. She's got enuff trubble to start with.
2) No one else is gonna look out for #1
3) Payback is a b-hatch
4)I liked it.
This is the hardest thing
This is the hardest thing about writing this story. I usually write characters that are above average on the mental scale. Pixie is above even that. I have to go back and smarten her up in places, but not too well. She shouldn't be overly wise, just book smart and jaded. It's a difficult balance to manage.
~Lili
Blog: http://lilithlangtree.tglibrary.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lilith_langtree
~Lili
Write the story that you most desperately want to read.
Pixie is not as bad as "Barbi".
In feminist America, of which I am NOT one, Pixie would perhaps get a lot of kidding, but maybe people would eventually get used to it.
I know a very good speech Pathologist whose real name is Barbi Scott. I even tried to call her Barbara and she said that , no, it was Barbi. What parent in their right mind would name their child Barbi? Anyhow, she helped me bunches, and is an extremely pretty genetic woman. She also works with public speakers, actresses and actors.
Much peace
Gwendolyn
re: story
hey were not all mentally challenged. keep up the good work.
robert
Pixie
First of all, a defence of the scenario:
So, she's cynical about the rule of law - but then again, it's clearly explained in several locations she has good reason to, from her observations of the law in action. Even though her uncle's the head of the school, it's reasonable to assume that it mirrors society in that bullies will frequently get away with it, while getting their victims into trouble in the processs.
So, she embarks upon a combined vigilante / private investigator type role, officially a grey area but not straying into stuff which would get her into serious trouble with the school if discovered. That, together with requesting payment for services, isn't too different from many stories set in private / boarding schools - she's just exploiting modern technology in the process.
As for letting "Shutt3rbug" out of the locker before requesting payment, (a) she accepted payment in the form of favours as an alternative to money, (b) being a private school she made the reasonable assumption the lad would be carrying a relatively significant level of money around with him.
Although he's shunned her for now by completely settling up, it's possible he may get targeted in future by other groups of bullies, and decide it's preferable to overcome his squeamishness at her situation and partner up with her again than to get shoved in a locker or beaten up.
-oOo-
As you've probably gathered, I enjoyed the tale. Pixie's both sneaky and intelligent - she knows what she wants and how to get it. Her cynicism and 'law of the jungle' attitude may be slightly uncomfortable to some, but if she decided on a career in business they'd be useful attributes to have. She's certainly an interesting character to read - and could be a useful 'stand-by' to roll out for another self-contained episode if/when progress on your other stories stagnates and reaches an impasse.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
mentality
This is the first story I have read that I have ever left a post on (and I have read a lot on this site and others) ever. The main reason I am commenting is because this is the first story I have ever read that I want to scream "YES, THAT IS ME". I find my view on life is different than..... Well, anyone I've ever met. No matter the backround or the status. I reached a point of not putting up with anything before being TG ever came to the foreround. Not many storys have this same attitude and not in the spades this one does.
The second reason I am posting is there has only been one other author I have ever viewed all their stories. I love what you do, your creative, insightful, and you either; A) have a good editor, or; B) are much better at the english language than your average story teller.
Thank You for the good work and keep them comming please
Allycen
Nice to get a numerous break
Nice to get a humerous break once in while.
V enjoyable!!
alissa