The New Kid Pt 2

Chapter 4

Tricia modeled her new clothes for her parents and Darryl. Darryl didn't say a lot but was very impressed. He had thought that Tricia was pretty before. Now there was absolutely no doubt of her gender or the beauty that she would have as an adult. He was pleased that he had acted quickly. Not only was she a fox, she was one of the most beautiful inside as well.

Sunday morning came and found both families in church, and interestingly, the same one. Tricia took the opportunity to sit next to Darryl, which pleased him to no end.

Afterward, the colonel invited the Chathams to join his family at the officer's club.

"I'd like to get to know my new pilot, " he told the Major. Not to mention, I'm curious about this young lady that has my son smitten, he thought.

When they sat down, he got a good look at Tricia. He knew that she was young, but then, he had known that. She was small and had light hair, a strawberry blonde. She was quite pretty, and he could see why Darryl was drawn to her. He also knew that she was like his own daughter. He wasn't pleased that his firstborn turned out to be a trans-girl, but he chose not to fight it.

When she started taking flack at school, he backed her with the principal. The head of the school fought it half-heartedly as he didn't figure that he should go too far against the base CO.

That had changed the colonel's view. Not entirely, but enough to where he supported Margot. He still didn't like it, but he was willing to back her however he could.

Looking at Tricia, he saw that she had a lot of developing to do, but she had just come out publicly. Thankfully, it was before her voice even broke. She might be able to transition without some of the problems Margot had.

All through dinner, Tricia was polite and very well mannered, and the colonel learned just how brilliant she was. When asked how she had liked Lewis-McChord, she said she was often bored.

“Why?” asked the colonel.

Tricia blushed. “School. It was so easy.”

“Easy? You’re two years ahead for your age, aren't you?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He looked at her, almost stupefied. “You’re not kidding, are you?”

“No, Sir.”

He looked at Shelly and asked, “How far could she have gone?”

“She could have been a senior. She does a lot of reading. They wanted to put her into ninth grade, and that only because she needs the credits to graduate. We didn’t want her to go to the ninth grade, though. We figured she’d be picked on, a fifth-grader as a high school freshman. A GED was possible, but it doesn’t look as good as a diploma.”

“I was picked on anyway,” Tricia said. “People didn’t like a fifth-grader in seventh grade.”

The colonel didn’t know what to say. He’d never met anyone so advanced for their years. Liz Johnson, Darryl’s mother, finally asked, “Is that why you read so much?”

“Partly. Mom was a science teacher, and she taught me a lot.”

“What do you want to do with your life?”

Tricia glanced at Darryl, hoping none of this would intimidate him, but science was her passion. That and music. “Biology is very interesting, but I think I like geology much more. It’s exciting! When we were in Washington, I loved reading about the volcanoes there. There are so many in just one state alone! I also love music. I taught a couple of my friends how to play some basic flute.”

“So would you do both? Geology and music?”

“Maybe. If I became a geologist, I could teach music on the side.”

“So you take after your mother? You like to teach.”

“Oh, yes!” she enthused. “Passing on what I know is fun!”

Darryl had always admired Margot, but this far surpassed what she was capable of, although he knew she would be thrilled to meet Tricia. Wow! Thought Darryl as he listened to the conversation. I’m glad I got first dibs here. I sure don’t want anyone else getting her! The more he heard, the more he was impressed. Beautiful and a genius!

As much as she had been thrilled at the prospect of being listed as trans, she was nervous entering the office with her mom. She wanted to be as girly as she could be, but she figured it was a bit early. Her mom said that since the kids all thought of her as a girl anyway, there was no problem there, but it might be a surprise for the teachers.

Chuck Grayson was the principal of the high school, and he listened to Shelly as she laid out the facts. Finally, he said, “A genius and a trans-girl. I know this is something that has to be done for her well-being, but you realize this is going to be hard for us. We can do it, but if Tricia is discovered, there could be problems. Our kids are generally decent, but there’s only so much they’re likely to take. I want to be cautious here.”

He addressed Tricia directly now. “Tell me. What did you do about restrooms Friday?”

“I used the staff one,” she said, looking ashamed. “I don’t like boy’s restrooms, and while most of the girls at my old school just treated me like I didn’t exist, there were some that were mean to me. They thought I was trying to be a girl like them.” She giggled. “I was, but they didn’t know that.”

“Excellent,” said Mister Grayson. “Not that you were treated that way, but we can use this to our advantage if you agree to it.” He paused as he thought. “For your own sake, I believe you need the social interaction of school; otherwise, I would suggest that you simply test your way out of as many classes as possible.”

“I wouldn’t want to do that!” she exclaimed.

“Your mother said you were bored in your old school. Don’t you think you will be here?”

Of course, I would, she thought to herself. But I don't want to advance past Darryl and be in a different grade, or worse yet, be out of school!

“That’s not the point,” she said. “As you just said, I need the social interaction.”

He smiled, realizing she must have a crush on someone, but he didn’t pursue it. He’d find out sooner or later.

He glanced at the clock. “Okay. It’s almost time for your first class to start. Go ahead and head there, and I’ll inform Mister Thomas what’s going on. He’s a nice guy. He’s dealt with this in his class before, and he knows not to say anything that will make it harder for you. Keep using the staff restroom, and if any of the kids say anything, just tell them I said you could. If they want to know why you can let them know that people were mean to you about your age at our old school. They should realize that you’re not developed like the other girls are getting to be, so hopefully, they’ll leave it alone after that.”

She thought about it. It would be somewhat embarrassing leaving that impression, but at the same time, it was sensible. “Thank you, Mister Grayson,” she said as she headed out of his office.

She got to class a bit early and found Darryl waiting for her outside the band room. “How did it go?”

Before she could answer, they heard the intercom sound. “Mister Thomas to the office, please. Mister Thomas to the office.”

Suddenly her face went white as Mister Thomas exited the room and hurried to the office. He had to start class soon, and he wasn’t thrilled.

“You okay?” Darryl asked.

“He’s going to find out about me.”

Darryl glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot. “Don’t worry about it. He helped Margot when she came out. It’ll be fine.”

“That’s what Mister Grayson said. Well, he didn’t mention her name, but I suspected that’s who he was talking about.” Darryl nodded. “I’ll use the staff bathrooms. That’s what I did on Friday.”

“Good,” Darryl said. He noticed Mister Thomas coming down the hall. “I was really impressed with what you said about your future yesterday.“ He smiled wide. “You're beautiful and a genius. That’s cool!” Mister Thomas was almost to them, and definitely within earshot. “If anyone gives you trouble, let me know, okay?”

She smiled as Darryl went into the band room. She started to follow, but the band director said, “Just a moment, Miss Chatham. The principal said you’d prefer to be called Tricia. He also told me about the restroom situation.” He lowered his voice a bit. “You’ve got a good friend in Darryl. I’ve known him for a while, as I teach band at the junior high. Your mom told me that he knows. She also told me how he’s expressed interest in you.” His eyes took on a twinkle, and he spoke sotto voce. “Don’t lose him.”

Suddenly, he was speaking so the class could hear him. “Let’s get into class, Miss Chatham.

Chapter 5

School that day went by without a hitch. Tricia and Darryl had four of their six classes together, and every chance he could get, Darryl walked with her to wherever she needed to go. On the way home from school, a sophomore decided to pick on the two.

"Kinda the long way around going this way, huh Johnson?"

"Funny, Chet. I don't remember asking for your opinion."

"Can't get a girl your own age? Have to go for the babies?"

Darryl turned to Tricia and said, "Can you hang on for a moment?" He handed her his backpack.

"It's not necessary, Darryl."

He stopped. "I think it is. I told you I'd protect you."

"Thanks, but let him have his fun. If he can't come up with anything better than calling me a baby, that's his problem."

Chet's face got red as he heard it. He stormed up to the two and got right into Darryl's face. "She's got a pretty face, but no figure. Must be a boy." He started to laugh at his own joke, but suddenly found himself lying on the ground, holding his jaw.

Darryl said to Tricia, "I thought you said it wasn't necessary."

"Well, that was before he messed with your reputation. If I was a boy, you wouldn't be walking me home."

"So, you can protect me, but I can't protect you?"

"Uh, guys?"

Darryl looked down. "Shut up, Chet."

"Well, I didn't think calling me a baby was that bad."

"You're not a baby!"

"Lots of girls are called ‘baby’ by guys!"

"That's not how he meant it!"

"Uh, guys!"

"Darryl told you to shut up, Chet!"

She turned back to Darryl. "That's how I chose to take it!"

Darryl was about to say something else, but Chet had gotten shakily to his feet. "Sorry, guys, " he muttered as he scurried away.

They watched as he hurried to his house, where his mom was apparently waiting on the steps. "I saw what happened Chester. Don't you dare try to make up some sob story! Just wait till your father gets home!" Then she reached up and grabbed his ear, and pulled him into the house.

The two stood staring at the closed door until Tricia asked. "Did we just go through a time warp? I swear June Cleaver was just here.”

“More like Mrs. Haskell.” They both started to laugh, as both knew the references. When their laughter died down, Tricia held up the backpack. "I might have torn the straps on your backpack."

He took it and looked at them. "You hit him hard."

"I hope I didn't break his jaw."

"If you did, that's a good thing. Maybe the hospital will wire it shut, and nobody will have to listen to him for a while."

"But that's considered assault."

"He's not gonna tell anybody he got laid out by a girl."

She stared at him for a while, then giggled. "Sure wouldn't do his reputation any good, would it?"

He grinned and took her arm as they started walking again. "Maybe I should ask for your protection instead of offering mine to you."

"Naw," she said. "I don't have a book bag, and it looks like I'll need to sew up your backpack."

They arrived at Tricia's house without any other incidents. Before he left, she asked. "Do you really live the other direction?"

"Yeah."

"So, why are you walking me home?"

"You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"Okay, " he told her. "Like I told your parents, I want to make a good impression on you."

"Uh, huh. You said you wanted first dibs."

"They told you that?"

"Yep. And you know what?"

"Huh?"

"You got 'em." She stood on her tiptoes, kissed his cheek, and hurried into the house.

It was a couple of minutes until he could move from the spot. He was confused but soon raised his arm in victory. "Yes!!!" Then he turned and headed for home, running in joy.

Chapter 6

At the dinner table that night, Tricia told her parents what happened. Mike was impressed and started to compliment her when her mother exploded. "Michael Allen!"

He jerked as if he'd been slapped. Shelly turned to her daughter. "What were you thinking, Patricia Marie Chatham?"

Tricia was sitting up straight, and her eyes were wide. "I didn't like him running down Darryl."

"I understand that, but don't you think keeping a lower profile might be the better thing to do?"

"I suppose so."

"Now, young lady, I have one thing to say to you. Well, two things."

Tricia was not looking forward to this. Here it comes, she thought.

"Number one. Don't you ever do something like that again! And number two, I wish I'd been there to see it." Shelly started to giggle. "The look on his face must have been priceless."

Mike started laughing, and slowly Tricia realized she wasn't in trouble. As she began to giggle, she said, "It was."

The next day at school, Chet's mouth was, in fact, wired shut. The left side of his face was a vivid purple, and several kids were teasing him. Many had heard what happened, and the story had spread.

Mister Grayson met Tricia as she entered the school. "A word, Miss Chatham."

Darryl started to accompany her, but Grayson held up his hand. "I need to speak to Miss Chatham."

"I was there, Sir."

He realized that for appearance's sake, it might be better if Darryl did accompany them. "Alright, Darryl. Come on."

They got into the principal's office, and he sat down, as did the kids. "Tricia, does Darryl know about the restroom problem?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Everything?"

"Darryl knows that I'm trans."

"Alright. You do realize that this messes up our story for why you don't use the girl's bathroom, right? Chet isn't well-liked around here. You're now a hero. No one will pick on you in the restrooms."

She sighed as she realized the implications. "Oh, no."

Darryl asked, "As you said, Sir. Tricia is a hero. Do you think people will pick on her if they know?"

"They got used to Margot being trans,” Mister Grayson said. "We all did, but it's different for Tricia, considering her age."

Mister Grayson sent Darryl to class and called Tricia’s mom. Tricia was afraid this wasn’t going to be a good day.

There was a lot of ribbing, but most of it seemed to be at Chet's expense, more than anything. It seemed people were happy that the new girl was able to take out the big bully. With the help of some textbooks, that is.

Shelly and Mike talked to Mister Grayson that evening. It was decided that Tricia needed this time to become accustomed to being herself rather than Pat, without interference from kids knowing she was trans.

The story was maintained, but the incident on Monday was described as being because she panicked, which was true, after a fashion.

January had started with a bang, but breaking Chet’s jaw did act to minimize the tormenting she had to endure. No one wanted to suffer the same fate.

In February, was the Fur Rendezvous, or Fur Rondy as it was called, and the band made a day of it, marching in the parade, and visiting the exhibits. Unfortunately, it was so cold that the instruments’ valves wouldn’t work, so the band could do nothing more than march.

There was some time for the kids to wander on their own through the exhibits. Tricia and Darryl, along with Trish and Marcus, her boyfriend, made their way to see the dog sled races. Tricia had never seen anything like it in person and found the huskies and malamutes to be beautiful dogs.

On their way back, they stopped to see some ice sculptures and watched a man using a chainsaw to carve. He was incredibly gifted.

Next to the carving was a blanket toss demonstration. Some of the kids were tossed a little bit, including Tricia and Darryl. None, however, went as high as people who were used to it.

Right before Spring break, was the cabaret. It was a great time watching kids as they demonstrated their talents, and the band played better than Tricia had heard it before. She was now playing at the top of second chair, and Mister Thomas knew that if she challenged again, she would be playing first.

Chapter 7

May third was Tricia’s birthday. She turned fourteen and had a wonderful time with her parents, Darryl, Trish, and Margot. Marcus wasn’t there as he and Trish had broken up.

Margot and Tricia had met a few months ago, and despite their age difference, had become fast friends. Margot secretly hoped that Darryl could hold onto her, as she didn’t want to have the friendship tainted with bad feelings between her brother and ex-girlfriend.

Darryl had obtained special permission from Mike to take Tricia to Fairbanks on a date, as long as an adult chaperoned it. Margot had turned eighteen in April, so she was able to go along a chaperone. Darryl agreed to pay for gas, and Margot arranged for Brad, her boyfriend, to take them in his car. Brad would foot the bill for him and Margot.

It was a beautiful day in May, and the temperature was in the high in the sixties, and when Darryl knocked on the door, Tricia was ready. “Darryl’s here!” She called to her mom. “I’ll see ya later!”

“You behave yourself! And no…!” The door was already closed.

Brad and Margot were waiting, and they hurried out to the car and got into the backseat. Margot smiled as she turned to look at them. The backseat was made for three, and Darryl sat on the left, but Tricia didn’t sit on the right. She very deliberately moved to the center and put on the seat belt. Then she grinned at Margot.

“No funny business back there, okay?”

“Oh come on, Sis,” Darryl said as he put his arm around his girlfriend.

“Don’t worry,” Brad said as he pulled away from the curb. “The car’ll tell me if they take off their seat belts.” He picked up a coke can from the drink holder and took a sip.

“There’s a lot they can do with their seat belts on,” Margot said as she turned forward again.

“Like what?” Tricia asked brightly.

Brad sprayed coke all over the windshield as he tried to keep from laughing. He quickly pulled to the curb again and began searching for something to clean the sugary mess up.

Margot turned back to see if Tricia was really so naive. She was sitting up straight, a completely innocent look on her face.

Brad did his best to clean his windshield off, then turned around. “That was good,” he said, still laughing. “Perfect timing.”

The traffic into Fairbanks was light, and they made good time. They caught a matinee at the theater. Originally, they were going to watch a reshowing of Star Wars: A New Hope, but the line was immense because of it being "May the Fourth.” Margot picked out a chick flick instead, but it worked great for Darryl as Tricia snuggled against him, and he was able to hold her tight in the emotional scenes.

They went to a burger joint, and Margot and Tricia talked about the tear-jerker ending they had just watched. Once they finished their food, they started heading to Pioneer Park. Partway there, Margot’s phone rang. She answered it, listened for a moment, and said, “Oh no! I guess we’ll have to cut things short then.”

She hung up and put her hand on top of Brad’s as he pulled off the road into a parking lot. She gave a significant squeeze, then sent a text on her phone. A moment later, Brad picked his up. He read what was there and pulled back onto the road.

Hurry back to the base, but don’t seem like you’re hurrying he had read.

What the hell?

Chapter 8

Brad drove normally, and Margot tried to keep up a light banter, but it was apparent to Darryl and Tricia that something was wrong.

“So, what do you think of Fairbanks?” Margot asked Tricia.

“It hasn’t changed since the last time you asked, really,” was Tricia’s answer. “What’s wrong, Margot?”

“Whaddya mean?” Margot was really trying to sound happy, but it just wasn’t working.

“This is the third time you’ve asked me that today, and this time you sound scared. Plus, you said, ‘Oh no’ on the phone, then texted something to Brad that you didn’t want one of us to see.”

Margot sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy, and she turned around to face her friend. “There’s been an accident, Tricia. Your mom is in the hospital. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

“Who called?”

“My dad. He is at the hospital along with yours.”

“Okay… Wait a minute! Where’s Amber?”

Margot blanched. “I don’t know, Tricia. Daddy didn’t say.”

Tricia was frightened now. “Hurry, Brad.”

“I am,” he answered, and indeed, their speed had picked up considerably, as soon as he heard what was going on.

“Brad, please. Just keep in mind that getting a ticket won’t help us get there faster.”

A moment later, a police car headed the other direction spun around and started pursuing its lights flashing. Rather than slowing down, Brad dialed a number on his phone.

They could all hear the sound of the phone ringing through the car’s speakers, and a moment later, someone answered. “Brad, what the hell are you doing? You know I’m gonna have to write you a ticket. Would you stop!?”

“I thought it was you. Sorry, Dusty. Darryl’s girlfriend’s mom was in an accident, and she’s in the hospital. We don’t know the status. Could we get an escort?”

“Shit! Yeah. Hang on.”

Suddenly, the police car accelerated around them. Brad pushed his foot down, and they started speeding up as well.

They could hear the police officer speaking on his radio, making sure that the way was clear, and Margot turned to look at Tricia, who frankly, was wondering what was happening. “The cop is Brad’s brother. We’ll get there as quick as we can, now.”

Tricia glanced at the speedometer and was astonished to see that they were moving around ninety miles an hour. The frost heaves in the road made it a rough ride, but she wished they could go faster.

It was about fifteen minutes later that they pulled up at the emergency room entrance. Tricia had the door opened even before Brad came to a stop. She hurried into the hospital and was quickly being held by Darryl’s dad.

“What’s going on, Colonel?” she asked, worried.

“Your mom was driving home from North Pole, and another car ran a red light.”

The colonel glanced up and saw Tricia’s dad standing across the room. He had just come from Shelly’s room, and his eyes were red-rimmed. He shook his head.

He hurried across the waiting room and gave his daughter a huge hug.

“Is she alright, Daddy? Can I see her?”

“She didn’t make it, Honey,” her dad responded.

“I want to see her!” Tricia cried.

“She’s dead, Sweetheart.”

“I don’t care! I wanna see Mama!”

Mike glanced over where the CO and his family waited. Darryl and Margot both were crying, and the colonel was looking away as he wiped his face.

A nurse came out of the area where his wife was and told him it was alright to take his daughter back to see her mom.

They made their way back, and all the sounds and smells of the hospital terrified Tricia. She knew what most of the stuff was and what it did, and that made it worse.

Quietly, they entered the room where her mom lay. The last of the nurses was taking the equipment away, and Tricia approached the bedside. Shelly’s face was battered, and there was a bandage covering the right side. It was very bloody.

Tricia gently took her mom’s lifeless hand, knelt down on the floor, and cried.

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Author’s note: I know this seems like a horrible place to end this story, and it would be if I said the story was over. However, this story will be continued under the name, “The Arctic Fox.” The story is far from over, for one that started out as a one-shot.