At lunch, Jonchelle and Vanessa were sitting on their own in the cafeteria. Vanessa had been disappointed when she saw that Karyn’s table was looking a lot fuller with more people dropping out. She couldn’t help but notice that her friend Matt did seem a lot more comfortable with himself now that he was a boy again. Maybe some people weren’t cut out for being a member of the opposite gender; still, she was kind of proud of him for lasting a week.
While she had been looking at Karyn’s table, Jonchelle had been chatting away about something. Gosh, she has become such a chatterbox lately. Vanessa thought, smiling to herself as she turned her attention back to her girlfriend. Fortunately, Jonchelle hadn’t noticed her girlfriend’s absent-mindedness as she carried on as if nothing had happened.
“Hey, you two,” a voice called out. Vanessa looked up and to her surprise saw Ryan McMillan walking up to them, his arm wrapped around a girl’s shoulders.
Vanessa blinked and quickly stammered a response. “Oh, hi Sa...Ryan,” she quickly corrected herself. In a way, it was still weird for her to see the former head cheerleader dressed as a guy. Today he was wearing a simple black hoodie and a pair of jeans, a huge contrast to the over-the-top pink outfits that he normally wore.
“Hey Ryan!” Jonchelle replied, greeting him with a smile and a much friendlier tone. “Looking good.”
“Thanks, you too,” Ryan responded, not so subtly checking Jonchelle out, which caused her to blush. “You definitely have the making of head cheerleader in you. Do you mind if we join you?” she asked, nodding to the girl on his arm. Vanessa hesitated but Jonchelle didn’t.
“Not at all,” she said cheerfully, patting the seat next to her. Ryan took the hint and sat down beside her. The girl, to Vanessa’s annoyance, sat next to her opposite Ryan.
“This is Grace, by the way,” Ryan announced. Vanessa nodded at the girl while Jonchelle gave a friendly wave and a smile.
“No Biff?” Vanessa decided to ask. She wasn’t sure yet if Sarah or Ryan could be trusted yet.
Ryan shook his head sadly. “Bailey’s having second thoughts about being a girl.” Jonchelle looked surprised as Ryan continued. “She seemed really into it at first and she was excited about becoming a cheerleader, but then, all of a sudden, over the weekend, she said that she was going to drop out. I don’t know why.”
“Aww, that’s too bad. She was really cute in that pink outfit that I saw her in the other day.” Jonchelle commented, pouting a little. She was worried that Biff might return to his old ways and start bullying people again.
“So while Bailey takes some time to figure things out, we’ve decided to take a break as a couple. She wants to make this decision on her own.” Jonchelle nodded. “Which is where this baby comes in.” Ryan nodded towards Grace, who blushed and giggled.
“That was a quick turnaround,” Vanessa remarked.
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever, girl. I saw her during the cheerleading tryouts, and as soon as Bailey said that we were done I just had to have her. Fortunately, she was still available.” Ryan flashed a smile and Grace giggled again.
“Lucky for you,” Vanessa mumbled. Even before transitioning, she didn’t approve of how some guys treated girls, dumping one and then moving on to the next girl like she was a piece of meat.
Ryan heard that and frowned. “What’s wrong, Vanessa? I feel like you and I have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
Vanessa shook her head. “It’s not that, it’s just that I’m... having a hard time seeing Sarah and Ryan as two different people, you know? Like, why are you helping me and Jonchelle become cheerleaders? I just can’t help but think that you have an ulterior motive or something.”
Ryan nodded. “I get that, totally. I’m used to people calling me a bitch and things like that. But the way I see it, this whole revolution thing that’s going on, it’s a chance to be a different person. A better person. I want to take a break from the spotlight. You might have noticed that I haven’t jumped onto the football squad or anything like that. Sure, I’m still hanging out with the popular crowd but I’m not the center of attention and I’ve found that people are treating me better this way.”
He gestured towards Grace and continued. “Take Grace here. Before this started, Greg was what I would have called a loser. He never really amounted to anything. He wasn’t on any sports teams and his grades were average. He was, basically, an average guy but now? Look at her! She’s drop-dead gorgeous.”
Grace blushed again. “You gave me a lot of this stuff, you know, babe.” She flashed a smile and winked at him.
“I know, but compared to how you looked before I found you, you look amazing!”
“Wow... I’m really proud of you, Ryan,” Jonchelle began. “I think people can be forgiven for assuming that you wouldn’t be going along with this or, at the very least, turn into a boy version of you, but... Ryan, you’re actually taking all of this stuff very seriously. I’m glad to hear that people are treating you nicer. I think that if you let people see the real you, this boy that you’ve become, you can go far. This is your chance to prove it to people that you don’t need good looks or to be good at football to get through life.”
Vanessa nodded. “Yeah… I’m sorry that I reacted badly, Ryan, I just didn’t understand all the things that you were going through, and besides, if it helps you to see things from the other side better then I’m all for it.”
“Aww... thanks, Vanessa.” He held out his hand and reached over the table. “Friends?”
Vanessa nodded and shook Ryan’s hand.
“Friends. And please, call me Nessa.”
