Masks Chapter 36

Chapter 36

*Before…

Toni passes me some tissues and a bottle of nail polish remover. “Here this worked the best when it happened to my locker.”

She’s not shouting but she’s strongly saying it and she’s doing it in this whole tough proud thing even if she’s this short little Loli-girl.

I nod, I do the same as her and mentally shift my big girl panties in place and take the stuff and start wiping away the hate stuff like it’s nothing, like it means nothing.

I think this is the right thing to do.

*And Now…

I getting the locker cleared off and I’m still sort of with my friends some of the kids that I just sort of know and just kind of just plain like me for me and stuff and there’s a few guys from the team and stuff too and Randy’s there and he looks pissed and he comes over grabbing one of the plastic garbage cans for me to toss the tissues into.

“It’s not true.”

“What’s not true?”

“No one on the team feels like that.”

“Randy…I’m pretty sure that some of the guys aren’t cool with it.”
“No one’s said.”

“They likely wouldn’t.”

“We had a meeting.”

Oh…and it wasn’t one that I was invited to.

“You’re telling me this why? I mean you guys never invited me.”

“It happened the night of the dance, and you were kind of dressed…”

“Oh…well I can sort of see the point of me maybe weirding people out if I was still in costume and you were talking about that…me and stuff.”

“Well we never planned it actually Nick brought it up.”

I look at him.

No, he doesn’t know Nick’s other thing.

“So…what’d he say?”

“His dad’s having a fit about it and stuff.”

“And the other parents?”

“Don’t know but we’ll find out I guess next practice.”

“Randy…?”

He looks at me and he’s really a nice guy he’s not changed a whole lot in attitude and stuff since all of this started. “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“No problem everyone’s like different right?”

I smile and nod and let him go to his stuff and I sigh and look at M.J. who passes me my book bag. “Less than a week.” She smiles trying to give me the whole it gets better smile.

(Sigh) “Yeah…less than a week.”

She takes my pinky and we head off down the halls together or at least until we get to our separate classrooms. And there are stares and there’s a few whispers from the people that were doing it before after the whole me “being gay” thing and now it’s about the dance and stuff.

But there’s a few looks that aren’t so bad?

I mean there’s actually a few people and yeah mostly girls that are actually friendly about it and stuff and I hug M.J. because I’m a gay guy and we hug everyone right? Then I head into homeroom and get my seat and Sally Bridges actually plonks down before registration starts and she’s like one of the pretty and popular girls and she’s right in there for the cheer team and stuff and kinda not the brightest of people sometimes she has a actually nice personality or she always seems to.

She kinda more the basketball cheerleader crowd and stuff and she has a body that I’ve watched more than a few times and ached over not being like. Tall with long legs and nice boobs…not M.J. level yet but above average for our grade and of course blonde haired and blue eyes.

She grins at me and I’m a little nervous because it’s not the way she’s ever treated me before.

“I loved your costume.”

“Uhm…thanks really?”

“Seriously, it was cool for one and it looked like a whole lot of work.”

“It was but my mom helped a lot and stuff too.”

“Seriously Stephen I couldn’t tell that it was like you I mean you were like soooo pretty.”

I blush… “Uhm thanks.”

“So do you like do that a lot?”

“Do what?”

“Like dress up like a girl?”

“Uhm…sometimes.”

“Cool.”

“Cool?”

“Yeah, I mean you’re like kind of really cool for like doing this and stuff and brave.”

“Brave? I don’t really feel brave….I’m just out…I sort of feel scared…they hit my locker this morning.”

She actually frowns. “I bet it was a bunch of mouth breathing dickweeds.”

Okay…okay I snort. You actually really don’t hear someone use Dickweed like a swear any more.

“You’re being like pretty cool about this and stuff.”

Sally smiles and she hugs me. “I dunno, I just kinda don’t like seeing people getting dissed for being who they are and stuff so I like just wanted to like come over and let you know it’s like cool with me and stuff.”

I…I hug her back. “Thanks…you know that really helps after this whole thing this morning and stuff.”

She smiles and she heads off back to her friends and stuff and I’m smiling a little.

That was like good right?

I mean she didn’t freak and she’s kind of open about me and the dance stuff.

Wait…did I just become her fashionably gay friend accessory?

I’ll have to think about that one.

I see Elizabeth come in with her little entourage and I’m kind of instantly irritated because she’s like talking and loudly talking about how cool it was that they went to Toronto for the weekend and got the heck out of here and away from all the boring stuff that was like going on and stuff.

Of course they’re just in under the bell and they’re drinking their Starbuck’s coffees and showing them off and their clothes too…shopping…they definitely went shopping. I know most of the stuff the girls have or wear like just because y’know and this stuff is like new.

And y’know that just Whomps.

She gets in trouble here and she doesn’t get to go to the dance and what happens?

Her parents go to Toronto with her and her little for a shopping weekend.

How’s that fair?

She’s all laughs and smiles until she sees me and then she’s sort of staring at me …kinda like hate staring and two of her little pets are whispering and clucking in her ears and stuff and one takes out her phone and she’s showing her something and then she’s definitely staring at me.

And her jaw’s clenched.

Then the teacher comes in and we start with the stuff for the day and Elizabeth is still.

All through the first two periods I can feel her staring at the back of my head and it’s bugging me.

I can’t wait for recess/morning break to get out of there and I leave before there’s another spill scene and I head for the cafeteria to meet up With Mary Jane and our friends.

She looks like she’s had a morning and a half too and I meet up with her in the hall and we walk together and I look at her and she’s looking at we both break into grins as we stereo ask the other.

“Are you okay?”

And that helps because we’re like laughing and stuff.

Then we get to the caf and see the girls there with a table space already and Amber holds up a coffee my way and since I see her with one already I think she got one for me.

I go over and she passes one to me and Rachel has one for M.J. and we just start to take our sips when we see Elizabeth breeze in with her entourage all the way over to the outside doors of the cafeteria and she’s meets a cab that’s there with “her order.”

Even though she’s been told not to.

I shake my head.

M.J.’s like. “Unbelievable…”

And then it kinda starts…my mask is on tight but it’s not tight enough that I can keep the bitching in when Emily starts talking about her new clothes.

Amber… “What!?”

Amanda… “Wait…wait I thought she was like on suspension or something and couldn’t come to the dance?”

And I’m like. “No…it’s Liz, she gets to do whatever she wants right? I mean no matter what she does to someone else and stuff.”

Rachel’s shaking her head. “Seriously…she gets in trouble and she’s not grounded?”

And I’m like. “Oh…oh no, she gets taken to go shopping with her friends to Toronto for the weekend…”

I’m honestly mad and stuff and so are the others too because she was literally being a bitch and getting into trouble because of it and instead of being punished she gets this?

Why the hell does evil so-and-so’s like her get to just do whatever they want because they have like sooo much money?

And she’s like flaunting that and the coffee delivery and stuff and of course she bought some for her and her entourage and a few more people that are like sort of those fish that follow sharks and eat like their scraps and stuff…and she got snacks too and I hear her bragging about getting like pizza for lunch.

Unbelievable…

Then it’s the bell and we head off to class as a group but my group like is sort of running into her group…

And I get to hear…”Faggot.”
“Tranny.”
“Fruit.”
“Freak.”

They’re all doing that loud enough for me and the others to hear and not loud enough for like the teachers to hear and I’m clenching my jaw to like that headachy thing because…I’m not gonna cry…and I’m not going to lash out and…she’s just being a bitch…just…a.

Then Toni’s like just out of the blue. “Omigawd! Lizzie you look effin awesome hawt a bunch of my dyke friends have the exact same outfits! Yay you came out!”

And she kinda shout-said it gleefully too.

Liz stops dead in her tracks and she looks like someone shit in her coffee and she has a mouthful of it.

Her two little friends too…like totally stunned.

I can’t help it, I really can’t.

I laugh with the girls and we walk away shouting. “Congratulations!”
“Happy coming out!”
“I’ll see you at the meetings!” Toni… “I’ll bring your toaster!”

We leave heading for class and I sneak a look back and Elizabeth just threw her Starbucks coffee in a huge splash all over the hallway wall and she’d be coming for us or at us if it wasn’t for two teacher’s bee lining it to see what’s going on.

Yeah my mask’s still on pretty tight and I might still be Stephen but I’m really Stephanie…and Stephanie's tired of getting stepped on already.

Has anyone ever came out and not taken huge amounts of bullshit?

Maybe, Maybe I’m going to find out.