Abrupt Change (Gender Change Syndrome)

The Game

Original story by Lajien

Edited by Julia Miller

It was around 4:30 in the afternoon. Ryan sat down with his mom in the stands; his dad was on his way. Jeff could never miss his son’s football game. Beside them were Oliver and Nancy’s parents, the Collins. Since Oliver’s parents died, his Uncle Erwin, Nancy’s dad, had adopted him. He was taking good care of him and always ensured Oliver felt at home.

Nancy’s mom was also happy to have Oliver, as he was a good and sweet boy, and she loved him. Nancy always wanted a little sibling, a brother or a sister. That didn’t matter. Her parent’s financial situation didn’t allow them to have another child until a year ago when they moved into the neighborhood. Her dad got a job as a manager for a new corporation branch after his previous boss recommended him.

“Hi, kiddo,” Jeff said, sitting down between Ryan and Heather. “How’s your day at school?” he asked with a smile.

Ryan shrugged, “It was normal.” Even if he didn’t like the uniform, he enjoyed school, had many friends, and appreciated his teachers and coach.

“Your day was normal, but you are anything but normal, my boy,” said a familiar voice beside him.

Turning his head the other way, Ryan saw coach Damien sitting beside him. He was not wearing the usual tracksuit that Ryan always saw him wearing. He was wearing a white sweater with a black leather jacket.

“Coach Damien!” Ryan exclaimed, surprised. He didn’t expect to see his coach here. “What are you doing here?”

Coach Miller was the football team’s coach. He met coach Damien a month ago when Jeff invited them to barbecue at their house. From then on, both coaches became friends. “I came to see your brother playing; besides, coach Miller invited me,” coach Damien explained.

“I almost forgot,” coach Damien said, taking out a box wrapped in gift paper from a plastic bag he had with him. The package was big, which made Ryan wonder what was in there. “Mrs. Houston, this is Ryan’s Christmas gift. Please don’t let him open it before Christmas.”

Ryan kept staring at the box with curiosity as coach Damien handed it to his mom. “What’s in there?” Ryan couldn’t help but ask, as curiosity would kill him. 

“You will know on Christmas day,” Coach Damien commented with a chuckle. 

Ryan crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “Not fair,” Ryan said as his mom took the gift from coach Damien.

“Don’t worry, Coach, I will keep it safe till Christmas,” Heather said, chuckling a bit. She knew how curious Ryan could be. She also knew he was a good boy who listened to his parents.

“Look, they are coming out,” Oliver shouted.

Everyone looked to see the two teams entering the field. George’s team uniform was white, while the other team’s uniform was green. George’s team had been on a winning streak having a pretty solid defense and great attack. 

Nancy was the wide receiver on the attack, and George was the offensive tackle.  It may sound strange that Nancy could play on the boy’s football team, but she was a big girl for her age and was stronger and taller than many boys. The school had given her a special exemption to play on the boy’s team since there was no girl’s football team in their school.

On the other end of the offensive line, they had another two good players: Charley, a wide receiver, and Walter, an offensive tackle. While Nancy was faster, Charley was also very quick. They both made it hard, sometimes impossible, for their opponents to guess who would receive the ball.