Link: The Road to Hell Title Page and Description

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Their first day started uneventfully. The trio got their locker assignments, their class schedules, and coordinated when they would have time to hang out and share classes. When Josh saw the first class of the day that his parents had signed him up for was Home Economics instead of the Shop class he'd asked for, his heart sank a little more. The only bright point was that he'd be sharing the class with Tracy... and twenty-seven other girls.

For PE, Josh was barred by his parents from participating in any team sports or directly competitive sports like wrestling. Sports weren't that interesting to him, but he still felt excluded by not being allowed to play them. Instead, Josh was allowed to run track. Not many kids actually did anything in PE though since the coaches weren't allowed to fail anyone for lack of physical ability. So, while Josh ran track, the rest of the boys either played basketball or sat and watched the game. Most of the girls just stood around talking or reading, while only a few of the 'sporty' girls ran track with him, making Josh the only boy running with a group of girls. He also would be changing in the coach's office, alone.

The 'girl problem' continued when Josh got to his next class; choir. Small for his age, and still not feeling the vocal effects of puberty, he was placed with the Altos, which of course were eight girls. His vocal range would have easily permitted him to be placed with the boys singing Tenor, but the school, courtesy of Josh's parents, had advised his teacher that 'she' preferred the company of 'other girls'.

Last before lunch was Social Studies. Here at least he was just a student, but by that time the boys were avoiding him like the plague. Since students had no assigned seats on the first day, all the other boys filled the rows on the right and back, while the girls all filled the left and front. Forced through glares and non-verbal intimidation to not sit near any of the boys, he ended up having to take the only seat remaining... right in the middle of the girls. He was almost happy though when he saw Tracy sitting to his left.

As class began, he was mortified to learn that their seats were now going to be their assigned seats for the rest of the year. Dropping his head to his desk, he looked up again when he felt a tapping on his right shoulder.

"Excuse me." the girl whispered. "You have a pen? Mine ran out of ink!"

Looking over at the girl, Josh's heart skipped several beats as he took in the sight beside him. Smiling at him warmly, her dark curls framing her face flawlessly, he swallowed hard and felt his temperature rise quickly. Finally remembering to breathe, he exhaled and tried to keep from hyperventilating. After what seemed to be a year but was in reality only a few seconds of his body forgetting its autonomic functions, he nodded and dug into his black backpack with the rainbow on the back. Pulling out a spare pen, he handed it to her and regained the use of his tongue. "H... here." he whispered.

Flashing a smile, the girl took the pen and mouthed, "Thanks!" at him coyly.

Turning back toward the teacher, who seemed to be still getting his notes together, Josh was glad of the respite. Looking to his left, he saw Tracy looking at him with her jaw slightly slack and eyes wide open. Slowly, a smile spread across her lips and she turned back to the front of the class just as their teacher began handing out their first worksheets.

When the bell rang several decades later, Josh was slow to leave, stunned by the apparent goddess of beauty who had deigned to acknowledge his presence. Exiting the room, he ran straight into Tracy waiting for him.

"Josh?" she asked in mock concern. "You in there? Helloooo!"

"Huh?" he replied vacantly.

Reaching up, she felt his forehead, then put her fingers on his wrist, and finally looked directly in his eyes as though he were ill. "Hmm. Slightly warm and flushed, rapid heart rate, eyes dilated... Yep. You got it."

Suddenly shaking himself back to awareness, he really looked at her for the first time since leaving the class. "What? Got what?"

Smiling as she sighed and tilted her head, she shook it slowly. "The hots! For Brenda!"

Blushing heavily, he looked at the floor and clutched his school binder to his chest. "So? What difference does that make?"

While the two began to walk toward their lockers to get their lunches, Tracy giggled. "Only all the difference in the world, dummy! Don't you see? This is the solution to all your problems! You just need a girlfriend!"

"Last I checked, you need a girl to have a girlfriend!" he verbally parried her hopeful advice. "Brenda has to be the most beautiful girl in the school. What chance does a weirdo like me have?" Realizing that he'd accidentally insulted Tracy's looks, he back-peddled hastily. "Not that I don't think you're beautiful, mind you! You are, Trace... gorgeous even... but, I mean..." Stuck for a way out of his own trap without lying to his best friend, he sighed in resignation. "Sorry."

Almost laughing hysterically at his feeble attempts to flatter her, Tracy finally controlled herself and put a gentle hand on Josh's shoulder. "It's alright, Josh! I know what you mean! I know I'm not your type, and that's OK, because you aren't mine, either! Not that there's anything wrong with you that is, you're pretty good looking, really... but we've been friends so long you're like my... brother, kinda, and I'm like a sister to you, so it's no big thing!"

Pausing a moment, she stopped walking and for the first time in years seriously looked at him with a critical eye. He was short, barely four-foot eight inches, with a slim build she would almost call 'willowy', his large brown eyes were nothing special, and his mousy brown hair could use a trim, but his face was nice enough looking with no blemishes or freckles.

"Actually Josh, now that I really look at you, you're pretty cute!" she admitted. "I mean, you're no Orlando Bloom, but... yeah... if you weren't you, I think I'd be crushing on you pretty good about now!"

Looking at her quizzically, Josh stammered for a reply. "Um... well... that's kind of... weird!"

"I know!" Tracy giggled as they continued heading for their lockers.

Resuming their walk, Josh did likewise with Tracy, really looking at her objectively. He had always known she was pretty. Her round face, framed by her shoulder-length chocolate brown hair, was fair complexioned, with just the right amount of freckles to be adorable. While she was four inches taller than he was, that was the case for most of the girls in seventh grade. Her clothes were girly, but stylish, and she walked with an air of confidence that just screamed, 'I'm pretty and I know it!'. He hated to admit it, but he realized that he felt the same way about her as she about him; if she were anyone else, he'd have already asked her out.

Seeing David at his locker, the two quickly closed the distance to him. "So, what's with the slowness? Aren't you two hungry?" he quipped at the two friends approaching.

"Can it, Davie!" Tracy admonished. "Josh has had a pretty rough day." Leaning in close, she whispered, "His 'girl' problem sits right next to him in fourth period... and she talked to him! It's Brenda!"

Looking at his friend, David nodded. "Yep... I see it. Glazed eyes, flushed cheeks, inability to speak spontaneously..." He smiled wickedly. "You got it so bad! No accounting for taste, though! Brenda? Ugh! Way too girly!"

"For you, maybe!" Tracy jabbed as she took her lunch from her locker. "But then, you think anyone more feminine than Leonardo DiCaprio is too girly! Including me... and Josh!"

"Please!" Josh begged as he closed his locker, lunch in hand. "No references to me being too girly?" Realizing he'd made reference to his 'problem', veiled though it had been, in front of David made him wince with regret. Oh God! Please don't let him ask what I meant by that!

"Whadda mean by that?" David inevitably asked.

Sighing and looking at Tracy, he shrugged and waved a hand dismissively at her. "Whatever. I can't keep a secret from him, anyway. I stink at it! You might as well tell him!"

While the three walked toward the cafeteria, and continuing while they sat down together, Tracy whispered in her brother's ear what Josh's latest trouble with his parents was. Finally catching him up as they began to eat, David started to chuckle.

"What's so funny, wise-ass!" Josh mumbled defensively.

Finally getting his laughter under control, David shook his head ruefully. "Just thinking that about a million T-girls would kill or die to be in your place right now... and you hate it!" Finally loosing control, his chuckling resumed at the humor of the situation.

Josh ate glumly while his best friend tried not to laugh at his pitiable situation until Tracy nudged Josh. "Brenda at twelve o'clock!" she whispered, making sure to look the other way as she did. "And she was looking at you!"

Josh could feel the heat rising in him as he spotted the girl of his dreams suddenly look away, pretending she hadn't just been looking at him. "I have to talk to her!" he said, mostly to himself. "I mean, she must be interested, right? She smiled at me... and was just looking at me..."

"Trying to talk yourself into it, big shot?" Tracy joked. "Just get up, walk over to her, and say 'Hi!' It's easy! What's the worst she can do?"

"Point and laugh?" he countered. "Scream 'Harassment!' at the top of her lungs? Say nothing and snub me? Pretty much anything other than say, 'I love you, Josh!' is a disaster as far as I can see!"

Finally controlling his funny bone, David caught up on the conversation quickly. "Oh, for crying out loud, Josh! Just talk to her! She's probably more afraid of you than you are of her!"

"That's spiders, not girls, Dave." Josh smirked.

"Spiders, girls... toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe... Ouch!"

Withdrawing her hand from having slapped her brother in the arm, Tracy sighed and turned to her friend. "Josh? Do you trust me?"

"As you command, Miss Trace." he answered wryly.

"Stand up." she ordered him, and watched as he slowly obeyed. "Now walk over to her and say hi. When she says hi back, tell her how beautiful you think she looks today. Now, go!"

Caught in a near trance-like state, Josh simply followed Tracy's instructions to the letter. Approaching Brenda, he saw her look behind herself, as though searching for the person Josh was really looking at. Finally standing in front of her, he cleared his throat and almost whispered, "Hi."

Brenda blushed and looked at the floor a moment before smiling back up at him shyly. "Hi."

Nervously, Josh forced the words out of his mouth just exactly as Tracy had told him. "I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you think she looks today." His eyes suddenly popping out of his head as the girl giggled along with the two girls she was standing with, he tried to correct his compliment. "I mean, how beautiful you look today! Sorry!"

Smiling at him and thinking it was adorable how flustered he'd become, she was happy to see him come back to reality. "Thank you... Josh, right? Fourth period History?" Seeing him nod, she smirked a little before continuing. "...and first period Home Ec?"

Hearing the two girls next to her giggling mercilessly, Josh was overcome with a horrible feeling. Needing to know the truth, he started out with his own. "That was my parents' idea! Grownups! They can be so clueless!"

Not expecting that response, her smile melted. "You mean, you didn't take Home Ec just to meet me? I thought..."

Closing his eyes as he realized their giggling wasn't in mockery, but in giddiness over a perceived romantic gesture on his part, Josh lowered his gaze in defeat. "I'm sorry. I... I guess that's why you talked to me in History. Because you thought I'd done that for you?" Seeing her nod, he sighed in utter humiliation. The only reason she likes me is because my stupid parents think I'm trans! Beautiful! Turning to go, he was surprised when he felt a cool hand on his elbow.

"Wait!" Brenda said quickly, before drawing her hand back. "I... I guess it doesn't really matter that much why you were in Home Ec. I still think you're nice!" Looking up at the clock, she sighed and looked back at him. "I... We have to go, Josh." Pausing a moment, she pulled a pen out of the back pocket of her jeans and took Josh's hand. Writing carefully but clearly, she jotted seven numbers into his palm in her flowery script. "Call me?" she asked sweetly as she traced her fingertips over his, pulling slowly back away from him.

Stunned, Josh nodded and smiled while blushing more than she was. "Um... OK. When?"

Starting to move away with her two friends flanking her, she continued to stare into his eyes. "After school? Four o'clock."

Still grinning like an idiot, Josh watched her backing away from him. "OK! Talk to you later, Brenda!"

The three girls leaned in close to one another and giggled like mad as they walked toward the exit of the cafeteria. Looking down at his hand, Josh read the number quickly, just before he saw a half-eaten slice of greasy pizza being smashed into his open palm.

"Oh! So sorry, fruitcake!" Reggie faux-apologized. "My bad! Here, let me clean that up for you!"

Watching in horror, Josh saw as Reggie roughly slid the pile of cheese and sauce off his hand and quickly smashed a clean napkin in its place, rubbing hard enough to smear the numbers into oblivion.

"There! All clean!" he mocked. "Too bad about her phone number though, fag! Win some, lose some! Heh, heh, heh!"

Narrowing his eyes and putting his hands on his hips, Josh smirked. "You know Reggie, you're a jerk! A first-class Neanderthal! You keep calling me gay, but you know what I really am?"

"What's that, Pansy-boy?"

"A guy smart enough to read the number right away!" he gloated.

Sneering cruelly, Reggie stepped closer to Josh. "Guess I'll just have to pound it out of you then, Limp-wrist!"

"Is there a problem here, Mr. Hughes?" a man's voice boomed from behind the bully.

His sneer melting into a phony smile, Reggie turned to the imposing man. "Hi, Mr. T! No! No problem! Right, Josh?" Working to weasel his way out of the predicament, he tried to put his arm around Josh to look friendly while still being intimidating.

Ducking under Reggie's attempt at veiled coercion, Josh stepped further away from the boy. "As a matter of fact Mr. Tanner, Reggie here was just threatening to pound me for outsmarting him in his attempts to bully me!"

Moving quickly, Tracy came up to vouch for Josh's account of events. "It's true, Mr. Tanner! We all heard him!"

Smiling down at the now far-outnumbered boy, the school's Vice-Principal crooked a finger at him. "I know... I was standing right behind him when he said it. Come along, Reginald. You just earned yourself a three-day suspension for bullying a protected minority!"

Hearing himself called 'a protected minority' caused Josh to visibly wince. Great! The dull duo already got to the Vice-Principal and he's acting as my White Knight! That'll make me real popular! Wanting to stop Mr. Tanner and correct his perceptions, the only reason he didn't was that he'd have to explain the situation, that his parents were insane, in front of half the school. Just thankful of the save for the moment, he suddenly remembered he needed to write Brenda's phone number down before he forgot it.

Quickly running for his table, he remembered he left his pack, with all his pens, in his locker at the start of lunch. Turning to Tracy as the lunchroom started to empty out he asked, "Quick! Got a pen, Trace?"

Thinking fast, all she had was her purse with a few cosmetics. Reaching in, she grabbed a pink lipstick and handed it to her best friend. "Here! Use this!"

Taking the lip color, he grabbed a napkin and quickly scrawled the number down as best as he could remember it. "It'll do." he sighed as he handed the lipstick back to Tracy. "Worst case I'll just try a few variations and get a hold of her that way!" he sighed. "I'm pretty sure it's right, though!"

Hearing the bell to end lunch, the three headed back to their lockers together. On the way, Josh noticed a skinny boy with glasses looking at him with fire in his eyes. Not sure why he'd raised the ire of a member of the geek-squad, he shrugged it off and continued on his way to his locker.

"Jeeze, Josh!" David said as he took his pack out. "You weren't kidding! Protected minority? Are they serious? Since when are straight white males a minority?"

"When their parents tell the school that you're trans-questioning, that's when!" Tracy said in hushed tones. "It's part of the district policy now. They have to treat Josh like he's a minority!"

Slamming his locker shut, David moved in close to Josh. "I don't think I care for that situation!" he grumbled low. "That's supposed to be for people that need protection!"

"You think I like it any better, Dave?" he grumbled back. "I'll be lucky if this doesn't get around the whole school by the end of the day, now! The whole freaking school is gonna think I'm gay or trans!"

"And what's so terrible about that?" his friend argued louder.

Lowering his tone, he moved in closer to David. "Nothing, and you know I believe that! What if Brenda gets wind of it, though? There go my chances of a date! Same with pretty much every girl in school, not counting Trace!"

"Eww!" Tracy huzzed. "Don't be gross, Josh!"

"You know what I..." he shouted in a whisper, stopping when his temper flared. "You know what? Fine! You two wanna be that way? Abandon me? Kick me when I'm facing certain doom? Go ahead! Be just like everyone else! What do I care anymore! My life is effectively over, anyway! Daddy and Mom are gonna make me be a girl no matter what, so what difference does you two being total jerks to me make anyway!" Slamming his locker closed, Josh stormed off to his fifth period Math class alone.

His last two periods, English and Computers, seemed to make him even more certain that his rep was effectively ruined at this school, and High School after that unless his parents decided to move; an event he considered only slightly more likely than the Earth being struck by a comet. At that point, he was rooting for the comet. He could almost understand the words being whispered from student to student as he went through the typing exercises, but not quite enough to make out any details.

When at last the bell rang at two-thirty to end school, Josh made his way solemnly to his locker. There, waiting for him, was the same nerdy looking kid who had given him the evil eye at lunch. Walking up to him since he was blocking Josh's locker, he stopped and put a hand on one hip. "Did I like, crap in your Corn Flakes or something?" he asked snidely. "Just what's your issue with me? Not enough pocket protector in my wardrobe?"

Jason Dexter sneered at the boy in front of him. "Go ahead! Flaunt it! I hate you people! Reggie gives me a swirly this morning and what happens? Nothing! He gets a warning! He so much as threatens to touch you, and there's Mr. Tanner... carting him away! Protected minority? Ha! More like privileged few, if you ask me! Just you watch it, buster! You so much as look at me the wrong way, and I'll see to it your entire digital world becomes a nightmare! Fag!" At that Jason stormed off to go home.

Now the lowest of the low, the target of muscle-headed bullies, his own friends, and even the computer geeks, Josh couldn't take any more and ran to the nearest bathroom. Running into a stall, he sat on the edge of the toilet and began to sob. He didn't know how long he sat there, but eventually a janitor came in, forcing him to stop crying and dry his eyes on toilet paper.

"Somebody in there?" the older man grumbled. "School's closed! You kids are supposed to be gone by now! Get out!"

Unlocking the stall, he inched his way around the angry gray-haired man and ran out the door. Exiting the building, he saw all the busses were gone, and he was five miles from home. With no other option, he pulled out his cell phone and called his mother.

"This is Melanie, go ahead?" she answered.

"Mom?" Josh cried. "I... I missed the bus and I need a ride home!"

"Oh, angel!" she moaned. "You sound like you had a really bad day! Did someone harass you? We made sure the school knew about your situation when we enrolled you! Are you OK, sweetheart?"

Hearing her talking to him like he was a five-year-old girl nearly sent him over the edge again, but he still needed a ride home. Taking a slow breath, he calmed himself before continuing. "Can you come pick me up, Mom?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie! I'm stuck at work! Let me call your father and see if he can pick you up. OK? Hold the line, please." she stated out of habit.

Hearing his mother put him on hold while he stood around waiting, Josh sighed and tried to hold his emotions in check. A few minutes later, the hold music went away and he heard his mother's happy voice.

"Good news, princess! Daddy's on his way to rescue you!"

Almost retching at how disgustingly girly his mother was treating him, Josh swallowed his pride and nodded absently before answering. "Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it."

"Mommy has to go, sweetie. Love you!" she said right before hanging up.

Almost twenty minutes later, Fred came chugging down the street in the VW minibus. Glad that at least none of his schoolmates were around to see him, Josh jumped in the passenger seat as soon as the vehicle squealed to a stop.

"Thanks for coming, Daddy." he sighed as he buckled in. "Can we go?"

"First, I want to know what happened." Fred insisted as he put the parking brake on. "Why did you miss the bus?" Looking more closely at Josh, his eyes widened. "Have you been crying?"

Defensive, Josh furrowed his brow and sat up straight. "Of course not, Daddy! Boys don't cry!"

"You have been crying, sweetheart!" he said as he turned the motor off. "Tell Daddy what happened."

Sighing in frustration, Josh reasoned he wasn't going anywhere until his father was satisfied that he was alright. "It was nothing, Daddy!" he insisted. "Stupid Reggie Hughes tried to bully me and he got suspended. That and I had a little argument with Trace and Dave. I missed the bus 'cuz I had to go to the bathroom after the last bell and I took too long. See? It's nothing!"

Removing his seatbelt, Fred reached for the door handle. "Come on, pump... I mean... sweetheart! We're going into the office! I want a word with your Vice-Principal! He was supposed to ease your transition so you could feel free to proceed at your own pace! Now I find out you got harassed on your first day? This cannot be allowed!"

"Daddy, please!" he begged. "Mr. Tanner suspended Reggie for three days for just threatening me! Isn't that enough? Everyone knows it, too. He got caught doing it right in the middle of the lunchroom... the idiot..."

"Josh!" Fred admonished him. "We do not use epithets that are insulting to people with cognitive disabilities!"

Cowed, Josh continued. "Anyway, he did it in front of everybody, and Mr. Tanner told everybody there that Reggie was suspended for three days for his threat... and... um... why the punishment was so harsh."

Fred's eyes went wide. "He outed you? In front of the whole school?"

Burying his head in his hands as he continued to dig the hole deeper and deeper, Josh shook his head slowly. "No! I mean... not really. All he said was that it was for threats against a protected minority is all! Just let it go! Please Daddy! Just take me home!" Looking at his watch, he could see it was already a quarter after three and he was supposed to be calling Brenda in less than forty-five minutes and it took at least fifteen to get home.

"Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me, OK?" Fred stated calmly. "It's important that you not run from reporting a hate crime just because it's embarrassing! How many women are raped each year that don't report it because they're embarrassed? I need to know that you're going to be a strong woman who won't let men dominate you or make you fear them! I'm supposed to be your role model for what a good man is, and a good man doesn't let his daughter suffer a hate crime without seeing to it that the perpetrator is punished! Do you understand?"

Suddenly inspired, just moments from crying again, Josh looked over at his father. "Daddy, it can't be classed as a hate crime! Sure, the school has their standards for who falls under their rules of being a protected minority, but the law doesn't see it that way unless Reggie knew I was dysphoric! He couldn't have because no one knew until after Mr. Tanner suspended him!" He'd learned all about gender dysphoria and the law in his summer camp during one of the LGBT workshops he'd been signed up for by his parents. As soon as he finished speaking though, he realized what he'd said. Oh my God! I all but just admitted I'm trans to Daddy! Now I'm totally screwed!

Thinking for a moment, then fully processing what his 'daughter' had just admitted, at least to his ears, he smiled at Josh and pulled the door closed. "I'm proud of you, sweetheart!" he said with a tear in his eye. "You really are a wonderful daughter!" Reaching over, he planted a kiss on his forehead and buckled himself in. "Alright. You're being grown-up about this, so I'll trust it to your judgement. I'll take you home."

Josh was never so thankful to hear the chugging of the old Microbus's four cylinders as they began pushing the vehicle down the street.