Then Do It

Chapter 14

    I dismiss my alarm as soon as it starts going off. With a groan, I pull my blanket from over my head and set my fluffy fake animal to the side. 

    As I stretch, I get up and grab my favorite hoodie and a random pair of jeans before heading to the bathroom to shower and get ready for school.

    When I finish brushing my teeth I glance in the mirror to find my eyes are almost bloodshot and there's red around them. It's obvious I've been crying almost all night. 

    I wasn't as upset that my dad didn't accept me; it's more that he acted like this is my fault. That I'm just doing it for attention. If I could change this I would but I can't. I splash water on my face in an attempt to make me look a little less obvious before messing with my hair a little. I should get Mom or Brady to cut the sides down again. 

    When I get my breakfast I go through the same process of reading Mom's note before grabbing whatever I want to eat today and sitting at the table.

    After a while a knock sounds from the door and I quickly unlock the door and open it, not caring to ask who it is first.

    "Hey- wow," Brady's smile drops as he and Chloe come in and I return to my chair. "You look miserable."

    "I saw the mirror today," I nod as I take a bite of my granola bar. 

    "What happened?" Chloe sits on my left while Brady sits across from me.

    "Nothing, it's stupid," I wave off the question.

    "No. If you look like you've been crying for over an hour, it's not nothing or stupid," Brady says firmly and Chloe nods in agreement.

    "What happened?"

    "My dad knows and he thinks I'm just doing this for attention," I shrug. "He's acting like it's my fault. Maybe it is."

    "It is not your fault," Brady moves his chair to sit on my right.

    "Your dad's just an ignorant prick. It's not your fault at all," Chloe adds. 

    "He says that I'll never be Asher to him," I try to stop the stinging tears from blurring my vision again. "If I could change this I would. Trust me, I would never want to feel like this." The hurt in my voice is clear as a tear slips and I stare at the table in front of me.

    "You don't need to change who you are. We accept you. Your mom accepts you and you can't change that," Brady says as Chloe uses her sleeve to carefully wipe the single tear away from my cheek.

    "You guys are awesome. Did you know that?" I smile at the two.

    "Yeah," Chloe smiles jokingly and we laugh as Brady quickly pulls Chloe and I into a hug, causing more laughter.

    "Alright," we separate. "We should get to school."

    I put on my sneakers and we leave my house. The moment I put my foot out the door I feel a rush of cold air but mostly on my right foot. I look down to find a hole on the front of my shoe. Big enough to notice but only if you actually look for it and the cold air pushes past my sock to my toes.

    "Shit, hold on." I turn around and go through the drawers in the kitchen to find some duct tape for the time being. I cover the hole with two pieces of the tape to make sure it holds out for a few days so I can get new ones.

    "What happened?" Brady asks as I lock the front door.

    "There's a hole in my shoe," I shrug. "I'll let Mom know after she gets out today so we can get new ones."

    "Oh, did you change shoes or something?" Chloe looks down for a second. "You just taped it?" her voice went to a deadpan tone.

    "Yeah, it should work for a few days. Until I can get new ones," I nod and we get into Brady's truck.

    My classes go by quickly although my first hour teacher asks why my eyes are red. I made up an excuse that I had something in my eyes and just got it out. I don't know if she bought it but she didn't push further. 

    At lunch I get what I always get and Chloe sits with Brady and I today. As I sit down Brady seems upset about something.

    "What's up?" I ask.

    "Everyone's avoiding the two of us," Brady answers as he picks at his food.

    "Why?"

    "They're just being stupid," Chloe waves her hand.

    "What's the real reason?" I look between the two.

    "They don't want to be associated with us because we're friends with you." Chloe sighs.

    "Oh," I look at my tray, most of the food still untouched. 

    "Don't worry about it," Chloe shrugs. "I'm happy knowing you guys are my real friends." She smiles and starts eating.

    I open my mouth to say something but stop when my phone vibrates in my back pocket. As I pull it out I use my free hand to take a bite of my lunch. 

    Victoria tagged me in a post. "Dumb bitch." It's a screenshot of my coming out post.

    "What the fuck?" I mutter as I read the comments.

    "I hate her."

    "She's never going to be a man."

    "What?" Chloe and Brady stare at me as I set the food I was about to take another bite of back onto the tray.

    "Nothing," I shake my head and put my phone back. "Just a post notification." She nods but I don't think she's buying my half lie.

    After lunch we go to our classes and these ones seem to pass by slower than any other day.

    In my last class of the day I feel something hit the back of my neck, causing me to stop my work and look behind me. Some guy is doing his work at the desk behind me. I don't know who he is but I know he's sat behind me all year.

    As I'm getting back into my assignment I feel another light object bounce off the back of my neck. I ignore it until the fifth time.

    "Knock it off," I tell the guy who smirks.

    "I'm not doing anything," I scoff and go back to my work.

    As I finish the last problem a small ball of paper is thrown on my desk. I open it and read the sloppy writing. "YOU'RE NOT A GUY. YOU"RE JUST A TOMBOY."

    I look around to see if I can find who wrote it but everyone's silently doing their work. I get up and throw the paper away before sitting back down to find my first three answers erased from the assignment.

    I quickly do them again before turning the paper in and sitting down and twiddling my thumbs for the last five minutes of class. 

    When I get home the door is unlocked and Mom's car is in the driveway. That's new.

    I take my shoes off and grab a snack before joining Mom on the couch.

    "How was school?" she pauses the show she was watching.

    "Boring," I shrug. "How was work?"

    "Same as always. I got more Root Beer though."

    "Sweet," I almost forget about my shoe. "I need new shoes. The one has a hole in it,"

    "Okay, is it fine until Friday?"

    "Yeah, I taped the hole for now," I nod