It Will All Work Out (Intersex gxg)

Chapter 18

Amber's POV

The rest of the first week of school went well. I still saw Nicky and her followers, but they stayed far away at lunch, so that was okay. They had integrated into a larger bunch of popular kids, but as long as they ignored me, I was good with that. Nicky also turned out to be in my art class, which I should have expected since she was in my class back in middle school too, and that was how I found out she was into girls. But that is another story. I couldn't help but notice that Nicky had a puffy eye on the second day of school, and it made me wonder just what other persuasion Shay may have used to keep her away from me.

Speaking of which, Shay had been exactly what I needed too - a good friend. She was there every morning at the bus stop, and always sat next to me on the way to school at a little bit of a distance. I could still smell her cologne though, which was comforting. At lunch, she developed a habit of getting a little bit of extra food when she bought hers, and then used it to supplement my turkey and carrots. She was smart about it too, always getting me something healthy because she knew I was trying to get into better shape. Was it nice and sweet? Yes. Was I rapidly falling for her again? Of course, and I knew it. I just couldn't help it though, but I vowed not to ever show it. Until she was ready for more, I had to just keep my distance and hope she made the first move. Besides, I absolutely loved having a friend, and I didn't want to mess it up.

But in the meantime, I kept doing what I could to make my life better. I was trying to work on my mom still, though with mixed results. Sometimes she came and had dinner, though only once during the week did she sit at the table with me, and even then she was in a haze. But that was more than I'd had in years, and I marked that as slight progress. I was also in the garage twice a day now, once before my morning shower and once after school, working out on my little weight bench. I was keeping track of the weight I was using, which was only 30 pounds, and I hoped that if I showed my plan to Owen or Kate, they would give me some tips.

When the weekend finally came, I had a surge of excitement, because I would be going to my first day of work, and I couldn't wait to start earning some money. I biked there quickly, making sure to peek in the auto repair shop, though Shay was under a car and didn't see my wave, and then went to the gym from there.

The gym was busier than I'd seen before, and I made my way to the front desk where Gloria was working with Owen. I could see Kate out among the exercise equipment, talking to some of the customers. "Hey Gloria," I called out as I got closer.

"Oh! Hey Amber!" She was already excited to see me, and her enthusiasm was contagious. "Do you want me to show you the lay of the land?"

"Sure, I'm up for whatever you think works."

"Oh, first, this is Owen, who is the manager here and your boss." She gestured to the large man next to her. He was huge, like a football player size, with a deep tan and bald head. "We have an assistant manager, Carol, starting soon too. We'll get you to know her once she's settled in."

Owen held out his hand, and then spoke in a gentle voice. "Hey Amber. Just so you know, I've made it clear to everyone here that I'm your uncle, so nobody should mess with you, okay?" he shot me a wink, but I was pretty sure he meant it. I liked that though. It gave me a warm feeling that I had someone here to keep an eye on me like Shay did at school.

"Thanks Owen. I won't expect a Christmas present though!" I gave him a wink of my own, and then Gloria bustled me off to get a tour.

"Okay, this is the locker room." Gloria said as she took me into the locker lined space. She started spinning the dial on a combination lock for one of the lockers, and then opened it up. "I'm not sure of your sizes, but this locker has a bunch of work outfits. You can go with either yoga pants or sweats," She pointed at each. "And then we have tee shirts and sleeveless tees, so you can go with whatever you're comfortable with. Personally, I'd say go with the sweats, and then decide if you like the tighter pants when you're older. We try to keep the creeps out, but sometimes you just never know."