True Beauty

Chapter 6: Friends

"What are you going?" Lindsey asked nervously. Ryeanne could be doing anything and that terrified Lindsey. 

"Putting my number in," Ryeanne said. "I forgot that you don't have my number until you said something. I'll send you everyone else's numbers and add you to our group chats."

"You guys have multiple group chats?" Lindsey asked in disbelief.

"One for everyone, one for the girls, and one for everyone except Abigail," Ryeanne said.

"Why exclude Abigail?" Lindsey asked as Ryeanne handed her phone back to her. Sure Abigail was a little off, but it was rude to not have her be apart of the group chats.

"Abigail has a lot of practices and stuff for her dance stuff. She asked if we don't text her when she's doing dance stuff, which is pretty much when she isn't in school. She tells Blaine when she's free and Blaine texts in the group chat first," Ryeanne explained. "It's complicated, but hey, Abigail is a weird person. She's been a good friend to all of us, so we try not to exclude her as much as possible."

"How long have all of you been friends?" Lindsey asked.

"Noah, Blaine, and I were friends since the second grade," Ryeanne said. "Giovanni was added in the fourth grade. Logan and Juliet were friends before they were added to our friend group in the seventh grade when they both got their scholarships to go to go to our Middle School. Abigail was added Freshman year, when she got her scholarship. And Kelsey last year, when we found her sitting alone at lunch. And this year it was you."

"Noah, Blaine, and you have been friends for so long," Lindsey said in amazement. "Most of my friends from grade school left before Middle School."

"Yeah. Noah and Blaine knew me when I was male," Ryeanne laughed.

Lindsey laughed with her before what she said sunk in. "You're transgender?"

"I started taking the hormones in second grade," Ryeanne said. "Ever since I was little I thought I was a girl. I was born Ryan, just spelt R-Y-A-N. I got it officially changed two years ago. I liked my name, but I wanted it to be more feminine. I hope this doesn't change things between us."

"Whenever we talked about boys, I thought you just talked shit on them because they're boys. But now that I know-"

"You know I say these things because I was once a boy," Ryeanne nodded. "I'm surprised you don't have that many questions."

"What did your parents think?"

"They were upset because they didn't want their eldest son to turn into a girl, but after a while they were okay with it, because they had my little brother," Ryeanne shrugged.

"Do you still have a male part? Or did you get surgery?"

"I got the surgery," Ryeanne nodded. "I got it around the time I legally changed my name."

"Do you have a period?"

"I do not." Ryeanne said. "I had the option. But I decided against it. I remember Blaine getting hers for the first time and she was mad at me because I was a girl, but I couldn't get a period. It was hard to explain to her that I wasn't a real girl."

"How many people know?"

"Family, close friends, some kids who remember me from earlier grade school. Most people don't know. I'm fine with people not knowing. People don't know how to react when they find out, but I'm okay with people ignoring me."

"Are your boobs real?"

"Lindsey I am as flat chested as flat chest come. I like my breasts the way they are."