The Redemption of Jamie Sarah Potter
-4-
Armageddon

What happened next, none of us expected, and I none of us could have ever dreamed of in our wildest dreams. But somehow the fact that Cerridwen was transgender got out. I mean, I'm also transgender too. But I'm not as open as she is about it. I was dismayed when that little bit of news broke. I expected that would take all the wind from our sails and our so far united effort would fall apart piece by piece. But as history proved me wrong.

As things often happened in the course of an uprising our goals changed when the news broke. Our aims became more ambitious, more noble. The afternoon that news broke on social media that Cerridwen was transgender the student council also happened to be meeting that very afternoon to decide their official stance on what was transpiring. It took four rounds of heated debate for them to decide on what to do.Then with one loud, united voice they decreed that Benton Academy should be a safe place for every student to get the best education possible. And that bullying of any kind had no place in the new school we wanted to make.

This now became our rallying cry and it spread again like an uncontrollable wildfire through social media. Our friends at Benton School, the town's only public high school, also took up the cry. And even our oldest rival Manchester Academy decided to stand with us. And then far away St. Katherine's Episcopal Academy, an Episcopal institution located on the high bluffs that over the Mississippi River in Vicksburg to cast their fate with our lot.

And so across two counties, Yazoo and Warren students from four different schools came together. United in one common cause. The following Monday I wore a different kind of badge. The one I wore now had five horizontal stripes, two light blue, two pink and one white in the center. It was a badge that represented the transgender community and I was proud to wear it.

The next day, I saw a sea of them. Every student in Benton Academy was wearing one. I was surprised to see so many. But it made my heart swell with pride. It reminded me of how special Benton Academy was. It honestly reminded me of how I felt when I first came out and how my fellow classmates had taken up for me.

The Headmistress of course responded with rage. And ordered that we remove all of those badges at once. Nobody did though. After all there was nothing in the rule book about us wearing them, and if the redneck's could wear their 'MAGA' hats. We could wear our badges. A fissure it seemed had opened up in the student body. One one side we had those who had hated what Benton Academy became, who still thought I was the reason Benton Academy had lost its two thousand and nineteen homecoming. Back when I was still a lowly Freshman. It was those kinds of people who thought that Daisy had gotten what was coming to him and thought the whole ongoing struggle was nothing but a shit show. These people were more upset because there was no cheerleading or football on Friday night.

And on the other side of the coin you had us, who had taken the Trans Pride badge as a token. We were showing support for a student who had been bullied and made a laughing stock in a crowded lunchroom. We wanted to show her that we stood with her. And in the middle the kind of gray area you had those who were still trying to figure out where they stood. Some wanted to bring the two sides together, others wanted to just go about their daily lives.

At first I expected that to stay within our little school. Then student's at Benton High started wearing Transpride badges to show they stood with us and likewise other students at Benton High started wearing 'MAGA' hats to show they stood with their belligerent students of Benton Academy. Then the town itself started to mirror the two schools.

The following business, I've recorded here for the sake of this narrative, decided to go one step further and display Transpride flags from the flagpoles located in front of their business. They did this, to show support for I guess Cerridwen and Daisy? Anyway those businesses who stood with us were as follows. Sweet Magnolia, Bakery and Tea Room, Ginger Evans Bakery, Potter Mercantile, Brewer Hardware, Edwards Butchery Shop, Sunflower Food Store, Croft Veterinary Clinic, Pandora Family Salon, Persephone Seamstress and Tailoring, Hunter's Forge, and last but not least Alton Feed and Seed. It's safe to say most of the downtown business stood behind us. Also I failed to mention that Coleman Steakhouse also at the last minute decided to support us.

A number though remained neutral, those included your cafe's and your big named places to eat. I can't fault them for that.

But a few mostly the bars around town started to proudly display 'MAGA' flags in front of their business to show where they stood. The town it seemed was being divided and the people of the town looked to the church. And how did the church respond? Well Fr. Bell decided that our cause was right and after Mass one morning marched out and waved the Transpride flag in front of the church. The Southern Baptist church across town decided that we were wrong and decided to display an 'MAGA' flag.

Fr. Bell's friend in Yazoo City, Fr. Percy decided to follow his example and waved the Trans Pride Flag in front of St. George's Episcopal Church. This was of course shared on social media. And boy once more social media blew the ever loving hell up. St. Katherine's in Vicksburg soon under the guidance of Fr. Blackthorn in Vicksburg decided to follow suit, and soon Fr. Golden of St. Thompson in Belzoni soon followed.

Other parishes across Mississippi soon followed. The Liberal parishes of Jackson voiced their approval. Joined in. It seemed the eyes of the world had turned toward this small, forgotten southern town. The Headmistress, you can tell, was starting to break. For the second week in a row there would be no football. And again come Friday I found myself hauled into the Head's office.

“Okay.” She said, taking a deep breath. “This is what I'll do. I'll pardon everybody, I mean everybody who has chosen to wear those tacky little badges. I'll make you a prefect again. And I'll sweep this all under the rug.” She said smiling.

I shook my head.

“Okay I'll do all that, and apologies in front of the prefects for having you came Mr. Bell.”

I shook my head again.

“... Ms. Potter you are walking on thin ice..” She said, taking a deep breath.

I smiled.

“It's been two weeks! Two weeks now! You forget I can extend that boy's stay in that hell hole. I can make his life a living hell. I can have him beaten till he can barely breath if he steps on foot out of line. I have that kind of power over him.” She said as she slammed her hands down on her desk.

“My demands still stand.” I said, smiling sweetly. At this point I turned on the little record I had tucked away in the pocket of my skirt. I had a feeling the Head was about to blow her stack and I wanted every word to be caught on tape. So I could upload it again to social media along with the conversation from last week.

“I will not bend before you Miss. Potter, I am the adult here, you are nothing but a child. Hell your not even a real girl! You are just some little boy who was too much of a little bitch to man up and face his problems. I was all for letting you prance around here and pretend to girl. Because of your last name and how respected your family was in the community. But that Gothic, little teenage, witch out there. Has nothing, I mean nothing to offer this school. She should be in the public school. I wish that Mr. Jones would have done more that just poured milk over her head!” She muttered.

“Could you repeat that. A little louder and clearer this time.” I said still smiling the sweetest little girl smile I could manage. My blood was damn near boiling. It was taking every ounce of self control I had not to reach across the desk and slap the tar out of this woman.

“I said 'I will not bend before you Miss. Potter, I am the adult here, you are nothing but a child. Hell you are not even a bloody real girl! You are just some little boy who was too much of a little bitch to man up and face his problems. I was all for letting you prance around and pretend to be a girl. Because I valued your last name and how respected your family was in the community. But Cerridwen Whitethorn, is nothing more than a Gothic, little teenage witch, who is a damn pagan and does not belong in a Christian School'.” She said in a loud, clear voice. Her voice echoed off the walls of the room.

But the moment she saw me smirking was the moment every ounce of color drained from her face and she became white as a sheet. I like to think, it was at that moment it dawned on her, the battle lines had been drawn. If she knew it or not, she had taken out an invisible sword and drawn an invisible line in the dirt in front of me and had dared me to step across it. And me, being me, not only had stepped away over it, but had gone back and erased it with my foot.

“Ms. Potter. I'm warning you. If you leak that conversation to the public. I will have you removed from this school. I'm warning you! I will not be bullied Ms. Potter! Not be a mere child!” She yelled, her voice echoed around the room. At that very moment I thought my eardrum was about to explode.

“Is that a threat?” I said in a coy manner.

“Jamie Sarah Potter! I'm warning you! If that conversation leaves this room. I will not only remove you removed from this school. But I will have Cerridwen Circe Whitethorn removed as well along with James Donald Bell. And all your little friends. Do not test me! I am tired of playing these silly little games. I'm tired of it. Sick and tired of it.” The Head set.

As the head ranted and raved. I stood up and moved toward the intercom switch. She was clearly too caught up in her little hiss fit to notice me easing my hand toward the button. Without breaking eye contact with her I flipped the intercom on.

“Can you please repeat that?” I said in a loud, clear voice. “I've been having a little trouble hearing lately, wax buildup behind the ear. Waiting for mom to make me an doctors appoint me with the folks down in Jackson.”

“What would you like to have repeated?” The Headmistress said. I don't know if she was dumb or not. But I guess at this point she was so full of herself she did not care. I mean surely she must have heard the intercom system turn on. Surely she must know if she repeated what she just said to me, not more than a few minutes ago the whole school would hear it. Could she really be so blind? So dumb? Or did she think that nobody in town would touch her? That she could get away with murder if she wanted to? Well, I was about to find out.

“All of it.” I said, taking a deep breath.

“For the last time, and I swear to by God, Jesus and the Holy Family I will not repeat myself. So you better open up your ears and list good. I said 'I will not bend before you Miss. Potter, I am the adult here, you are nothing but a child. Hell you are not even a bloody real girl! You are just some confused little boy boy who was too much of a little bitch to man up and face his problems. I was all for letting you prance around and pretend to a girl. Because I valued your last name and how respected your family was in the community. But Cerridwen Circe Whitethorn, is nothing more than a Gothic, little teenage witch, who is a damn pagan and does not belong here in a good Christian School.' Did I make myself clear that time?” She said in a sharply raised tone of voice.

“Crystal and the whole school just heard it too.”

The Headmistress blinked and blinked again.

“Check and mate.” I said grinning.

And that is how Armageddon started at Benton Academy.