“Thanks, Mr. Crunkle.” Artemis waves to the school bus driver as she gets off the bus.
The past four months have been nice and unbelievable. She watches as her school bus drives off, before crossing the street. She was heading towards her adopted mother’s garage.
She was still recovering from the surgery she had to have to her groin area. She got the surgery before school started, so it wouldn’t interfere with her schooling. She was still adjusting to the fact that she was really a girl after being raised as a boy.
On top of that, she had to get glasses as well. The eye doctor she was taken too, said she was nearsighted. Which explained why she had so many problems playing football and in school.
She walks into her adopted mother’s auto repair garage. She noticed Elizabeth wasn’t working the office today, but Sarojini was.
“Hi, Sarojini.” As Artemis walks into the office.
Sarojini looks up from some paperwork she was working on when she hears Artemis’s voice. A smile appears on her face “how was your day?”
“It was nice. I got teased because of my looks by some of the older kids, but I don’t mind.” Artemis had switched schools after Roxana had adopted her.
Her new school was a lot nicer and newer. However, there were a group of older students that liked to pick on the new students and take their lunch money. When one of them saw her, they teased her about her baby looks. She may be fifteen years old now, but she still looks like she was ten years old.
“You know if it continues, you should tell your teacher.” Sarojini knew what it was like to be teased and picked on because of her looks. She had an American father and a Japanese mother.
She used to be teased a lot by the Asian students in her old high school and by the American students as well. She was lucky that her older brother went to the same high school as she did and was on the football team. After he and some of his teammates beat a few of the bullies up. She hasn’t been teased as much anymore.
“I will. This school has a no bully tolerance policy and you’ll be suspended if you're found guilty.” Artemis knew the school principal uses to be a police officer and the vice principal use to be a schoolteacher.
Artemis walks over to her mother’s desk and sits down in her chair. She slips her sneakers off and takes her homework out to work on it. A smile appears on her face as she looks at the picture her mother had sitting on her desk. It was from her fifteenth birthday party. Her mother and aunt Stacy took her horseback riding. She had never ridden one before and they had friends that owned some horses.
She loved the birthday party that her mother’s friend put together for her. There had been cowboys and cowgirls there that did tricks for her. She went on a hay bale ride later in the night. She just loved everything that took place that day.
One of the cowgirls gave her, her hat. Sometimes she wears it whenever they go out or visit her mother’s friend. Her aunt Stacy makes sure she always has nice clothes. Sometimes they even go to the thrift store and buy clothes that her aunt Stacy can repurpose into a new outfit.
Roxana finishes washing her hands and heads towards her office. She wanted to check on Artemis and check something on her computer about removing a part off a customer’s car. She spots Artemis sitting at her desk busy with her homework.
“Watch you working own, sweety?” Roxana looks over Artemis’s shoulder.
“Algebra. Mrs. Thompson has assigned us four pages of Algebra problems to do. But we're supposed to only do the odd problems. Also, were to show step by step how we solved it.” Artemis hated doing Algebra.
Roxana knew Artemis hated doing Algebra. It wasn’t one of her strong points.
“Well, doesn’t that Microsoft math program show you how to solve the problem?” At first, Roxana had been against Artemis using it. Her cousin Stacy had bought the program for Artemis to help her out with her math classes.
“Yes ma’am, but my laptop is at home. Your computer doesn’t have it.” Artemis leans her head back to look at Roxana.
“I forgot about that. If you have any problems, you should ask Sarojini to help you. She’s good with numbers.” Roxana knew Sarojini and Elizabeth had PHDs in a lot of math-related degrees.
“I will and thanks, mom.” Artemis knew Roxana loved it when she called Roxana, mom.
“Now that we have that problem solve, can you scoot over so I can look up something?”
“Yes ma’am.” Artemis scoots over so her mother could use the computer.
Artemis watches her mother as she brings up her auto repair program that gives her detail on any part she needs to replace and order. She watches as her mother goes through several screens and finds what she was looking for.
“Damn! It’s a dealer part only.” Roxana hated that. It meant she will have to adjust the cost of the repair because of the expense of the part.
“Is it expensive, mom?” Artemis looks at her mother.
“Unfortunately, yes. Even if I sell the part at cost. The repair bill will be more than I quoted Mr. Bruner.” Roxana straightens up and looks at the part. She prints the part and costs out.
“Sarojini, I need for you to call Mr. Bruner after we locate the part and tell him we have to increase the cost of the repair.”
“He isn’t going to like that, Roxana.” Sarojini knew how Mr. Bruner was going to react.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. I’m going to lose money on this job.” Roxana hated losing money on a repair.
“What should I tell him?” Sarojini looks at Roxana.
“Tell him we are giving him the part at our cost. We’re not making anything on this job.”
“Alright.” Sarojini pulls the work order up to get the number.
“Here’s the part number.” Roxana hands the printout to Sarojini.
Sarojini accepts the printout and starts calling the different auto deaalers. She writes down the cost for them on a notepad she pulled out of her desk.
“Well, I better get back to work.” Roxana walks away from her desk.
Artemis just smirks as she watches her mother walk away. She knew her mother would do everything possible for her customers. She always tries to be fair and give her customers the best service.
Artemis goes back to working on her homework. She hated doing Algebra, but it had to be done. She had to stop a few times to get Sarojini’s help on three problems. When Sarojini helped her, she spotted a few mistakes on a few others. She had to go back and correct those problems.
By seven o’clock Sarojini starts closing the shop up. Most of the mechanics had either left or were changing.
“Time to put your schoolbooks away, Artemis.” Roxana comes walking into the office wiping her hands.
“Okay, mom.” Artemis closes her schoolbooks and puts them back in her backpack.
Artemis looks at her mother “are we stopping somewhere for dinner?”
“Nope, your aunt Stacy has made dinner and said it should be done by the time we get home.” Roxana was glad her cousin Stacy made dinner. She wasn’t in the mood to stop anywhere to pick up anything.
“Cool, I like Aunt Stacy’s cooking.” Artemis likes teasing her mother.
“What? You don’t like my cooking?” Roxana looks at Artemis with a surprised look on her face.
“Mom, the last time you cooked baked beans, you burned the bottom of the pot they were in. The beans had a smokey taste to them.”
“Oh, now I see how it is young lady. I burned the beans only one time.”
A smirk appears on Artemis’s face as she hefts her backpack onto her back. She knew her mother needed to arm the security system.
“Stand still.” Roxana watches as the alarm goes green.
Roxana puts her security code in, to armed it. She turns the lights out on her way out of the shop. She hears the shop beep as the alarm arms itself.
“Come on kiddo, let's get you home and feed you.” Roxana gets into her pick-up truck and unlocks the passenger side for Artemis to get in.
She waves goodbye to Sarojini as she watches her get in her car. Once Sarojini was in her car and pulling out of the parking lot. Roxana pulls out and heads home.
When Artemis and Roxana walk into the house, a sweet, nice aroma hits their noses. “Something smells nice.”
They follow the aroma to the kitchen and spot Stacy pulling a covered pan out of the oven. They saw that the rest of the meal was ready and in serving bowls.
“What’s for dinner, Aunt Stacy?” Artemis was feeling hungry.
“Korean barbeque ribs.” Stacy uncovers the ribs and the aroma in the kitchen intensifies.
“Sweet. I’ll go and put my backpack in my bedroom.” Artemis turns to leave.
“Don’t take too long, Artemis. Dinner is ready.” Stacy watches as Artemis walks off.
“Here let me help you, cousin.” Roxana walks over to help Stacy.
“Have you noticed how much happier Artemis has been since you adopted her?” Stacy has been keeping an eye on her new niece.
“Yes, I have. Before she was a miserable little girl, who didn’t know who she was. Now, she is a happy young girl who has a loving mother and a loving aunt.”
“What can I say, I spoil her.”
“That you do, cousin.” Roxana carries some serving bowls out to the dining room table.
Cooper Jenkins High School:
“Hey Artemis, did you finish the homework Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Jordan gave us yesterday?” Kelly catches up with her friend.
“I finished Mr. Jordan’s assigned homework in class yesterday. As for Mrs. Thompson’s assigned homework, I finished it at my mom’s work.”
Artemis was glad that Sarojini was able to help her. If it wasn’t for her help, she wouldn’t have managed to finish.
“Can I copy what you got for problem forty-five on page one hundred and four, please?” Kelly had problems with that one.
“Sure, I don’t see why not. That one was a pain in the butt to figure out.” Artemis had to get Sarojini’s help with that one.
“Thanks.” Kelly takes her cellphone out to copy it. She’ll work on it during lunch break.
Artemis takes her notebook out and lets Kelly take a photo of it. Kelly was one of the first friends she made when she started school this year.
Her adopted mother was in a different school district than her last school.
Kelly snaps a picture of it. She looks at it and couldn’t believe how many steps it took to solve it. She was good at math, but this problem was a bear to deal with.
“So, what are your plans next weekend?” Kelly looks at her new friend.
“Mmmm, it depends what my mother and aunt want to do. Why?” Artemis was curious as she looks towards her friend.
“Well, it’s my birthday next weekend and my mother is going to let me have a slumber party. I was wondering if you would like to come over and spend the night?” Kelly didn’t have many friends, but the ones she did have. She hopes would come over.
“Sure, I’ll have to ask my mother.” Artemis has never spent the night at another girl’s house.
“Cool! I’ll send you an email tonight. We can leave here after school next weekend.
“Okay.” Artemis splits off to go to her first bell class.
She had Social Studies first thing in the morning. Mr. Kramer was trying to make the class interesting. That was what she liked about his class. The teacher she had last year was so boring.
Since she was so short, she sat up front to record everything that Mr. Kramer wrote on the board. She was the shortest person in her class. The next shortest was a guy named Henry. He was five feet, two inches tall. However, he was very muscular. You could tell how well-developed his muscles were when he wore a t-shirt.
After Mr. Kramer’s class, she had homeroom. Her homeroom teacher was Mrs. Schwartz. She was an older woman who has been teaching for a long time. After her homeroom, she had English next. Mrs. Wheeler was almost as tall as she was. She was shorter than Mrs. Wheeler.
The assignment Mrs. Wheeler assigned was to write a story based on several subject matters she had written on the whiteboard. You had to incorporate at least four subject matters into the story. She does a rough draft of the story and hands it in by the end of the class. The final story was the homework.
Her next class was her Physics class. Her teacher was an older black guy that loved science. He was very knowledgeable about what he was teaching and passed that love onto his class. That was what Artemis liked about him a lot.
Artemis makes sure she copies down everything he puts upon the board. She sat in the middle of the classroom behind one of the guys on the debate team. She didn’t do any of the after-school activities. Her next class was gym.
She dresses out for gym class and does some of the warm-up exercises. Since she had her operation just before school started. She is excused from taking part in the main part of the class. According to her doctor, she could start being fully active in gym class next month.
While everyone is playing volleyball, she works on her English homework. Some of her classmates thought she was faking it. However, some of the girls that shared a locker near her, saw that she wasn’t.
After gym, was lunch. She spots Kelly, Elizabeth, Mary, and Carol sitting at a table. She goes through the line and selects her lunch. She couldn’t believe that she was getting lunch. This time last year, she couldn’t afford to get lunch. Her uncle never gave her money to buy lunch. She was thankful for her adopted mother and aunt.
They made sure she always had nice, clean clothes and money for lunch. Once she has her lunch, she walks over to the table where Kelly was sitting. She was glad none of her classmates knew anything about her from last year.
“Hey, what are you girls up to?” Artemis sits down next to Mary.
“We're talking about which guy this year is the hottest. Who do you like?” Elizabeth looks at Artemis.
“I haven’t thought about it.” Artemis looks around at the kids in the lunchroom.
“Oh, come on Artemis. There must be a guy in the school this year you like.” Elizabeth was watching Artemis.
“Honestly, there’s no one I’m interested in. I’m more concerned about my schoolwork and passing my classes.” Artemis takes a bite from her lunch.
Elizabeth looks at Artemis “do you like girls, instead?”
“Honestly, Elizabeth. I’m not looking for anyone. I want to concentrate on my schoolwork and spend time with my friends.” Artemis was getting a little pissed about the subject.
“Artemis, aren’t you thinking about coming to the school Halloween party the school host and the winter dance in December?” Mary looks at Artemis to see what she says.
“I didn’t know the school hosted a Halloween party or about the Winter dance.” Artemis must have missed that when she read the booklet the school gave her and her mother.
“I didn’t know about the Halloween party or the Winter dance.”
“Yeah, the school host a Halloween party for the high schoolers, and the Winter dance is for the Juniors and Seniors students.”
“Well, I’m just a sophomore. I don’t have to worry about it.”
“But one of the juniors or seniors can ask you to the dance.” Mary was hoping she would be asked this year.
“Well, when someone asks me, I’ll be concerned about it.” Artemis finishes her lunch.
When the bell rings letting everyone know they needed to head to their next class. Artemis makes a stop at her locker and gets her math book. She also grabs her Spanish book for her last class.
She heads towards her Math class next and turns in her homework. She sits next to Kelly in class. Her Kelly had math and Spanish together. Kelly was good at Spanish because her mother spoke three different languages.
After her classes, she takes the school bus to her mother’s work. Artemis watches as her bus driver follows his normal route and drops each student off. When he comes to her stop, she gets off and crosses the street to her mother’s auto repair shop.
Artemis waves to whoever was at the desk, as she walks into the office and sits down at her mother’s desk. She pulls out her homework and starts working on her homework. She had a lot to do and was glad Mrs. Thompson didn’t give them a lot of math homework to do.
Before she gets started on her homework, she grabs some quarters from her mothers’ desk and grabs a soda from the machine. Her mother didn’t mind her having one soda. She sits back down at the desk and concentrates on her homework.
The rest of the week goes by quickly. Artemis was happy when Friday finally arrived. Instead of catching the bus to go to her mother’s garage after school. Her aunt Stacy picks her up and takes her shopping for a birthday gift for her friend Kelly’s birthday, which was next weekend.
Stacy spots Artemis waiting for her as she pulls up to the front of the high school. She stops a few lengths down from the last bus in line. She flashes her headlights to grab her niece’s attention.
Artemis was looking for her aunt’s car. She was going to take her shopping to pick a gift out for her friend Kelly. She was happy that her mother said she could spend the night at Kelly’s house after the birthday party. As she is looking for her aunt’s car, she spots a set of flashing headlights and notices it was her aunt’s car.
She walks over to the car and waves to her aunt, before getting in. She puts her seat belt on, after putting her book bag in the back seat.
“How was school today, Artemis?” Stacy follows the school buses out of the driveway.
“It was alright. I only had four tests to take today.” Artemis was glad she study for all of them.
“How do you think you did on them, sweetie?” Stacy knew Artemis stayed up late last night studying for the test she took today.
“I think I did alright, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis was glad she study.
“You’re better than me, kiddo. I used to study just before I took the test, that day. Your mom, on the other hand. She would study several days before the test.” A smile appears on Stacy’s face as she thinks about what she was like in high school.
Stacy drives Artemis to the shopping mall where she works. She parks her car and grabs her purse.
“We can find something nice for your friend, Kelly.” She opens the driver's side door and gets out.
Artemis follows her aunt’s lead and walk into the store they parked in front of. The store was for teen girls and had a lot of nice things for girls her age.
Artemis wasn’t sure what teen girls like, because she just learned she was a real girl, but raised as a boy. She looks at some of the clothing and accessories and wonders what her friend would like.
“Aunt Stacy, what do teen girls like?” She hopes her aunt could help her.
“Well, some like clothes, others make-up. Is your friend Kelly wearing make-up at school?” Stacy knew Roxana wasn’t going to let Artemis wear make-up until she was a little older.
“No ma’am. Her mother won’t let her until she turns sixteen years old.” Artemis knew Kelly was turning fifteen years old, next Saturday.
“In that case, why don’t we get her some jewelry instead.” Stacy walks over to the jewelry counter to see what they had.
Artemis follows her aunt over to the counter. As they stood at the counter looking at items in the display case and hanging. Artemis spots a build-your-own bracelet like they have at her mother’s favorite Jewelry store.
“Aunt Stacy, I could get Kelly a bracelet that has the little trinkets on it like mom likes.” Artemis knew her mother liked the Pandora bracelets.
“That would be a nice gift for her. Go ahead and pick the charms out and I’ll pick the bracelet for you.” Stacy liked helping her niece.
“Okay.” Artemis looks at the different charms on display.
Artemis knew her friend Kelly spoke several languages, so she chooses the charm that represented that. She knew Kelly also like fashion and drawing. So, she picks those two out. She looks at the rest and picks two more. Altogether she had six charms that represented her friend.
“Okay, Aunt Stacy. I picked out six that represent my friend Kelly.” Artemis looks at the ones she chose and hopes Kelly likes them.
“And I found the perfect bracelet for them.” Stacy found a nice silver bracelet that looked like it was three different strands of silver interwoven
together.
Artemis looks at it and it looked perfect for Kelly. It reminded her of when Keely wore her hair in a ponytail or pigtails to school.
“That’s perfect, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis looks at the bracelet and liked how nice it looked.
Stacy pays for the charms and bracelet. Afterward, Stacy hands the purchase to Artemis.
“Here you go, kiddo.”
“Thank you, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis accepts the purchase.
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Is there anything else you would like to do?” Stacy figures they could spend some time shopping. She doesn’t get to
spend much time with her niece.
“I need some new bearing for my bicycle, aunt Stacy. The crank bearing is breaking apart.” Artemis noticed it the other afternoon when she took her bicycle out.
It was the same bicycle she rebuilt that someone had abandoned in the woods. It could have been stolen or just forgotten. She found it and rebuilt it with parts from other broken bicycles. She had replaced the bearings once from a broken bicycle.
“Sure, I think there’s a bicycle shop in this shopping center.” Stacy knew Artemis liked her bicycle. She had offered to buy her a new one, but Artemis wanted to keep the one she had.
“Do you think mom will let me use her tools?” Artemis knew her mother had a complete toolset at home.
“As long you clean and put them back where you got them from, your mother won’t mind.” Stacy knew her cousin was particular about who uses her tools.
Artemis follows her aunt until they spot a bicycle shop. The place was well stocked with brand new bicycles. Artemis stops to look at the price of one and couldn’t believe how much it cost. The store was asking six hundred dollars for a bicycle that looked like it was made from plastic, unlike her old bicycle.
A middle-aged man comes from the back of the store towards them. He was wearing a dark blue polo shirt with the name of the shop on it. He also had on a pair of black slacks and tennis shoes.
“Welcome to Tech Cycling. How can I help you, today?” Brad greets a middle-aged woman and her reddish hair daughter.
“My niece needs a bearing for a bicycle. Do you carry parts for older bicycles here?” Stacy had seen the bicycles in the shop and figure this might not be a good place to buy parts.
“I’m sorry ma’am, but the only parts we carry are for our models of bicycles.” Brad couldn’t believe someone would have an old out of date bicycle.
“It’s only a bearing for the crank. Maybe you have a bearing like it in stock?” Artemis had to use a used one.
“I’m sorry young lady, but we only carry parts for our bicycles. I don’t believe the bearings we have will work in your older bicycle.” Brad was
told not to sell any parts unless they were the bicycles they sold.
“Well, thank you for your help.” Stacy started to turn around to leave the store.
“You might want to try out one of our newer models. It’s lighter than the older bicycles and more streamlined.” Brad was going to see if he could make a sell.
“No thank you, sir. I prefer my bicycle.” Artemis didn’t want a new bicycle. She liked the one she had.
“Well, that was a bust. Is the bearing the only thing you need for your bicycle, Artemis?” Stacy looks at Artemis as she walks next to her.
“Yes ma’am.” Artemis didn’t find anything else broken or misaligned.
‘Maybe your mother might know of a place, other than a bicycle shop that might have the bearing.” Stacy knew Roxana knew a lot of suppliers.
“I didn’t think about asking mom.” Artemis looks at her aunt.
“When it comes to mechanical things, your mother is the first person I ask. She was born with a wrench in one hand and a socket and ratchet in the other hand. Let’s head home and start on dinner.”
“Okay, and thank you, Aunt Stacy.”
“Any time, kiddo.”
Artemis was happy her mother managed to find the bearing for her bicycle. Hudson’s bearing had the exact bearing she needed for her crank. Her mother suggested she disassemble her bicycle and have it sandblasted. That way she could repaint it. She could also fix some of the problems the frame had.
Her mother was nice enough to let her use her tools. If she wiped them down and put them back where she got them from. She looks at all the parts as they laid on the floor. She took pictures of each part and where she removed it from.
She wipes the grease off her hands and starts cleaning up. She makes sure she cleans her mother’s tools and puts them back in the proper drawers in the toolbox. She picks up all the old bearing and put them in a box.
Once she has all the tools put away, Artemis carries the frame out to her mother’s truck. She puts the frame and the fork in the back. Also, the seat as well. Her mother knew a person who could make her a brand-new seat for her bicycle.
She looks at the parts as they sat in the cargo area of her mother’s pick-up. She had found the bicycle someone had abandoned. Then she had fixed it with some help and used it to look for work. Which turned into finding a new family.
Artemis walks into the house and spots her mother watching a movie. She sneaks up behind her and hugs her.
“Are you done, sweetie?” Roxana pauses her movie and looks at her daughter.
“Yes ma’am. I’ve completely disassembled my bicycle and put the frame, front fork, and seat in the back of your truck.”
“I’ll drop them off at Barry’s and ask him to sandblast them for you and fix any problems he spots in the frame.” Roxana trusted Barry and liked his work.
“Thanks, mom.” Artemis kisses Roxana on the cheek.
“So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?” Roxana planned on taking it easy, after the week she has had at the shop.
“I don’t know. I was thinking about going for a ride, but I disassembled my bicycle. Is it alright if I go check out the thrift store?”
“Sure sweetie. Go get my purse and I’ll give you some money, so you can buy yourself something.”
“Okay, mom and thanks.” Artemis heads upstairs to her mother’s bedroom and brings her purse downstairs.
Artemis hands Roxana her purse. She knew her mother would give her, her weekly allowance.
“Thanks, sweetie.” Roxana accepts the purse and opens it.
She pulls out thirty dollars and hands it to Artemis “here you go, sweety.”
Artemis accepts the cash. She folds the bills up and puts them in her pocket.
“Thanks, mom.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t spend all of it.” Roxana knew Artemis normally put some money in her bank account.
“I’ll try not to, mom.” Artemis hugs her mother.
Artemis puts her earbuds in and plays some music as she leaves the house. The walk to the thrift store wasn’t too far from her mother’s place.
The weather was nice outside, and the neighborhood was pleasant.
It takes Artemis twenty minutes to walk to the thrift store. There was a collection of bicycles outside for sale. Some looked like they needed some major work and the others looked brand new. She looks among the bicycles and spots an old one. It had a headlight, a horn, and carry baskets mounted on the front and back of the bicycle.
The light had Avanti on it. The price tag the thrift store had on the bicycle was twenty dollars.
“Well, I know where most of my money is going.” Artemis takes a picture of the bicycle and heads inside the store.
She walks up to the counter where two old ladies were ringing people up. She waits in line behind a middle-aged woman with two small children. She was buying a lot of clothes for herself and her children.
One of the older women behind the counter motion for her to step up. Artemis walks on the other side of the young mother and children. When she is standing in front of the older woman “I would like to purchase this bicycle, please.” Artemis shows the woman the picture she took.
“Ah! That’s a nice bicycle. Do you think you can handle it?” Betty looks at Artemis. The bicycle was a men’s bike and was twenty-six inches tall.
“I think I can handle it, ma’am.” Artemis pulls the thirty dollars her mother gave her out of her pants pocket.
“That will be twenty-one dollars and ninety cents.” Betty looks at Artemis.
“Here’s thirty dollars, ma’am.” Artemis hands the twenty and ten dollars bill her mother handed her to the old lady.
Betty accepts the money and rings the bicycle up. They have had that bicycle for months now and no one has been interested in it. She was happy to see it going to a nice young girl.
“There you go, young lady. Enjoy.” Betty smiles at the young girl.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Artemis puts the change and receipt in her pants pocket.
She looks around in the thrift store to see if there was anything else, she might want. She liked exploring the thrift store. She never knew what
she was going to find. She knew her mother and aunt liked exploring as well. There was another thrift about thirty miles up the road her mother and aunt go to sometimes.
She doesn’t see anything that catches her eyes. So, she heads out of the store and over to the bicycle she bought. It was in better shape than her other bicycle. She checks the tires, and both were rock solid. The seat was still in good condition. There were only a few cracks in the material.
“Well, let’s see how well you peddle.” Artemis walks the bicycle away from the others and mounts it.
She mounts it and is barely able to touch the peddles. The seat needed to come down a little more for her to put her feet on the peddles, fully.
She starts peddling down the driveway and onto the street. The bicycle had the old-style type of brakes.
It took some getting used to and a few close calls, but Artemis manages to make it home without hurting herself or the bicycle. She dismounts and puts the kickstand down. She looks at the chain and notices it needed to be lube.
Artemis walks into the garage, after opening the door to grab a can of white lithium grease to lube the chain with. She tries out the horn and lights and discovered she needed batteries. The battery compartment was in good condition.
Artemis steps away from the bicycle and looks at it. It was a nice antique bicycle she wonders when the bicycle was made. She takes a few pictures of it to look upon the web. When she is done taking pictures. She puts the bicycle in the garage and heads into the house to tell her mother what she bought.
Artemis was nervous as her mother drove her to Kelly’s house. She has never been to an all-girl sleepover before. She looks at the birthday present she wrapped herself, with her mother’s advice.
“Are you excited, kiddo?” Roxana looks at her daughter as they drove to Kelly’s house.
“I think I’m nervous, mom. I’ve never been to a sleepover before.” Artemis was feeling nervous about being around a bunch of girls. She was raised as a boy and didn’t know what girls talked about or did.
Roxana could see that Artemis was nervous “you’ll do fine, sweetie. Just think as the girls as boys and what you use to do with your friends.”
“That’s the thing, mom. I never had many friends.” Artemis looks at her mother.
“I’m sorry about that sweetie. Just be open to what the other girls want to do, as long as it's legal.” Roxana remembered trying some liquor when she was with her friends.
“I promise not to do anything to embarrass you, mom.” Artemis looks at her mother.
“Just have fun and enjoy yourself, sweetie. This will help you as a girl.” Roxana pulls along the curb in front of Kelly’s house.
Roxana grabs the cupcakes she bought for the party. She watches as Artemis grabs her pillow, sleeping bag, an overnight bag. She makes sure Artemis has the present for Kelly. Mother and daughter walk up to the front door and knock since Kelly’s place didn’t have a doorbell or knocker.
After a few minutes, the door opens and Kelly’s mother, Jenny stands there. A smile appears on her face “you must be Artemis.” Jenny looks at Artemis.
“Yes ma’am. And this is my mother Roxana Elkins.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Elkins.”
“Please, call me Roxana.” A smile appears on Roxana’s face.
“Okay, Roxana. Please come in.” Jenny steps aside to let Roxana and Artemis in the house.
“Where do you want me to place Kelly’s gift, Mrs. Ward?” Artemis looks at Kelly’s mother.
“You can place it on the end of the dining room table with the rest of the gifts.”
“Okay.” Artemis starts walking towards the dining room table.
“Where would you like these?” Roxana holds the cupcakes up.
“You didn’t need to do this.” Jenny saw how pretty the cupcakes look.
“I know what it’s like to have a bunch of girls over.” Roxana has been to a few birthday parties and her mother always sent cupcakes.
“You can put them on the dining room table as well, next to the cake. And thank you for them.”
“You’re welcome.” Roxana follows Artemis.
Artemis saw several gifts already on the table. She places her gift on top of one of the big ones. She turned around and spotted her mother walking towards her. She set the cupcakes on the table next to the birthday cake.
Roxana looks at her daughter “you enjoy being with your friends.”
“Thanks, mom.” Artemis hugs her mother goodbye.
Artemis watches as her mother leaves. Jenny escorts Artemis to where all the girls were. She recognizes some of them from school. She saw Kelly and walks over to her and hugs her. Kelly was her best friend.
“Artemis, I’m so glad you made it. I want to introduce you to some of the girls. That is Betsy and she’s my cousin.” Kelly points towards a brown hair girl. She was watching another tall skinny girl.
“Who is Betsy looking at?” Artemis was curious.
“That is Betsy’s big sister and my cousin as well. Let’s see, there is Carol, Cindy, Shelly. Shelia, Elizabeth, Mary, and Tia. You know all of them from school.”
“Hey, ladies.” Artemis waves to the girls.
“Artemis, welcome to the party.” Shelly gets up and hugs Artemis.
“So, how long have you girls been here?” Artemis looks at everyone.
“Not long. We spent the night last night.” Betsy and her sister were Kelly’s cousins after all.
“Do any of you girls have any allergies?” Jenny looks at all the girls.
“No ma’am.” All the girls respond as one.
“Would you girls, prefer pizza, tacos, or Chinese food?”
“Chinese food!” all the girls prefer Chinese food.
“Alright, I’ll place the order. Do all of you like egg rolls?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Jenny pulls her cellphone out and calls No.1 Chinese takeout. She watches as the girls go back into the living room and start singing again. An hour later Kelly’s father goes and pick-up the food. While he is gone, four of the girls help Jenny’s mother set up everything for dinner and the party afterward.
After dinner, all the girls sing Happy Birthday to Kelly. Artemis could see how much it meant to Kelly. Afterward, they have cake, cupcakes, and ice cream. They watch as Kelly opens all her birthday gifts. She loved the bracelet with the charms on it that Artemis picked out for her.
She gives Artemis a big hug. While she is hugging Artemis “thank you. I love it.”
“You’re welcome.” Artemis was happy her friend liked her birthday gift.
After dinner and after they help Kelly’s mother clean up. The girls change into their nightclothes. They play a few games and watch movies. Artemis loved when Kelly brushes her hair and styles it for her.
Carol paints Kelly’s toes, while Betsy paints Artemis's toes. Tia and Elizabeth were doing each other’s fingers.
“Artemis, which guy in school do you like?” Elizabeth looks at Artemis to see what she thought.
“I’m not interested in any guys. I’m just trying to keep up with my studies.” Artemis was trying to maintain her grades, instead of socializing a lot.
“Look, you need to have some fun. I bet several guys would be interested in you.”
“Who are you interested in?” Artemis looks over towards Elizabeth.
“Jason Highwater. He’s on the wrestling team and looks nice.”
Artemis shakes her head as she looks at the color Carol was putting on her toes. Later, everyone starts getting tired and falling off to sleep.
Artemis wipes the sweat beading on her forehead as she puts the final touches on the bicycle she was working on. The weather was changing from summer to fall, but it was still hot humid outside. She had the garage door opened and one of the big floor fans from her mother’s garage blowing air into the garage.
She was still feeling hot and sweaty, even with the fan blowing on her. She had on a pair of cut-off jeans that her aunt Stacy had gotten her from the thrift store they liked going to. She was also wearing a muscle tee that said I hate working out on it in pink letters. She didn’t bother putting on a bra because of how hot it was.
She’s been buying bicycles cheap from thrift stores, yard sales, junkyards, and other places to refurbish and resell them. Her mother had given her the idea since she could get the bicycles cheap. A friend of hers created a webpage for her to display the bicycles she had for sale and to advertise that she fixes them as well.
She was busy working on a tricycle for the jones from down the street. They wanted her to do a complete overhaul of it because they wanted to give it to their daughter as a gift. The overhaul meant including repainting it and replacing all bearing and the seat. They had picked out a nice seat to replace the old one.
While she is working in the garage, Brandon and one of his friends pull into the driveway. They had a third bicycle between them that had a flat tire.
“What’s the problem guys?” Artemis puts her wrench down and walks out of the garage.
“Hey Artemis, could you fix the front tire on here for my brother, please?” Brandon pulls the bicycle forward for Artemis to look at it.
Artemis grabs the handles on the bicycle and turns it upside down to look at the tire. The rubber on the tire looked like it needs replacing and aligned when she spins the tire. Some of the spokes look like they needed to be replaced.
She looks at Brandon “I have a brand new one in stock that I can let you have for thirty bucks. This one looks like it could use some work.”
“How much would it cost to fix that, today?” Brandon didn’t know if his brother would repay him for a new tire.
“It will cost you forty for me to fix this one and I would have to go and get the rubber. I don’t have any tires on hand that isn’t mounted already.” Artemis has most of the tires she bought mounted on the rims she redid.
“Thirty for one you have already or forty for one that you’ll have to go and buy rubber for?” Brando looked at the way Artemis was dressed. She looked cute in what she was wearing.
“Let me see the one for thirty dollars.” Brandon wanted to see what Artemis looked like from behind.
Artemis turns around and walks to the back corner of the garage. Her mother said she could use half of the garage for her bicycle business. She reaches up to the wheel hanging down and unhooks it. She turns back around and notices both boys watching her. A smile appears on her face as she walks towards them.
“Here you go.” Artemis hands it to Brandon to inspect.
Brandon looks over the front tire. He liked that it was already put together and balanced. He looks back up at Artemis “okay. Is there another charge for installing it?”
Artemis just smirks “no, that’s included in the purchase.”
“Okay, I’ll take it.” Brandon digs into his pants pocket for the money.
“Hey Artemis, do you have any sodas for sell?” Terrance noticed Artemis had a can of soda sitting on her workbench.
“Yep, I have Pepsi, Coke, Mountain Due, Sprite, 7up, and a few others.”
“How much are they?”
“Fifty cents, each.”
“Let me get two Pepsi’s please.” Terrance pulls out a dollar bill.
Artemis walks over to an old coke cola cooler and pulls out two cold Pepsi’s. She liked the cooler. Her mother had a client that restored old drink machines.
“Here you go, Terrance.” Artemis hands the sodas to him, after accepting the money.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, here’s the money for the wheel.” Brandon hands Artemis thirty dollars.
“Thanks. Let me write you a receipt.” Artemis pulls her receipt book out and writes him one.
She marks down on a separate sheet the sodas she sold. She tears a receipt out and hands it to Brandon.
“If there are any problems, just bring it back to me.” Artemis grabs her wrench and takes the old rim and tire off and replaces them with the new one. She double checks everything to make sure it was like she advertise.
“It looks good, Artemis.” Brandon saw how well it spun on the bicycle.
“Thanks.” Artemis flips the bicycle back up and takes it out of the garage for the guys.
Brandon pops open his soda after Terrance gives it to him. He takes a sip and loved how it felt going down his throat.
“Careful, or you’re going to end up buying another one.” Artemis watches both boys enjoying their drinks.
“For fifty cents a can, it’s worth it.” Terrance could drink another one.
“Do you have a recycling bin for the cans?” Brandon was done with his soda.
“Yeah, just give it to me.” Artemis holds her hand out for the can.
Brandon's hand sits over to Artemis “here you go.”
“Thanks.” Artemis accepts it.
She puts it in the can crush hanging from her workbench and crushes it. Afterward, she puts it in the bin near her bench. She already had a decent collection of cans.
“Here you go, Artemis.” Terrance hands Artemis his can as well.
“Thanks, fellows.” Artemis accepts it and does the same thing to it she did to Brandon.
“Well, see you later, and thanks.” Brandon turns around to lead the way with his brother’s bicycle.
Artemis watches as the boys ride off. She waits a few minutes, before getting back to work on the tricycle breaking it down and labeling the
parts. She makes a list of everything she was going to need to rebuild it.
Once all the parts are labeled and put in plastic containers to go to get sandblasted and painted. She sets that aside to put in her mothers’ truck, later when she comes back from her shop. Her mother normally didn’t work on Sunday, but she had a client that needed their car first thing Monday morning.
Her aunt Stacy was at work as well. One of the ladies she works with called in sick. So, she had to go in and cover the shift. Artemis goes about working on another bicycle that only needs a few things done to it. It was a tune and lube job. She works on that bicycle for an hour and a half.
When she is done with that one, she promised her mother she would cut the lawn. So, she grabs the lawn motor and checks the gas level and oil level, before she starts on that. She puts her headphones on and her favorite basketball cap.
She starts the lawnmower up and starts cutting the lawn. It takes her thirty minutes to down the front yard, the sides, and the backyard. By the time she was done, she wanted to just go inside the house and cool off. She wishes it wasn’t so humid out. She brushes the lawnmower off and puts it back into the shed.
Since she was done for the day. She closes the garage door and grabs the money bag and receipt book, so she can see how much she made these past few days. Her mother was teaching her how to keep her books.
She walks inside the house and up to her bedroom. She strips out of her clothes and stands in the middle of her bedroom, enjoying the A/C on her bare skin. She still can’t believe she was a real girl. She walks across the hallway to the bathroom and takes a nice cold shower.
Once Artemis is done with her shower and dressed in her favorite lounge around the house shirt and baggy shorts. She fixes herself some lunch and watches a movie curled up on the living room sofa until her mother and aunt come home.
Artemis catches the baseball as it came to her. She couldn’t believe she had been talked into playing baseball with her friends from school. She normally didn’t like playing sports, but her mother and aunt thought she should get out and socialize more. So, when her friends Kelly and
Mark asked her to play. She was a little hesitant at first but gave in.
“That was a nice catch, Artemis.” Billy had seen Artemis catch the ball.
“Thanks, Billy.” Artemis blushes some from Billy’s comment.
She didn’t know why she blushed, but she did. She noticed that he has been really nice to her since they started playing. She watches him as he catches the ball coming towards his location.
“You’re out!” Larry was enjoying playing catcher.
Artemis heads towards the bench and takes her place. They had managed to find enough players to play baseball. She was on Kelly’s team along with Billy.
Mark, Anthony, Brenda, Susan, and several other kids from her school and the private high school were on the other team. Their team was leading 5 to 4 and Kelly was up to bat. Artemis watches as Kelly bunts the ball and sprints towards first base.
Kelly was on their high school softball team. Artemis watches as Anna steps up to the plate.
“Strike, one!”
Artemis watches as Anna misses the first ball thrown at her.
“Strike, two!”
“You can do this Anna. I know you can.” Artemis could tell Anna was nervous.
Anna watches as Anthony smirks at her. She was going to knock that smirk off his face. She watches as he throws the ball at her. Just as it gets right where she wanted it, she swings and knocks it way out into the backfield.
Anna watches as the out fielders’ players chase the ball down. She runs the bases as she watches Kelly run as well. The two of them end up crossing home base by the time the ball is found and thrown back.
“I told you, you could do it, Anna.” Artemis was proud of her friend.
“Thanks, guys.” Anna was proud of herself.
For the rest of the game, Artemis manages to hit two home runs like her friend Anna. She also gets hits by the baseball. She went to catch it and instead of catching it with her glove. Her shoulder got hit instead, leaving a nasty bruise.
After the baseball game, everyone headed over to Anthony’s house. His parents invited everyone over for a cookout.
“Hey, Artemis. How is your shoulder feeling?” Billy walks over to Artemis with a soda in his hands.
“It hurts to raise my arm.” Artemis was glad for the pain pills Anthony’s parents gave her for the pain.
“You need to be more careful.” Billy hands Artemis the soda he got for her.
“I miss calculated when I went to catch the ball.” Artemis thought for sure, she was going to catch it.
“Well, at least you and Chuckie didn’t run into each other as Anna and Carol did.” A playful smile appears on Billy’s face.
Anna and Carol had run straight into each other while trying to catch the ball coming towards them. Both girls ended up on the ground with the ball hitting Carol on her back.
“That was funny. I never thought I would see something like that.” Artemis had seen players do that on television and such, but never in real life.
“Too bad no one caught it on video. It would be nice to playback.” Billy takes a sip from his soda.
“Those two will never live that down. So, what is your school like?” Artemis had heard Billy went to an all-boys private school.
“Boring, all there is are nothing but boys around you. I wished I went to a public school.” Billy hated his school.
“Why did your parents enroll you in that school, if don’t mind me asking?” Artemis was curious.
“My parents thought it would keep me out of trouble. They didn’t want me going to school with a bunch of girls and getting distracted. Plus, according to my father. It would look good on my college applications.”
“What are you planning to study in college?” Artemis hasn’t thought about what she wanted to do when she gets out of school.
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to go to college. I want to go to a trade school. I like working with my hands.” Billy liked when he volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.
He learned a lot from the guys he worked with. Originally, it was to have something good on his school records. However, after his second week of volunteering with them. He found he liked it a lot.
“I know what you mean. I like working on the bicycles I manage to find and refurbish them. I want to learn how to weld and paint them, instead of sending them out.” Artemis has already talked with her mother about learning how to weld and paint.
“Exactly. I don’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps. He wants me to be a finical adviser or a stockbroker. He thinks physical labor is for low
IQ people.” Billy knew his father had a high option about himself.
“I would hate to burst his bubble. My mother is extremely smart and good at what she does. She might be a grease monkey, but without them. People like your father would be walking to work.”
“That’s what he doesn’t understand. He is good at what he does and loves it. However, I like what I did and want to make a career out of it.” Billy knew his father won’t like his choice.
“Well, you should tell your father what you want to do. I’m thinking about doing more with my bicycle job. I want to be able to design bicycles as well. I’ve seen some really neat things people have done with them. You should see some of the things the Chinese and Japanese do with them. I also just bought a bunch of bicycles from Amsterdam. They had a bunch for sale.”
“Did that cost you a lot of money?” Billy was curious.
“I had to apply for a small business loan, but the shipping and the container they will arrive in was the most expensive part of it. I’m going to
have to store the shipping container at my mothers’ garage.” Artemis was glad her mother was behind her on this.
“Wow! You must have bought a lot of bicycles.” Billy wonders what type Artemis bought.
“About two hundred of various bicycles. I’m still not sure what all of them are, but I do know there are a few we don’t have here in the US.” Artemis saw the inventory list of what she bought.
“Well, let me know when they get here. I want to know what you got.” Billy wanted to see what an Amsterdam bicycle looked like.
The rest of the evening Billy and Artemis spend time with each other. Artemis was enjoying Billy’s company.
“Artemis, I got this bicycle done.” Billy looks over towards Artemis.
Ever since the shipment she was expecting from Amsterdam came in. She has been busy fixing and repairing some of the unique bicycles she bought. At first, she had only restored some of the normal bicycles and they took a few weeks to sell.
There were a few electric-powered bicycles in the shipment. The motors on them needed to be fix and new wiring had to be installed as well. She managed to get everything done, thanks to some help from Mr. Rexon down the street.
He used to work at an alternator shop before it was closed. The reason it was closed was that it was cheaper to buy the alternators at auto repair places, instead of having them rewired. If they couldn’t be fixed, he found a supplier that would sell them to her for dealer cost.
The bicycles that were selling like hotcakes right now, were the cargo bicycles. They were like the tricycles, but the seat and pedals were in the back with a wooden or metal box upfront. They were like the old ice cream bicycles from the 1940s.
Which she managed to find two of. She did some horse-trading with the person who owned them. He was looking for a three-person bicycle, but it was a special type of bicycle. She managed to locate three of them, but they needed a lot of work. So, she borrowed some money from her mother and bought them.
She managed to keep the cost of the repair work down and traded all three bicycles for the ice cream bicycles. So, she had the ice cream bicycles torn down and being fixed along with the cargo bicycles. The cargo bicycles boxes were either metal or wood.
She learned how to repair them both. The body shop guy she used to fix some of the body repairs. He took her under his wing and taught her how to pound the dents out and straighten everything. He also taught her how to use Bondo for metal and wood.
When Halloween came around, she went to her first party dressed as one of the Disney Princess. She went as Cinderella and loved all the frills that in the costume. The funny thing was, Billy went as Prince Charming and acted like her escort. He started hanging out with her after school and on the weekend.
He even took an interest in the work she was doing on the bicycles. When she started learning how to weld and do bodywork. Billy got a job at the local Taylor Do It Center. One of the contractors he worked with at Habitat for Humanity saw him working and said he could use a helper on the weekends.
So, between Billy helping the contractor on the weekend and helping Artemis when he could. He was enjoying the things he was learning.
“Cool, it looks like we might just make that deadline.” Artemis looks up from the bicycle she was working on.
They were working in a Ranch house Gable 16 ft. W x 14 ft. D solid and manufactured wood storage shed. Her mother had it delivered to the house and she was making the payments on it. She outgrew the space inside the garage her mother allowed her to work.
Between her schoolwork, the bicycle business, and working part-time to learn how to weld and do bodywork. She barely had any free time for anything else. Around Thanksgiving, Artemis spends with her new family. She has already met most of them when she was adopted by Roxana. There were still many she didn’t know.
The bike business had slowed down, because of the weather, but the cargo bicycles were still selling. So, were the refurbished electric-powered bikes. Some of the restaurants that did delivery, wanted electric bicycles.
By the time eight o’clock runs around. Billy and Artemis were tired and hungry. The two of them had worked through lunch and dinner.
“I can’t believe we pulled it off.” Billy looks at Artemis as she sat nearby.
“Me neither. I didn’t think we would get it done tonight.” Artemis figured they would have to work tomorrow morning.
“At least we can take tomorrow off and relax.” Billy wasn’t working with the contractor tomorrow. He didn’t work on Sundays unless it was an emergency.
“Hey, the winter dance is coming up in a few weeks. I was wondering if you would like to go to it with me.” Billy has been staling about asking Artemis to the dance.
Artemis was a little stun. She didn’t know Billy liked her like that.
“Yes! I..Yes!” she was tongue-tied.
“Really?” There was a sign of relief on his face.
Billy didn’t think Artemis would want to go to the dance with him. He didn’t want to jeopardize their budding friendship.
“Yes.” Artemis looks at Billy and noticed how surprised he was when she said yes.
There was a big smile on Billy’s face. He was happy Artemis said yes.
“I’ll let you know what time; I’ll be by to pick you up.” Billy hadn’t made any other plans, because he didn’t think she would accept.
“Okay.” Artemis starts turning everything off inside the shed.
She turns the heater off and makes sure all the tools she used are put back into the proper place. She had her tool chest now and a spare unit so Billy could have access to the tools he needed. Her mother and aunt found the tool chests at a flea market for a reasonable price.
“Billy, thanks for coming over and helping me today. As soon as I collect the money from the buyer. I’ll give you half.” Artemis couldn’t have completed the order without Billy’s help.
“You don’t need to do that, Artemis. I enjoy working with you. I better get going.” Billy walks over a bicycle Artemis gave him.
“Thanks for everything, Billy.” Artemis watches as Billy pedals away. A smile appears on her face, as she locks the doors on the shed and heads into the house.
Artemis walks between her mother and her aunt Stacy as they walk into a store that specialized in dresses for special occasions. They had prom dresses, wedding dresses of all sorts, and bride maids’ dresses. Her aunt Stacy knew some of the women working there.
“Stacy, Roxana what brings you ladies in today?” Brenda noticed they had a young teenage girl with them.
“We are hoping to find a nice dress for my niece to wear to the upcoming dance.” Stacy decided to dot eh talking for the three of them.
Brenda looks at the young teenage girl. She had nice cheekbones, a cute face, shoulder-length golden auburn hair, and a youthful-looking build.
“Do you have a favorite color you would like, dear?” Brenda had several dresses in stock that would look nice on Stacy’s niece.
“Baby or powder blue.” Artemis loved the color blue.
“Hhhmm, I think we might have several dresses that would look nice on her.” Brenda had a few in mind.
“Well, let's see what they look like.” Stacy loved fashion and wanted her niece to be a big hit at the dance.
“If you’ll follow me, please.” Brenda escorts Artemis towards the back of the store where the fitting rooms were and the showcase was.
Brenda stops and grabs a few dresses on the way towards the back. She could guess the young girl's dress size easily. She knew Stacy was the same way.
“Let’s try these dresses on first and see how you look.” Brenda hangs them on the dressing room door for Artemis to try on.
Artemis looks towards her mother. She was hoping she would come in and help her.
“I think she wants your help, cousin.” Stacy looks at Roxana with a smirk on her face.
“I think your right.” Roxana takes Artemis's hand and escorts her into the dressing room.
“Thanks, mom.” Artemis looks at her mother with a smile on her face.
“You’re welcome, sweetie.” Roxana helps Artemis change out of the dress she wore to the store.
Before they left the house this morning, Stacy had suggested that Artemis wear a dress along with all the proper undergarments as well. That way, she could tell how the dress she selected fitted her with the undergarments on.
For the next three hours, Artemis tries on a lot of different dresses, until she finds the right one, she liked, and her mother and aunt liked. She had several maybes hanging in the dressing room, but not all of them were agreed on by her, her mother, and her aunt.
The one she was wearing and modeling now was perfect and accepted by all of them. Artemis loved the color and style of it. Roxana loved the style and how modest, but sexy it looked on her daughter. Stacy liked the color and style of the dress and how it moved when Artemis twirled around in it.
Brenda loved how all three ladies loved the last dress she showed them. She forgot she had it in stock until she went looking for dresses that would fit the Artemis. She found out the young teenager’s name, after listening to her friend Stacy and Roxana comment on the other dresses.
Artemis looks in the mirrors surrounding her as she wore the dress. She loved the dress she had on. She never thought she would ever find anything so beautiful.
Roxana saw how Artemis was looking at herself in the mirror. She watched as the expressions on Artemis's face changed and a big ole smile appeared. She leans next to her cousin “your niece is extremely happy with that dress.”
Stacy saw the same thing that Roxana saw on Artemis’s face. She noticed how Artemis’s face lit up when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
“I know. I think we created a monster.” Stacy remembered when she first saw Artemis and how she was dressed as a boy but looked like a girl.
Stacy looks at Brenda “so, what do we owe you?”
“Well, since that dress has been in my inventory for so long. How do a hundred dollars sound to you?” Brenda figures since it has been in her inventory for so long, she would give her friend a discount.
“Sounds reasonable to me. What do you thank, Roxana?” Stacy looks towards her cousin to see what she thought.
“That sounds good to me.” Roxana was going to spend up to three hundred for a dress for Artemis. Since this was the first event Artemis has ever experienced as a girl, she wanted it to be special for her daughter.
“Thank you, mom and Aunt Stacy.” Artemis gives each of them a hug.
“You’re welcome, sweet pea. Now, let’s go and get you some shoes to go with your dress and a clutch as well.” Roxana takes Artemis to the
nearest shoe store and buys a pair of really expensive heels to go with the dress for Artemis.
“I know the perfect place to get a clutch for Artemis.” Stacy takes Artemis and Roxana to a store where she buys her purses.
When they walk into the place, Artemis couldn’t believe how many purses there were and how expensive some of them were. She follows her aunt as she leads them towards the back of the store. She figures her aunt must have scouted out the place before bringing her and her mom to it.
Stacy knew what she was looking for. She had planned on buying it for Artemis as a Christmas present, but it would look better with the dress they just purchased.
Stacy spots the clutch she was looking for “good, they haven’t sold it yet.”
Roxana saw it and had to admit, it would look great with the dress or any outfit Artemis wore. She liked how it looked and if she was right, it was a designer clutch as well.
“You’re right, it would go perfectly with the dress.” Roxana looks at it.
“I was going to get you this clutch for a Christmas present, Artemis. However, since your mom bought you that dress. This is the perfect accessory for your dress.” Stacy was happy they hadn’t sold it yet.
“Thank you, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis hugs her aunt. She has never had anyone do something like this for her. She was finding out that it was
expensive to be a girl and also so much better as well.
Roxana and Stacy were going to wait before taking Artemis to the salon to have her hair done for the dance. They did make an appointment in advance for her. Also, Roxana buys Artemis her very first makeup kit. She looks at Artemis “I and your aunt are going to teach you how to apply to make up to your face, sweetie. Until then, I don’t want you to open this, just yet.”
“Yes ma’am.” Artemis wore some makeup at the slumber party she went to.
The girls there showed her how to paint her nails and toenails. They also showed her how to apply some makeup as well, but she didn’t mind her mother and aunt showing her how. They always looked nice when they wore theirs.
Artemis, Stacy, and Roxana stop to have a late lunch at an Outback Steakhouse. She loved the blooming onion they order as an appetizer. She gets a hamburger, instead of a steak. Her aunt Stacy orders a surf and turf plate and her mother orders a medium-cooked steak and baked potato for lunch.
After lunch, they explore the different shops buying earrings and necklaces to go with the dress. Stacy takes them by the store she works for and lets Artemis choose a perfume for herself. Her mother helps her find the right one for Artemis.
Afterward, they head home and put everything away, and change into their nightclothes. Artemis snuggles up to her mother as they watch a movie.
Artemis was nervous as she waited for Billy to show up and pick her up for the dance. Billy’s mother was one of the chaperones for the dance tonight. She paces back and forth in her bedroom. She has never done anything like this before.
Her mother and Aunt Stacy showed her how to dance. She stops pacing and looks at herself in the mirror. Everything was still like she applied it. She hears a knock on her bedroom door, as it opens and her mother walks in.
Roxana walks into Artemis’s bedroom and looks at her. She looked so cute all dressed up.
“Billy is here, sweetie.” Roxana had come upstairs to let her daughter know Billy had arrived.
Artemis looks at her “how do I look?” She was nervous.
“You look fine, Artemis. Now, wait a few seconds to give me time to get back downstairs.” Roxana wanted to take pictures of Artemis.
“Okay, mom.” Artemis watches as her mother walks out of her bedroom.
Artemis waits the required time that her mother wanted her to and slowly makes her way downstairs. She gets ambushed by her mother and aunt as they take pictures of her. She spots Billy wearing a fancy suit as a smile appears on her face. He looked nice all dressed up.
“You look handsome.” Artemis smiles at Billy.
“And you look lovely.” A big smile appears on Billy’s face.
“Thank you.” Artemis cheeks turned beet red.
Roxana and Stacy take more pictures of the two of them. They watch as Billy approaches Artemis with a white rose.
“My mother thought this would be something you would like.” Billy carefully pins a white rose with baby’s breath and palm leaf onto Artemis’s dress.
“Thank you.”
“Alright, you two. I want to take some photos of you.” Roxana positions Artemis and Billy the way she wants them.
For the next few minutes, Artemis and Billy are photographed by Roxana. Afterward, she lets them leave to attend the dance. Billy opens the car door for Artemis and acts like a perfect gentleman towards her.
Artemis gets goose pimples when she and Billy arrive at the dance. They go out on the dance floor and start dancing. Artemis tries to remember everything her mother and aunt taught her.
She looks into Billy’s eyes and could tell he was enjoying himself. His mother was watching from the sidelines. She had to break up a couple that got too handsy.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Artemis?” Billy was curious about how she felt.
“Yes, I’m having fun. Are you?” Artemis looks into Billy’s eyes.
“Yes, I am. I’m glad I asked you to the dance.” Billy liked how Artemis smelled and dance.
Artemis blushes as they dance together. She noticed that Billy’s hand never left the small of her back as they dance. She did notice a few guys resting their hands on their girlfriend’s butt.
When the dance is over, Billy’s mother gives them a ride back home. Artemis was head over heels from all the dancing she did. Just before she goes inside the house, Billy and her kiss each other. She shivers from the kiss and felt like she stuck her fingers into an electrical outlet.
She heads into the house and spots her mother waiting for her. She smiles as she heads upstairs to her bedroom to change out of her dress. She is careful taking the rose off her dress. She wants to save it as long as she can.
Once she has her dress off, she removes the light make-up her mother allowed her to wear. She makes sure to remove all the makeup. Once she was done removing the makeup and slip on her favorite nightgown. She covers up a yawn as she crawls into bed feeling happy.
Roxana checks in on Artemis before she goes to bed and notices that Artemis took special care with the dress they bought. She also spots the rose that Billy gave her sitting on top of her dresser drawer. She couldn’t believe that Artemis has come so far since she adopted her.
“Sleep tight, my little girl.” Roxana closes Artemis’s bedroom door.
When Artemis wakes up the next morning, she just lays there in bed staring at her ceiling. She had so much fun last night with Billy. She also enjoyed the kiss they had. A smile appears on her face as she thinks about how she felt.
She had never felt like she did last night. She didn’t know what she felt, but she enjoyed it. She wonders how Billy felt. Artemis hears movement outside in the hallway.
She gets up out of bed to put her robe on and heads downstairs towards the kitchen. When Artemis walks into the kitchen, she notices her mother and her Aunt Stacy fixing breakfast.
“Did you have fun last night, sweetie?” Roxana looks at Artemis.
“Yes ma’am. I had loads of fun.” A huge smile appears on her face.
Stacy looks at her niece when she smiles “I say, with a smile that big.”
Artemis’s cheeks turn red at her aunt’s comment. She walks over to the refrigerator and grabs the orange juice. As she closes the refrigerator door, she could tell her mother and aunt were still watching her.
“What?” Artemis looks at the two of them.
“Nothing.” Stacy just smirks as she goes back to helping Roxana.
December:
Everything started slowly at the beginning of the month. When she wasn’t working at the body shop. She was working in the storage shed fixing bikes and trying to get as many of them as possible done. She was planning on donating some of the bicycles to Toys for Tots.
Between the bicycles, she bought at the thrift stores, yard sales, and the ones she got from Amsterdam. She manages to get fifty bicycles ready. She was donating ten bicycles to Toys for Tots. She made sure they looked like they had just come out of the box. She had orders for the other bicycles and the rest she sold online.
About mid-December, she goes shopping to get Christmas gifts for her family and Billy and his family as well. This was the first Christmas that was turning out nice for her. Last year, Christmas wasn’t that good. Her uncle didn’t buy her anything and came home drunk.
This Christmas was different, and she was going to enjoy it. Artemis learns how to make Christmas cookies with her mother and aunt. She always enjoys the time she spends with her mother and aunt.
Finding Christmas gifts for her mother was the easiest. Her mother enjoyed a lot of different things. She loved automotive tools and specialized body powder and deodorant. Her aunt on the other hand was the hardest person to shop for. If she wanted something, she would normally go and buy it. However, Artemis knew her aunt loved old fashion vinyl records.
She asked her one time, why she loved old vinyl records. The answer she got from her aunt was, she loved the sound the vinyl made when you played it. Her aunt loved certain artists or groups and Artemis always kept a list of those people.
Around mid-day, she meets up with Billy to have lunch together. They were still seeing each other after the winter dance. She smiles at him when she spots him over at his favorite video store. He loved movies and the store sold a lot of hard-to-find and Hentai anime.
Billy spots Artemis walking towards him and the bags she had in her hands. He also noticed that she was wearing a pair of leggings and a red shirt that had Santa’s face on the front of it. A smile appears on his face as she gets closer to him.
“You look like you have been busy.”
“You know how it is. Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year. I thought you would be working today?” Artemis was happy to see Billy.
“My boss gave me the day off so I can get some of my shopping done. It also helped, that we finished up the job last night.” Billy was happy they finished up their latest job early.
“That’s always good.” Artemis knew Billy worked hard and enjoyed what he did.
“So, are you still planning to come over on Christmas day?” Artemis was told she could invite Billy over on Christmas day.
“Only if you come on Christmas Eve. My parents would love for you to come.” Billy knew his parents thought a lot of Artemis. They didn’t know a lot of girls her age that had their own business and did what she did.
“I’ll be there, and I picked out the perfect dress to wear.” Artemis visited her aunt's store and bought a nice Christmas-oriented dress with her aunt’s help.
“So, where do you want to grab something to eat?” Billy was feeling hungry.
“How about…” As Artemis looks around and spots a restaurant they haven’t eaten at yet “how about that one?”
Billy looks over towards the restaurant Artemis was pointing at. He knew Artemis liked trying different places and he had to admit, he has been wanting to try it.
“Okay.”
Artemis and Billy walk over to the restaurant. When they walk into the place, they discovered it was an Indian food restaurant.
“I have never had Indian food before.” Artemis couldn’t wait to try it.
“Me neither. This should be interesting.” Billy wonders what it tasted like.
The two of them enjoy the food. Artemis noticed when they were ordering how expensive the food was. She ordered a chicken dish and Billy ordered some sort of jumbo prawns from the grill.
Artemis looks at the prawns on Billy’s plate “what are they?”
“Prawns.” Billy eats one.
“Weird.” Artemis eats her chicken.
After dinner, Billy and Artemis do some more shopping. They hold hands and enjoy each other’s company. Around nine o’clock, Stacy shows up and takes both kids home.
She looks at her niece as they drove towards the house “did you have fun with Billy?”
“Yes ma’am. We tried a new restaurant and did some window shopping.” Artemis watches as they traveled home.
“So, is he coming over on Christmas Eve, or are you going to visit him?” Stacy is curious.
“I’m going over to his place and he is coming over on Christmas day.” Artemis knew her mother had already said it was okay.
Stacy wonders what Roxana thought of this. She’ll ask her when they get home.
“Do you think it’s a bad idea?” Artemis looks at her aunt.
“No, because I have to work late, and I know your mother is going to visit an old friend that night.” Stacy volunteered to close the store on Christmas Eve.
“How come you have to work late?” Artemis knew her aunt always volunteered to cover shifts for the other employees.
“Because the person who was scheduled to close the store, wants to spend time with their family. So, I said I would close for them.”
“Aunt Stacy, you are a nice person for doing that.”
A smile appears on Stacy’s face as she continues to drive.
Artemis Bedroom:
“How are you feeling sweetie?” Roxana checks Artemis’s temperature as she looks down at her daughter.
“Like someone has drained all my energy out of me.” Artemis was feeling weak and hot.
She came home from school yesterday and took a hot shower, hoping it would help her breathe. Her nose was congested and she could barely breathe. After her shower, she went straight to bed and didn’t even respond when her mother came into the bedroom to check on her.
Artemis hated being sick and missing school. Fortunately, it was the weekend and she could stay in bed and recover. She wonders what her temperature was.
Roxana pulls the thermometer out of Artemis's mouth and notices she was running a fever. She lays the back of her hand on Artemis’s forehead like her mother uses to do with her and felt how hot she was.
“Sweetie, you have a fever and I want you to stay in bed. I’ll check on you during the day to make sure it doesn’t go up.” Roxana was concerned for Artemis.
“Okay, mommy.” Artemis snuggles down under her blankets as she closes her eyes.
Roxana looks at Artemis and could tell she was feeling miserable. She puts a new box of tissue on Artemis’s nightstand and closes her curtains.
“Get some rest, sweetie.” Roxana leaves Artemis’s bedroom door slightly open, so she or Stacy could check on her.
Roxana walks downstairs to the kitchen to start making the chicken soup her mother always made when she and Stacy were sick. She had everything in the refrigerator.
“How is the munchkin feeling?” Stacy had the day off from work, which was unusual for her.
“Besides being congested, and running a fever. She’s exhausted and just wants to sleep.” Roxana knew how grumpy she got when she was sick and when Stacy was sick as well.
“Poor thing. She’s normally, full of energy and working on the bicycles or down at the body shop.” Stacy knew how busy her niece got during the week and on the weekend.
“I know. She must have caught something from one of the kids at school or the body shop.” Roxana fills a pot with water, garlic, salt, onions, celery salt, carrots, and chicken. She starts boiling the water.
“Well, she has been burning the candle at both ends since Christmas.” Stacy knew Artemis has been staying up late either to catch up on her schoolwork or to get some bicycles done.
“Well, that’s going to change.” Roxana watches as the water boils.
Stacy figures they all were going to have chicken soup for dinner tonight. She grabs some celery and onions to chop up. She adds them to the soup, along with some extra chicken broth.
While the soup cooks, Roxana sits at the counter after cleaning up the mess she made. She checks the money the shop has made in the past few months.
“Ho are things going down at the shop?” Stacy knew what her cousin was doing.
“Okay for now. We had some steady work the past few months. However, I’m afraid things might change.” Roxana knew several shops have been having problems getting customers.
The only reason she stays busy is the monthly inspections. She also did use new tires as well.
“Don’t feel bad, we have been slow at the store as well. However, things are bound to pick up.” Stacy knew Roxana depended on the income from the shop to live on.
“I hope so.” Roxana logs off her laptop.
She gets up and checks on the chicken soup she was cooking. She adds some more spices to it and stirs it. Afterward, Roxana goes into
Artemis’s bedroom and gets her dirty clothes to wash. She glances over towards her sleeping daughter and notices she was totally out of it. Artemis was cradling the teddy bear she gave her when she first moved in.
A smile appears on Roxana’s face as she just watches Artemis. She never thought she would ever be a mother. However, things changed when Artemis came into her garage asking to do any type of work, so she could eat. The thing was, Artemis didn’t know she was born a girl.
Roxana walks downstairs with the dirty laundry and gets them going. While they were in the washer, she checks on the soup and let it continue to cook. She notices that Stacy had gone into the living room and was watching a movie on Netflix.
Later in the evening, when Roxana goes to check on Artemis. She finds her sound asleep still. She checks her temperature again and it was still a little high, but it has gone down some. She quietly leaves Artemis's bedroom and lets her sleep.
“How is she?” Stacy looks at her cousin as she comes back into the kitchen.
“She’s sound asleep, but her fever has gone down some.” Roxana scoops up a bowl of soup for herself and sits down next to Stacy.
The rest of the night, Roxana checks on Artemis, before going to bed. She leaves a pitcher of ice water and a plastic cup on Artemis’s nightstand. She figures Artemis will be thirsty.
The next few days, Artemis spends in bed. Her fever slowly goes down. Her sheets were wet from her sweating so much, so while she was in the tub. Her aunt took them off the bed and wash them.
She manages to eat some of the chicken soup her mother made. It was better than the can stuff she used to eat. Her mother and Aunt Stacy wanted her to stay in bed until she felt better. Which she agreed with them. The medicine she was taking for her congestion and coughing was strong. She was taking the recommended dosage, but once she took it. She would fall asleep.
Billy stops by to see how Artemis was feeling. He informs her that several kids at school have come down with something that is going on. They were experiencing the same thing she was. He volunteers to get her homework from her teachers.
Artemis appreciates that a lot. She hates missing school. They play a few boards games Roxana keeps in the house. It makes her feel better. Afterward, Artemis watches as Billy leaves.
By the time Wednesday arrives Artemis is feeling a lot better. Roxana didn’t want Artemis to push herself too hard the first day back to school. So, Artemis is told to just go to school and come home afterward.
Artemis couldn’t believe that her school has been shut down after she came back. Several more students and teachers had gotten sick from some virus going around. So, now she was stuck at home until they decide what the school system was going to do.
Stacy’s store was closed as well. Some of the ladies had come down with the same cold that Artemis had. She spots her niece walking around in one of her nightshirts and pink silky boxer shorts.
“Bored, kiddo?” Stacy looks at her niece as she walks by.
“Yes ma’am. Mom said I couldn’t go to work with her, and she doesn’t want me to work in my shop either.” Artemis walks over to a nearby recliner and flops down onto it.
Stacy just shakes her head. She knew Artemis wasn’t like most teenagers. She liked to stay busy.
“How’s your friend Billy doing?” Stacy knew Billy had come over when Artemis was sick.
“His mother is sick and he’s helping his father take care of his brothers and little sister.” Billy has been texting her.
“I hope everything is going to be okay with his mother.”
“Me too.” Artemis pulls her cellphone out of her shorts pocket to see if Billy sent anything to her.
“Any word on how your school is going to do the lessons?” Stacy just watches her niece.
“No ma’am. Right now, they are still figuring out what classes they will be able to continue. Some of the teachers I had were stricken with the same virus I had.”
“Which means, they’ll need to find a teacher to cover those classes.”
“Exactly.” Artemis didn’t see any text from Billy.
“I’m going to fix us some lunch. Why don’t you give me a hand?”
“Okay.”
Artemis follows her aunt into the kitchen. She wonders what her aunt had in mind for lunch.
“How about we have hot ham and cheese for lunch?” Stacy looks over towards Artemis.
“Sounds good to me.” Artemis gets the cut ham out and the cut cheese as well.
Her mother and aunt liked the cheese you get at the deli, instead of the packaged stuff. The same went for the ham as well. Her mother only bought the packaged stuff to keep at work. Sometimes her mother wouldn’t stop to take a lunch and would make a quick sandwich to munch on instead.
“Has the government identified what this new virus is yet, aunt Stacy?” Artemis looks at her aunt as she butters the bread to be grilled.
“Not yet, but they are saying that it affects people who already have problems worst than normal people.” Stacy has been trying to keep up with the news on the new virus.
Most places have been ordered to shut down. The automotive shop her cousin owned is considered essential and was allowed to stay open. However, she knew Roxana had to rearrange the work schedule so the place wasn’t as crowded as it normally was with employees.
Artemis grill up the sandwiches, while her aunt watches her. She had been amazed the first time she had tasted and done this. When she had been living with her uncle, he never made anything like this. Life with him was hell after a while.
“don’t burn them, sweetie.” Stacy noticed Artemis was lost in thought. She knew Artemis did that sometimes as events from her past came back to haunt her.
“Sorry, auntie.” Artemis flips the sandwich before it could burn.
Once the sandwiches were made and potato chips were added to the paper plates. Stacy and Artemis head towards the den and select a movie to watch. Artemis curls up on the bean bag her mother bought for her.
For the rest of the afternoon, Stacy and Artemis watch one movie after another. Both of them had their favorites. Stacy’s was Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagney. She loved all the singing and dancing he does in the movie.
Artemis couldn’t believe how corny or talented Mr. Cagney and the other actors were. She had never seen a movie like this before. Sure, her mother has introduced her to some of the classics but noting like Yankee Doodle Dandy.
After watching that movie, her aunt selects another one. Artemis takes their paper plate to the kitchen and put them in the trash can. She gets the ham they were going to have for dinner out of the refrigerator and preps it for the oven. She adds some brown sugar and pineapple rings to it. She makes up the glaze to go on it and gives it the first coat. Afterward, she wraps it in foil and sticks it in the oven when it is ready.
Artemis walks back into the den with a sweet iced tea for her aunt and herself. She walks over to her aunt and hands the glass to her.
“Thanks, sweetie. Did you put the ham on?” As Stacy accepts the glass.
“Yes ma’am. It should be ready by the time mom gets home.” Artemis sits down in her bean bag and covers back up with the throw blanket.
Later in the evening, Roxana arrives home and smelled the aroma of ham floating in the air. She walks into the kitchen and noticed Artemis and her cousin Stacy fixing dinner.
You two look busy.” A smile appears on her face as she watches her daughter and cousin.
“How was your day, mom?” Artemis cleans her hands and grabs a cold drink from the refrigerator.
She walks over to her mother and hands it to her.
“Thanks, sweetie.” Roxana accepts the drink from Artemis and opens it.
After she takes a good gulp from it. She looks at her daughter to answer her.
“Busy, very, very, busy.” Roxana couldn’t believe how busy they got.
“That bad, cousin?” Stacy looks at Roxana.
“Yes. Most of the people were talking about leaving town and going somewhere else to weather out the lock down.” Roxana takes another sip of her drink.
“How are your workers handling this?”
“They don’t like it that I have to split their hours, so everyone can get some hours into work. But they are slowly adjusting. Whatever this virus is, it's putting a damper on everything.”
Roxana steals a piece of ham that Stacy just cut. She smiles at her cousin when Stacy looks at her.
“Go wash up. Dinner is ready.” Stacy cuts a few more slices.
Roxana just smiles as she leaves the kitchen. She heads to the downstairs bathroom to wash her hands. When she is done, she walks into the dining room.
Months go by as the death rate increases. Some of the people that died, were people that Roxana, Stacy, and Artemis personally knew. They were friends of Roxana or Stacy’s. One of them had been a classmate of Artemis that already had health problems.
As the locked down continued, people started spending more time outside. Artemis would set bicycles she had worked on outside either to buy or rent. She had a few restaurants buy a few bicycles from her to make deliveries.
Her aunt Stacy would help Artemis out when the bicycles were returned. She would help Artemis wipe the bicycles down and make sure they were sanitized. Stacy didn’t mind helping her niece out. The business she worked for was going to do online sales until they could open again.
Artemis looks at her aunt as she cleans a double-seat bicycle. The cleaning supplies she got, were from her mother. Her mother would order large amounts of cleaner, and Artemis would pay her for the cleaning supplies.
“At least a few good things have come out of the lockdown, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis stops after a while.
“What’s that, sweetie?” Stacy looks at her niece as she cleans a bicycle that has been returned.
“I never thought about renting the bicycles out before. With people stuck at home, it gives people a chance to be outside.” Artemis finishes cleaning the bicycle she is working on.
“True.” Stacy finishes the bicycle she is cleaning and moves on to another one.
“I’ll be happy when things get back to normal.” Artemis hated taking her classes online.
The teacher she had was alright, but it took her mother or aunt afterward to explain things to her. Whenever her teachers are teaching online, she makes sure to record the lesson.
“What grade did your teacher give you, on your test?” Stacy was curious.
“I got a B on Mr. Mason’s math test and an A on Mrs. Watson’s English test.” Artemis couldn’t believe how hard Mr. Mason’s math test was.
“That’s good. Now, let’s finish cleaning these last four bicycles and get some lunch.”
“Okay.” Artemis continues to clean the bicycle she was working on.
Stacy and Artemis finish cleaning the bicycles and cookout on the grill. Stacy was cooking the homemade burgers she made. Artemis was getting the lawn chairs from the garage and set them up.
“The burgers are almost done, Artemis.”
“Alright, Aunt Stacy.” Artemis goes inside and grabs some paper plates and a bag of potato chips.
The two of them sit down on the lawn chair, enjoying their lunch. They were spending time out in the garage either renting the bicycles or selling them. Sometimes, someone in the neighborhood would come by to have their bicycle tire fixed or leave it for a tune-up.
“I wonder how mom is doing, today?” Artemis knew things have slowed down at her mother’s garage.
People weren’t driving that much. Since only a few things were opened.
“I’ll be glad once everything gets back to normal.” Artemis misses seeing her friends at school.
“Me too, sweetie. Me too.” Stacy takes a bite out of her burger.
After lunch, Artemis helps her aunt clean up. She watches as her aunt goes into the house to grab some dirty clothes. She sits outside in the driveway, watching her neighbors work on their lawn.
She hopes no one they know dies. She knew how the last two deaths affected her aunt and mother. Especially when they couldn’t go to see their friends buried.
Artemis spends most of the afternoon outside. Occasionally, she could hear her aunt doing laundry in the garage. She knew her aunt would take the laundry inside and fold them.
One of the boys that live in the same neighborhood as Artemis, rides up the driveway. Clint noticed that Artemis was outside sitting in a lawn chair in her driveway.
“What are you doing?” Clint looks at Artemis for an answer.
“Just watching people. What are you up to, Clint?” Artemis shields her eyes so she could look at Clint.
“Just cruising around the neighborhood. My mom said I was bugging her, and I should go outside for a while.” Clint wanted to stay inside to play on his PlayStation 4.
“Well, it’s a good day to ride around. It’s not too hot and everyone is outside enjoying themselves.” Artemis was thinking about going out tomorrow for a while.
“Well, I prefer to be inside and playing on my PlayStation 4.”
“I didn’t know they were up to the fourth version already.” Artemis wasn’t into video games.
“Actually, they are up to a fifth-generation, but I like my fourth generation.” Clint knew they were still too expensive to buy right now.
“Boy, I wonder how much they cost?”
“Too much. For the cost of the fifth generation, I could upgrade my computer and play games on it.”
“I’m glad I’m not into video games. I would go broke trying to keep up with the latest units and games.”
“What do you do for fun, when you’re not working on bicycles?” Clint was curious.
“I play on my computer, draw some and read books.”
“Boy, I didn’t think anyone reads a book, anymore.”
“I do. I enjoy holding a book in my hand while I read.” Artemis likes real books, instead of just using a Fire Kindle.
“Well, one day I am going to have to have you come over and play.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Artemis wouldn’t mind going over to Clint’s place.
A beeping sound could be heard coming from Clint’s back pocket. He pulls his cellphone out and looks at who is texting him. After a few minutes, Clint puts his cellphone back “it looks like my mom wants me to come home.”
“Drop by any time, Clint.” Artemis smiles at Clint.
“I will.” Clint turns around on his bicycle and rides off.
Artemis watches as Clint rides off, before heading inside the house. She hopes she'll be able to visit Clint one day.
The months go by as people wear a mask around each other when they go shopping or get gas. When the vaccine comes out, there are a lot of people who are afraid of it. Mostly, because of how fast it was developed. The thing was, it’s been in the works for years.
Stacy and Roxana are happy when a new congress and president are elected. They were getting tired of all the lies from the old president and when the events on January 6th happened. They couldn’t believe how something like that could happen in their country.
Even Artemis couldn’t believe it. She has been wanting to visit Washington D.C. to see the Capitol and visit some of the historical places there. Now, she wasn’t so sure after what happened all because people believed a bunch of lies and got worked up because their candidate lost the Presidency.
She was afraid to visit their capital now, because of the attitude of the people. In her neighborhood, you had people on both sides of the fence, but they got along and were polite to each other. Most of them had no problems with gays and such. However, the political climate was starting to change against them.
One night, while she was sitting in the living room with her mother and Aunt Stacy. She looks at them “do you think if you hadn’t found out I was intersex, but a boy wanting to be a girl I would be able to do that?”
Roxana looks at Artemis “I wouldn’t have cared, either way, sweetie. I would have adopted you anyway. I saw what your life was like and no child should have been treated that way. Plus, if you want to be a boy or girl, I would do everything to support you. That’s what a parent is supposed to do.”
“I’m with your mom, kiddo. I wouldn’t have cared if you were a boy pretending to be a girl or a girl pretending to be a boy. I would support you.
However, I did realize at first how pretty you were, when I thought you were a boy. You just didn’t look like any boy I have ever seen looking so pretty.” Stacy had thought Artemis was a girl from the first time she saw her.
She just didn’t look like a boy her age at all. It also didn’t help that Artemis was developing secondary sexual features for a girl, instead of for a boy. It had surprised both her and Roxana that Artemis had been born intersex.
Artemis gets up and walks over to her aunt and mother. She hugs both of them and was happy she had been adopted and was loved by both of them.
“I’m so glad I have a wonderful mother and aunt.” Artemis had tears sliding down her cheeks as she held both of them.
“And we are so glad to have a wonderful niece and loving daughter, sweety.” Roxana places a kiss on Artemis's cheek.
Stacy kisses the other cheek as well. She was lucky to have a wonderful niece to love and help raise. She knew she couldn’t have children and was happy when Roxana brought Artemis home. She knew Roxana was happy being a mother as well.
For the rest of the evening, Artemis stays with her mother and aunt. She was feeling lucky and happy.