Playing her way - Chapter 1

© D.L. 2014

Is that the new issue of PC Gamer,” Tim asked as he sat down next to two of his friends. The three schoolboys had just started their lunch break sat outside in the early May sunshine. The final April showers had appeared to have passed and the temperature was pleasantly warm after finally getting into double figures following a colder spell.

“Yeah,” David replied. “It was delivered in yesterdays post. Do you want to have a read? I've already read most of the articles. I was just showing Jason the exclusive article about Generation2K.”

“Oh, yeah, I was hoping to get a look at that ever since they announced it would be present last issue,” Tim replied.

“It was certainly a big scoop for them,” Jason commented, “It’s not every day a well known but reclusive YouTube celebrity gives an interview. The numbers of comments I have seen online about her have exploded since she came out of the closet during the charity live stream.”

“I thought that was a joke at first,” Tim declared. “I mean, April 1st, everyone was expecting it to be a wind up. Kurt and Jumbo joking about how they didn't have any girls playing on the Moonlight Minecraft server and then Jenny goes and says, 'well technically you do have one girl, me.'”

“It sort of was, and sort of wasn't,” David explained, “It was mentioned in one of the subsequent videos, and again in this article. As you know, the members of the server have private monthly meetings to discuss issues regarding the server, and the videos they are going to be making. Generation2K had told the other Moonlighters that he had a big announcement to make, and he was going to do it at prime time during the live stream. He refused to tell the others exactly what it was, but did tell them that they might be shocked and to treat the matter seriously. Depending on what the public reaction was he had told them that if he got a really bad reception, he would claim it was a joke, and then quietly withdraw from the community if it caused issues.”

“That must have taken an incredible amount of guts.” Tim stated. “He could have simply declared that he was actually a girl, and chances are that a lot of viewers would have accepted that. Instead he,”

“She, technically,” Jason interrupted.

“She,” Tim corrected, “goes on to state she's transgendered.”

“She did have a bit of an advantage, in that she was doing it somewhat anonymously. Nobody knows her real name or where she lives. We know that she is our age, and is based somewhere in the UK, possibly down south, like us, but it isn't like coming out to people you are with on a daily basis,” Jason said.

"She can't be that anonymous. The chances are someone is bound to have recognise her voice at whatever school she goes too, she is popular enough for it to be likely, so it was still a big risk,” David declared, "Assuming of course she wasn't already out of the closet at school to begin with, but she does state that nobody seems to know at school."

“Well it doesn't appear to be our school,” Tim stated, “Mind you, there is only a handful of us that watch that particular group of Let's Players.”

“Given the amount of flack I have been getting over the past couple of months, I'm glad she isn't here, I don't think she would survive,” Jason glumly responded.

“Gary still giving you a hard time over that St. Trinians costume you wore for Comic Relief a couple of months ago?” Tim asked.

“It wouldn't be so bad if Mark hadn't tried to chat me up. Anybody else and I wouldn't have gotten all tongue tied. No matter what I said, I couldn't dissuade Gary and his cronies that I had a crush on Mark.”

“I've told you before, go see Mr Glasscock again if you feel threatened. There is supposed to be zero tolerance to homophobia,” David stated.

“And cause even more trouble, no thanks. We've only got a couple of months to the end of term, and then we will all be changing schools. I'm not going to give them ammunition to use against me. Getting back on topic, can you imagine the uproar if one of the boy's here were to openly declare to be a transsexual. You think I'm getting trouble now, and I'm not even gay.”

“Just because you deny it, doesn't mean anybody believes you,” Tim responded. “But yeah, I get your drift."

"Oo, Jason's blushing again," Zoe stated as she came across to the boys, "What have you been doing to him this time?"

"Is there a reason you are here, or did you simply come to tease us," Tim stated, seeing his friend go even redder.

"Here, Jason, Susan sent me over with your lunch. She had to report to Mr Court for detention."

Jason had decided shortly after the aforementioned incident that it was no longer safe to carry a packed lunch, as he had lost it on several occasions due to bullying. Instead he opted for buying a packed lunch from the canteen. Fearing the extraction of money would be even easier; he felt the safest option was not to carry any cash. Therefore he paid his cousin in advance, and she would either buy the lunch for him, or meet him in the canteen. The situation had gotten better over the past few weeks, but Susan insisted on keeping the arrangement in place despite the teachers saying it wasn't needed, and her friends getting slightly annoyed at the inconvenience. For the most part Jason and his friends got on very well with the girls, and the rumours currently going round was that Susan either fancied one of Jason's friends, or that she was trying to play matchmaker.

"What's my cousin done this time?" Jason asked, taking the carton of sandwiches and packet of crisps from the girl.

"Talking back in class. A little tip, if you ever get Mr Court for a teacher, never try to correct him, even if he's being a complete idiot. Several of the other girls are going to speak to Mr Glasscock about it. I can see his point about rudeness, but really, if it is pointed out that you are contradicting the text book, that at least warrents an explanation, not an immediate detention."

The students sat in silence for a moment. Jason started to eat his lunch, joining David, who had already started. Tim continued to read the magazine. All the boys’ wondering if Zoe was going to disappear back off again.

"What you reading?" Zoe asked.

"Its an interview with Generation2K, Jenny for short. She does Minecraft YouTube videos," Tim replied.

"Does she do it for a living? I was reading an article the other day. Some of these Youtubers are supposed to be millionaires. It must be really cool to be able to make money of doing practically nothing."

"I wouldn't call making video's practically nothing," Jason replied, "A lot of them have to put in a full day’s work every day in order to keep up a daily publishing schedule. It’s not just a case of recording the footage; you have to edit it as well, not to mention the prep work beforehand."

"I imagine it’s like being an actor," David added, "For every major Hollywood film star, there are thousands of people struggling to make it to the big time struggling to make ends meet. I subscribe to several channels where the people have started out doing it as a hobby, and then only later switched over when they realised they were in a position to earn enough to go full time."

"Also, she is our age. In fact it mentions that the interview took place in Weymouth," Tim stated.

"Wow, that’s like an hour and a half away," Zoe exclaimed, "My gran lives there. I tend to spend summer at the beach. I know a few of the local girls; I might have even been sunbathing with her."

"I doubt it," David replied. "Until a few weeks ago she was only known as a boy. Jenny is a male to female transsexual."

"Yeah it would be fairly hard for a boy to get away with a bikini, especially ones as skimpy as my friends and I try to wear, when our mothers don't catch us. Is it even possible for a boy to pass himself off as a girl? Still, it would be cool to earn enough money to pay for university. A girl can never have enough pocket money to go shopping with."

"I've seen you out shopping, I think you could single handedly kick start the economy if someone was foolish enough to give you a blank cheque," Tim Joked.

"Do you really need to ask if a boy can look like a girl?" Jason asked, "Susan and I had you fooled for over ten minutes before you twigged who I was during Comic Relief.

"Okay, I admit, you are a good actor when you want to be," Zoe replied, "Does the article give a physical description? Does this girly-boy look like a girl?"

"It doesn't say," David stated, "Although it does mention that she is going to stop presenting as a boy at the end of this term, and then when she switches schools, she will be going as a girl. She is going full stealth and none of the other students will know her identity. She has shortlisted several state and private schools just over the county border from where she lives that are far enough away as too not run into existing acquaintances."

"If is she's based in Dorset, then that could mean she is looking at schools in Devon, Somerset, or here in Wiltshire. We could end up going to school with her," Jason declared. "I personally wouldn't have a problem with that, I don't know if any of you would."

"Well it wouldn't really matter to you boys," Zoe stated, "You wouldn't be sharing toilet or changing facilities with her."

"Neither would you," Tim suggested, "She would have to be excluded from P.E. or be given a private changing room. I don't see how the toilets are an issue; you don't stand and pee in public like we do."

"That is something the article actually mentions," David explained, "If she can raise the funds she is actually considering boarding school where the students can get changed in their own private rooms."

"Well that settles that question," Jason responded, "My dad would never send me to a boarding school on principle, even if he could afford it. So it’s unlikely I'll be in the same school as her."

"Same here," Tim replied. Zoe and David also nodded.

Zoe, deciding she had spent enough time with the boys, and spotting some of her friends coming out of the building, said her farewells and left the boys to their own devices. Tim finished reading the article the other two had already finished. Once all three had finished eating they put the magazine away and headed over to where a group of students had gathered with a ball for a kick about.

“Regarding our potential budget shortfall,” Mrs Rogers, the headmistress of St. Mary's Academy for Girls, addressed the nine other board members, a few of which were in the room and the remainder attending remotely via teleconference, “the next item on the agenda may be relevant as a potential source of income.”

“Equality and diversity policy,” Mr Yates queried, “You aren't thinking of allowing boys to join are you? One of our selling points is that we are a single sex organisation.”

“Not boys in general,” Mrs Rogers answered, “I too want this school to remain a single gender environment, as I believe the students work better without the opposite gender being present as a distraction. What I would like us to consider is allowing male to female transgendered students. People who are female mentally and emotionally, whose bodies do not match their view or societies view, of them.”

“You are saying that you are happy for boys to attend as long as they dress up and pretend to be girls?” Mr Yates asked. “I'm not sure I would be comfortable knowing there are males attending, even if they are going around in bras and skirts. Would the other students, and more importantly, their parents, know of this? I can think of several families who would not like this idea.”

“Do we actually specify anywhere that students have to be female?” Mr Bell asked.

“Other than our name including the words 'for Girls', and all our brochures taking about 'your daughter's future',” Mr Yates sarcastically replied.

“Actually, it depends,” Mrs Rogers remarked. “We certainly imply that our students should be female, but we don't technically specify that. As you rightly point out, Mr Yates, we are a girl's school, but 'girl' can be a description of a person’s gender, and I am suggesting that in certain circumstances, a person’s gender could be different from a person’s physical sex.”

“You are playing with words,” Mr Yates accused, “For the common understanding of the word, girl is synonymous with female. You also haven't addressed my concerns over what other students and parents might think of the matter.”

“Looking at our existing policy documents,” Mr Bell said while skimming through the documents in front of him, “we already state that we do not discriminate of the basis of gender, religion or sexual orientation. I think that probably covers it anyway. I never did understand why we say we don't discriminate on gender when we only allow girls to attend.”

“We say it because we have to due to some stupid EU human rights directive,” Mr Yates countered, “Anyway; it applies more to employment law and who we can hire as staff rather than the students.”

“If a transgendered student is attending, and they are presenting themselves as a girl, what difference would it make to other students anyway?” Mr Bell asked. “I personally don't see a big problem with this issue. Even if we do decide to allow transgender students, I can't see that we would likely to have more than one or two at any one time. We are actually more likely to end up with students who are HIV positive, or have other medical problems like hepatitis, which most definitely would have an impact on how we have to handle them.”

“Mr Bell has a good point,” Mrs Rogers stated, “I was going to suggest that we treat it like any other medical issue, and keep it on a need to know basis.”

“That is all very well, but this is a boarding school. I can't see how you plan to keep such a thing secret. This isn't a large school with hundreds of students. Everybody knows everybody else and someone is bound to notice. Are you going to dream up some other medical excuse as to why a particular student isn't allowed to use the same bathrooms and changing rooms? While not officially a sports academy, we are recognised for encouraging all our girls to undertake physical activities of some description.”

“Unlike a state school, there is no need for any of our students to appear naked in front of each other. All boarders are allowed, and in fact somewhat encouraged, to change in the privacy of their own bedrooms, as it makes life a lot easier. The only exception is the swimming pool, and there are plenty of students who are not permitted to go swimming, usually because of grommets in their ears, but there are other medical reasons as well. We currently have one girl who is allergic to chlorine.”

“I can't see how bathrooms could be a problem,” Mrs Leech stated, joining the argument for the first time. “After all, everything is done in the privacy of a cubicle anyway. I don't have an issue with this in principle. Is there a specific reason as to why this is being raised? Have we had enquiries about taking a transgendered student?”

“Yes, the reason I am bringing this up is because we have been approached by a specific individual who would like to attend this school. Having seen photos of this person dressed both as a boy and a girl, I don't think she would have any problems fitting in appearance wise. The person in question certainly sounds and acts like a girl in the various YouTube videos I have seen,” Mrs Rogers declared.

“It’s not Generation2K is it, by any chance?” Mrs Leech asked.

Several board members immediately enquired as to who this person was. Mrs Leech carried on to explain that the person in question had become somewhat of an online celebrity over the past few months after they publically came out as transgendered.

“I must admit,” Mrs Leech declared, “that I watched her playing the new tycoon game for a couple of hours without realising. My son wants me to buy him the game for his birthday, and to try to convince me to do so we tuned into a live stream of the game being played. I naturally assumed it was a girl playing from the voice and small face cam in the bottom of the screen. As we were watching it full screen, I couldn't see the live chat comments, and it wasn't until someone asked in the comments about her future that she mentioned that she was trying to get into a girl's school. I didn't think this unusual until she started talking about if she would be accepted. It was then that my son explained that she was actually a boy.”

“Yes it is her,” Mrs Rogers confirmed.

“In that case the privacy issue is slightly mute,” Mr Bell reasoned. “I wasn't aware that she had started to show her face online. I suspect she could be recognised easily by voice alone, but now there is a good chance that she would be recognised if she attended here. I know my own daughters watch her regularly, and although my oldest left here at the end of last term, my youngest is still here and I know several of her friends also watch these videos. If she attended it wouldn't be a secret like we were discussing earlier.”

“Actually, she would like to attend anonymously,” Mrs Rogers stated. “I've been watching some of her videos and have seen the same stream as Mrs Leech. I also have photos of how she looks, and I can say it would be very difficult to recognise her from the small webcam she runs in the bottom of the screen.”

“The electric blue wig and large sunglasses do a good job of hiding most of her features,” Mrs Leech agreed. “I don't think I could pick her out of a line up. Also, she seemed to be using a cheap microphone, which may have been distorting her voice to not be recognisable.”

“That and the software she runs to change the pitch of her voice on the fly while recording,” Mrs Rogers added, “Her voice is actually higher pitch in real life. When she first started, she didn't want to sound so childlike only, so lowered the pitch of her voice to sound older. She has turned the effect down, but never removed the software.”

“Wow, I didn't realise that,” Mrs Leech replied, “Her voice must be fairly high for a boy then? I assume she must be on hormones, or don't they prescribe them to children?”

Mrs Rogers shook her head, “As far as I know, she isn't on hormones. However, I do believe she is on medication to prevent male puberty. Her doctors are taking a very cautious approach and don't want to do anything irreversible. She has to live as a girl for a year before they will even think about taking the next step, and she can't have anything done surgically until she is eighteen. From what I have read this seems to be standard practice.”

“I think I've heard of it before. The real life test? How long has she been living as a girl?” Mr Bell enquired.

“She has not yet started,” the headmistress replied. “She is attending her current school as a boy, and fears for her safety if she was to try attending as a girl. She tells me she has already been subjected to bullying for her supposed sexuality and is worried that it would become far worse if people perceived her as a transsexual rather than a gay boy. Currently she can only live as a girl inside her own home, or when she is well away from where she lives, which isn't very much during term time.”

“It’s a pity this meeting wasn't earlier in the week,” Mr Jennings, one of the senior science teachers and representative of the combined union representative of the staff members to the board, stated. “It would have been useful to invite her to one of the open days to see how she reacted to the other students. It would be easier to judge this person in person.”

Mrs Rogers laughed, much to the surprise of the other members.

“You are making the assumption that this person wasn't invited,” Mr Bell intuitively stated, turning to Mrs Rogers he added. “I'm guessing by your amusement that this person did in fact pay us a visit this week?”

The board meeting was happening on the Thursday evening of the half term holiday before the summer break marking the start of the new academic year. While the school maintained a similar holiday structure to the state schools, with a week’s break in the middle of term, unlike other schools, it didn't shut down.

Having a number of foreign students, and indeed students from around the UK, not all of the students opted to make the potentially long journeys home for the week. About a quarter of the students remained on campus year round, only going home during the summer. Even some of the students who lived nearby and chose to go home, had come back to take advantage of the facilities and day trips to local tourist attractions that had been arranged.

The school also opened its doors for tours for potential future attendees and their parents.

“You know we allow existing students to invite guests to stay. Close friends, sisters, cousins, who may be able to attend,” Mrs Rogers stated.

“Yes, my youngest came here several times to stay with her sister before she came to school here,” Mr Bell responded.

“We've gained several students that way, having been invited to stay they like the place so much that they pester their parents to let them come here. Unfortunately some parents simply can't afford it, but we have managed to arrange finance and sponsorship deals in the past,” Mrs Leech added.

“So this boy was here?” Mr Yates gruffly stated. “I assume it must have been earlier in the week, as I haven't seen or heard anything while I have been around here yesterday and today.”

“That I think is probably the point,” Mrs Leech stated, the annoyance with her colleague evident in her voice. “If she was able to blend in unnoticed, then there won't be an issue with her attendance.”

“She is currently a guest of one of our existing students, Wendy Spencer,” Mrs Rogers replied.

“Emily and Susan, they came to watch my demonstration of making lightening,” Mr Jennings recounted. Turning to Mr Yates he added, “You've met them. They were the three girls who were manning the tea stand at the concert last night. You spent a good five minutes moaning at them because they had run out of earl grey.”

“You mean they weren't students. They were all in uniform.” Mr Yates declared.

“We were short staffed, and they volunteered,” Mrs Rogers stated. “The girls originally going to do the job had to go home at short notice due to a family emergency. We thought it best that they wear our uniform while working for the school.”

“I thought something was odd about that blonde in the back. Obviously not his real hair colour as the dark roots were showing through and something seemed off about that pony tail, almost as if it was glued on, as the rest of the hair looked too short in comparison. I remember wondering if it was really a wig; tall, lanky, and not much of a figure. No wonder if it was a boy in a training bra.”

“Can we exclude that comment from the minutes,” Mr Jennings enquired, “I know the students get the opportunity to read them and I know Wendy would be very upset if she knew she had been so badly insulted. She is very sensitive about her height. I've had to talk to several of the girls about their teasing. She tried to do a nice thing by donating her hair to charity, and then she gets in a big argument with her mother due to ending up looking so masculine. She wasn't even allowed to go home this week as her mother was so embarrassed.”

“The less I have to deal with that woman the better,” Mrs Rodgers shuddered, “I'm glad it’s her father that pays the bills. It’s no wonder he divorced her. Wendy's hair isn't quite long enough for extensions, but her mother insisted that she have some fitted anyway. As to the minutes, this whole section will get recorded as a single sentence simply stating we reviewed the policy."

"I still don't see why this is going to be worth the hassle," Mr Yates declared. "I don't see how the fees for a single student could warrant the extra trouble and risk we would have to go through."

"I get the feeling there is more on offer here than simple school fees. Generation2K, Jenny to her fans, is estimated to be worth half a million. Not only is she a successful Youtuber and Streamer with one of the fastest growing channels in the internet, she is also co-author to a hotly anticipated video game that has already sold ten-thousand pre-orders and reached its initial target on kickstarter in only twelve hours. She is predicted to become one of the youngest self made millionaires in the country, if not the world." Mr Bell surmised.

"Correct," the headmistress responded, "The development of Rampaging Squirrels was mostly paid for by the kickstarter. The developers, including our potential student, coded it in their free time. Most of the costs were in licensing for sound and artwork, as well as some distribution and advertising costs. It has already covered its costs, it’s pure profit going forward, assuming it doesn't bomb, which seems unlikely with the amount of interest. If it is a success, then they plan to carry on adding more levels and content. We get 2% of the sales revenue."

Mr Yates quickly looked the game up on his phone, "They are selling it for £5, discounted to £3 for those with early access codes. 2% of that would be a grand at the higher price, about a tenth of the standard term fee."

"That isn't the main part of the deal," Mrs Rogers stated, "Just the bit that may be the easiest to quantify. They are actually aiming to sell ten times that and all indications suggest that they can achieve it. However, it is not unheard of indie games, when successful, to pass the one million copies mark. Both 'Don't starve' and 'Fez' have passed that amount, and Minecraft itself is now past 20 million copies.

"The bulk of the offer is to receive 50% of all earnings Generation2K makes from YouTube and Twitch.tv after her school fees have been deducted, while she is at school here. For reference she first started uploading videos a year ago. In the space of the last six months, her channel has been growing exponentially. In that time she has earned enough to pay for this terms fee, and is currently working towards having enough to pay for next term. Now the bulk of her money was built up outside of term time when she had time to record a vast amount of content. She won't be releasing as much content while here, and we are going to have to help her by allowing her time to record, without the other students finding out.

"Worst case scenario, she doesn't fit in and leaves before the end of term. We get one term’s fees from her and possibly a grand or two extra to offset some potential negative publicity. Best case scenario? Well the is no upper limits, but if the game does become a success and sells over a million copies, we could be receiving up to one hundred grand from that alone. If Mr Bell's information is correct about her earning potential then we may get as much as half a million out of the deal. It’s a big risk, but also a big pay off."

Silence filled the room as the gravity of the proposal sank in.

"You do realise this is bribery," Mr Yates stated, "We would basically be making this kid un-expellable. Are you saying a child is not going to be tempted to get its own way by threatening to pull our purse strings? We already have students who behave that way due to parents who are sponsors of the school."

"If you are referring to my daughter," A strong Russian accent came through the speaker phone, "Then you needn't worry about her any more. She has cried wolf too many times, and I'm no longer going to let her get away with things."

"That is good to hear, Mr Gurevich," Mrs Rogers responded, "As for our new student; she won't be able to exercise any power without revealing her identity, something she isn't willing to do. Also, I can easily delegate any disciplinary matters to staff not aware of her financial situation."

"I suggest we have the contract examined before deciding on if to enter into it," Mrs Leech stated, "However, before we decide on that, I think we should decide if we should allow transgender students in general. I motion we accept transgender individuals presenting as female."

"I agree," Mr Jennings stated.

"So do I," Mr Gurevich added, causing surprise around the table.

Only Mr Yates and one other board member decided to oppose the motion, giving it a majority acceptance. The matter of the contract was put on hold while it was further investigated, and the meeting moved on to the next discussion point.