His homeroom class was in a bungalow near the entrance to the Gymnasium. The students prior to the teacher showing up would often play suicide ball against the wall of the gymnasium.

Although Marcus was small for a boy, and often picked on by the rich white kids, the Hispanic and African ancestor kids tended to see the young Jewish looking girly-boy as one of them. His Moroccan Jewish ancestry came with brown skin and brown curly hair. Although he was a lighter shade of Brown, he was still brown with Hazel eyes. He could just pass for white if needed. But in the school environment, he was a little brown jew whose mom was born in Africa.  

Because the level of anti-Semitism in the world got worse, not better. Thanks to Atomic Supermen burning the middle east in 1948, most Jews hid their ancestry if they could. Marcus was unable to hide his Jewish ancestry, because of the perfect combo of skin tone eyes, ears, and curly hair. If you opened an encyclopedia and looked up Jew, the picture would be of Marcus. Or at least that was what his dad would say. It bothered Marcus that he looks so different from his dad. He looked like his mom's twin sister almost. Which did wonders to his gender issues, and self-confidence? 

On top of this Marcus was never raised Jewish, most Jews hid from the public eye, many had even publicly converted while denouncing the actions of their cousins in the middle east.  He was sure that was why his mother was so adamantly Christian. Although Marcus never felt strongly religious, he did understand his ancestry was an ancient one, dating back to Africa and the ancient Egyptians, who had enslaved his ancestors according to legend.

However, that meant little to him, as looking Jewish meant the white kids always targeted him. Sadly, the kids that protected him usually hung out near the gymnasium. Which was why his hiding spot was near the tennis courts during lunch. He could sit and watch the kids playing basketball, and the kids playing soccer without worrying about some blonde white kid calling him a fag.

It was a funny feeling that the kids who were in his eyes the most athletic and masculine had no problems with him looking like a girl or having olive skin and hazel eyes. Occasionally they would include him in their sports even, however, he was too weak to keep up most of the time.

A couple of other Jewish and  Muslim nerds in the school often sat near him during homeroom, each had their own horror stories, one of his friends was the nephew of the former king of Persia, before the Religious upheaval overthrew his family.  Although people considered Persia to be the middle east, it was not apart of the war that turned the Holy-Land and the Saudi peninsula into radioactive glass. His friend often would help him understand algebra as he was a brilliant math student, while in return Marcus helped him with other subjects. Unbeknownst to Marcus, his Muslim friend didn't need any help, he helped Marcus because he thought Marc was hot even if he was a dude. This, however, was never said out loud.  

The homeroom teacher was a former superhero according to the rumor. However, when Marcus saw him, all he saw was the short shorts, Magnum PI mustache, and curly black hair that made him look like Tom Selleck. Marcus didn’t have to ask, he knew he was a man that loved another man. Marcus did his best to never get noticed during homeroom because he was somewhat attracted to his teacher. After all he was built, and a noticeably large bulge in his too-tight shorts, and he was always smiling and being friendly.

Later that day during the art class the Teacher couldn’t stop gushing over the Viking ship. Marcus was embarrassed, as it wasn’t something, he really did for any specific reason. The teacher had assigned the class to paint what they were feeling yesterday.

He just nodded as she told him she was entering his art into something or another, and the Olympic arts festival. He didn’t care and hoped she wouldn't keep this up, as some of his normal tormentors were watching, and he was sure they were going to stop him from escaping today.

God how Marcus feared blonde hair blue eyed white guys. One who normally sat in the corner laughing at everything about art had circled around to the front of the class and hovered by the door, ensuring no escape.

“Hey, “he said grabbing his shoulder and holding him in place. “So, you like big long wooden things” he laughed. He then looked Marcus deeply in the eyes. “I'm not picking on you, it was just a joke.” As he places his hands on each side of Marcus against the wall so Marcus was trapped between his arms and the wall. In Japan, it would have been called a Kabedon. Or wall slap and was something guys did when expressing love to a girl. Marcus didn't know this, however. And was fearful of what was happening.

“Sorry to bug you,” he said, forcing Marcus to look up to him in his big blue eyes.

In a whispering voice just loud enough for Marcus to hear “So, I just wanted to know something, are you a boy who likes boys, or are you a girl trapped in a boy’s body, because of I sort of get both vibes off yah?”

Marcus just stared unable to lie, and yet unwilling to say anything out loud.

“I was just reading about this Bond Girl who was totally a boy but had a sex change. And she’s like totally hot now. I was wondering if you planned to become a woman one day?”

Marcus was confused, as he had no idea what he was talking about. What Bond Girl?

“So, are you a Transsexual? Because you’re cute enough to be one.” he joked while putting his face close enough that Marcus could feel the moisture in his breath on his face.

In a movie, this is when the guy would normally kiss the girl. Marcus was half tempted to kiss him just to make him back off. When he pulled back with a disappointed sigh and laughed.

“Here,” he slapped an adult tabloid magazine into Marcus’s chest and said. “Here a gift, read up, I expect to see you in a dress someday.”

He left, Marcus held the magazine puzzled over the encounter. For some reason this didn’t feel like bullying, in fact, Marcus felt a strange sensation in his heart, and a slight fever of warmth. As he watched the blonde boy walk away.

Marcus then raced to the hiding spot and read the magazine.

This was the first time Marcus had seen the word Transsexual and was amazed. Tula was a beautiful woman, and she too had been born as a boy. Although Marcus felt sad at the end of the article. As they indicated that Tula was born with a girl and boy parts, and that was why she was so beautiful as a woman.

For as far as Marcus could tell, he had no female bits. He was just a late bloomer.