When I got home that day, I was mentally exhausted. I had spent all of my free time talking to Julian, thinking about Julian, and telling Kila about Julian. Julian was a big deal to me: he was the first new person who was genuinely kind to me in over three years. Kila wanted to meet him, or at least stalk him vicariously through me. I forbid the stalking, but I did agree to point Julian out to Kila when I saw him, though.
When it was time for supper, my parents called me to our dining room/kitchen area. We were having some sort of shepherd's pie. Halfway through the meal, my mom addressed me.
"So, Sam," she said casually, "your seventeenth birthday is coming up. It's kind of a big deal."
Yes, it was a big deal. It was a huge deal. Seventeen was the age when doctors would for sure give me a gender reassignment surgery. Down there.
"Yep," I said.
"Your dad and I have been . . . doing some research."
"Uh-huh."
"Well, we think we've found a surgeon," said my mother excitedly.
I almost spat out my food. "What!" I exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear.
"He's practiced, he's affordable, and he has a 95% satisfaction rate! We scheduled you an appointment to see him on Sunday."
I swallowed. That was less than a week. "You're joking."
My mom smiled. "Nope. We're driving down to Dallas. That's where his office is. He said he looks forward to seeing you!"
Dallas was only two hours away. This was amazing!
"Thank you so much," I said to my parents.
After dinner, I went to my room and immediately called Kila.
"Hey, Sam. What's up?"
"Two words, five syllables, and it's down, not up."
After a few seconds, Kila responded uncertainly. "Bottom surgery?"
"Yes!"
"No shit! That's great!"
"We're driving to Dallas to meet him on Sunday."
"That's less than a week away! And Dallas is super close: only two hours by car.
I heard someone speaking to Kila from her end of the line. She responded back in Spanish, so I couldn't really understand what she was saying.
"I've got to go," she said to me, "see you tomorrow at school."
"See ya."
YOU ARE READING
Rainbow Jam
Teen Fiction"Some people were genuinely scared that I was going to infect them with my "transgender ways." Others just didn't want to tumble down the social hierarchy. I could respect that. They were just trying to survive without scars. There was a thin line t...
