Richie's Story
Copyright 2021 by Heather Rose Brown

Have you ever wondered what was going through Richie's head when when she met Tommy in "For Want of a Comma"? Well, now you can! While this peek into Richie's experience covers only a few chapters from FWoaC, I thought people might find it interesting seeing things from a different perspective. Enjoy! :)

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I stood a little closer to one of the hedges near the school's front entrance, grateful for the way they helped block the late September breeze that kept trying to blow up my skirt. I leaned against the sun-warmed bricks behind me, and could almost hear my abuela scolding me for slouching like a boy.

I was thinking about the argument I'd had with her about the 'proper' way I should dress and act, when a car pulled up to the student drop-off area. A cool wind swirled around my legs when I took a couple of steps away from the building. I wondered if maybe I should have gone with the tights my abuela had gotten for me. They were only a little girlier than my socks, but might have kept my legs warmer.

A few minutes later, a boy climbed out of the car. At least, it was someone who looked like a boy, but with a body language that practically screamed girl. I thought back to the transgender inclusiveness presentation Dr Korvin had given at the start of the school year. One of the genders she had talked about popped into my head.

Transgirl!

After hearing the way she yelped when someone in the car startled her, and seeing how she crouched down to look into the car, instead of bending at the waist, told me my guess was probably right. My heart beat a little faster when she started walking towards me. I barely noticed the cold when the wind gusted.

The shy way she looked at the ground as she walked up to the front entrance made me want to leap to her rescue. The way she tried to push open a sliding door made me want to laugh. I ignored the urge to do both, and said, "Ya gotta tap to get in."

I smiled and asked if she was new, but all I could get out of her was a nod. The way she was shaking like a leaf, I half expected her to blow away when the wind picked up again. Realizing she might be too nervous to talk, I concentrated on being helpful, and asked for her ID card.

I caught the card just before it slipped out of her fingers. "Tracy Thomas?" I asked after reading it. I still couldn't get more than a nod out of her, so I introduced myself, showed her how to use the scanner, then stepped through the open doorway.

When I saw her just standing there outside the doorway, I told her to hurry in, which may not have been the best idea. She plowed into me, which hurt, but probably not as bad as when she smacked the back of her head into the door that had closed behind her.

I held onto her shoulders when I saw how wobbly she was looking. "You okay?" I asked while waiting for her to pull herself back together.

Instead of getting mad at me for blocking her way, Tracy stared at the ground and said, "Sorry for being so clumsy, Richelle."

Seeing her looking so miserable broke my heart. I reached out, tilted her head up, and found myself falling into her sky blue eyes."It's all good," I said as my heart thumped faster, then added, "you can call me Richie, if you'd like."

Hearing her mention needing to get to class made me realize I'd been staring at her. My cheeks warmed as I pulled my hand away. I switched to hall monitor mode to hide my embarrassment, and lead the way to the office.

When I saw the lost look in Tracy's eyes, I was almost tempted to follow her into the office. If I knew of anyone who could cover for me as the front door monitor, I might have done that. Instead, I let her know who to go to for help, offered a warm welcome, then gave her a friendly wink as the door closed.

I'm not sure if my feet touched the ground when I wandered back to my post. All the way there, I found myself wondering how I could get away with seeing her again, without coming across as some sort of stalker.

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The boy who had the next shift for door monitor arrived half a dozen seconds before the homeroom release bell rang. I ran for the office, dodged the hordes piling out of the classrooms, then smiled when I saw Tracy step into the hallway.

"Hey, Tracy!" I shouted, then picked up my pace when she looked my way. I stopped short a few feet away from her, and said, "Whoa," when I saw how cute she looked in her uniform. Not that she hadn't already look cute in a t-shirt and jeans, but it was like the dial had now been turned up to eleven.

"Lookin' proud and true in the red and blue!" I said when my brain cells started firing again. A couple other students chimed in as they went by. I explained their reaction as school spirit when Tracy asked, then tried to find out if there might be any chance of us being in the same class.

As the fates would have it, I wasn't in her class. Fortunately, I did know her teacher, so I said, "If you'd like, I could walk ya to her class, and do intro's." When she went back into shy mode, saying she didn't want to be a bother, I looped my arm through hers as I let her know it wasn't a problem at all.

I smiled as I led the way down the hall, wondering how I got lucky enough to meet someone like Tracy.

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The hallway was nearly empty by the time by the time I'd dropped off the new girl at her class. The first period bell finished ringing as I knocked on the school therapists door.

"Come in!" Dr Korvin called out. The prettiest redhead who I'd never admit to having ever had a crush on stood up as I walked into the office. "It's so good to see you," she said as she held out a hand.

I shook her hand, and definitely didn't crush on her some more, as I said, "It's good to see you too!"

Once we were both seated, she asked, "How'd your weekend go?"

I sighed, then said, "Not too bad."

The therapist smiled as she narrowed her eyes. "Does 'not too bad' include you talking to your grandmother about what we discussed last week?"

"Sorta," I said as I shrugged.

Her brows rose as she asked, "Care to elaborate?"

As much as I didn't want to relive another argument with my abuela, I knew Dr Korvin would eventually drag it out of me, so I said, "Well, I did tell her I liked girls."

The therapist gave me a huge smile as she said, "That's wonderful!" Her smile shrank a little as she said, "At least, I hope it was."

I waggled my hand in the air as I said, "Más o menos."

"Ah," she said as she nodded. "So ... it was wonderful, more or less?"

"Maybe not wonderful, but it was okay. Well ... part of it was okay."

"Which part was okay?" she asked as her forehead wrinkled.

"The good part is, she's totally okay with me liking girls."

"And the bad part?" she asked in a soft voice.

I let out a long, frustrated sigh, "She thinks I act like a boy, 'cause I believe only boys can like girls."

Dr Korvin's sigh sounded almost as frustrated as mine. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know how hard it can be dealing with someone who has difficulty separating gender and orientation."

I frowned and asked, "How ya know what it's like?"

She was quiet for a few seconds, then said, "When I told my father about my fiancé, he went into a guilt trip about turning me into a boy, by trying to raise me on his own."

Once I scooped my heart off the floor, and shoved it back into my chest, I said, "I didn't know ya had a fiancé."

The therapist got a dreamy look in her eyes. "She's the love of my life."

"She?"

When Dr Korvin nodded, I felt a spark of hope when I realized what that meant. The spark fizzled when I remembered what fiancé meant. I hung my head, and tried to ignore the ache in my chest.

"You okay, mija?" she asked as she stroked the back of my head.

Having her call me her daughter wasn't exactly what I'd always dreamed of hearing her say. I could never think of her as a mother. Still ... the warmth and comfort reached me, even through the awkwardness. I lifted my head, put on my best smile, and said, "Not exactly, but I think I will be ... eventually."

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I yanked a few sheets of tissue paper off the half empty roll, blew my nose, then said, "I'm happy for her." Even in the messed up state I was in, I still knew those words were only partly true. The toilet whooshed as I stood, and I tossed a handful of wadded up tissues into the bowl before it finished flushing.

I looked at my reflection after stepping out of the stall, and wondered if maybe I should have held onto the makeup I'd been given for my thirteenth birthday. I waved my hand under a faucet a few times before activating the sensor, then splashed some cool water on my face.

I was drying off with a paper towel when the bathroom door opened. "Hey Chrissy!" I said when I saw her walk in.

My friend smiled back as she said, "Good to see you!" Her smile faded when she got closer to me. "What happened?"

I rolled my paper towel into a tight ball, then tossed it into the wastebasket as I said, "I had an appointment with Dr Korvin this morning, and was talking about what happened over the weekend, and ... well ..."

"And you came out to your grandma?" Chrissy asked as she dumped her backpack on the counter.

I nodded and leaned against the sink.

"Oh no," Chrissy said while resting a hand on my arm. "Did she get all 'phobic on ya?"

"No, nothing like that happened," I said as I shook my head. "She did start harping on me about acting like a boy, though."

My friend sighed as she let her hand drop. "She still don't get the part about ya being a little more rugged than other girls?"

"Not really," I said as I shrugged. "But enough about me. How's things been going with you and Vic?"

"I'll tell you on the way to Mr Mason's class!" she shouted over the ringing of the first period release bell.

I pulled on a fresh smile. "Sounds good," I said as I followed her out of the bathroom.