Joey got up for his first day of junior year of high school in his small town in Michigan. His room was bland with white walls and minimal decorating. Joey pulled his clothes out of his dresser, pulled his sweatpants up his legs, put on his usual hoodie, and combed his long orange hair into a presentable fashion. He checked his phone and saw it was 6:30, so he had some time before he had to go down for breakfast. He logged into his computer, checking his social media, and saw he got a message at eleven PM from his friend and secret crush, Abigale. It read:

“Oh my god you’ll never guess who just messaged me”

“Who?” he typed back.

“Bethany!” she replied.

“That's awesome I’m so happy for you!” Joey typed back.

“What did she say?” he added.

“She said she wants to take me to a movie on Friday!” she typed back.

“Awesome! I’m happy for you, I gotta get to breakfast see ya at school.” Joey said as he logged out of his computer to go eat breakfast. 

He walked into the kitchen, and his dad looked up at him and said, “Your hair's getting pretty long; you're starting to look like a girl.”

Joey had to hold back his smile and mumbled, “I wish...” under his breath.

“What was that, son?” his dad asked.

“Nothing, dad, I didn’t say anything,” Joey said, worried his dad heard him.

“Good, now sit down and have breakfast.” his dad instructed.

Joey pulled out one of the empty chairs and sat down while his mom set the table. She set an extra plate down, which caused Joey’s father to look up at his wife, confused.                         

“Honey, Danielle moved out two years ago. You have to let go,” he said.

She removes the plant and says, “My mistake, let's eat,” as she set the plates of food on the table. They had the news playing and a story titled "Transgender women beaten outside a bar by a man." Joey's father just grunted and said, “He got what he deserved, shouldn’t be playing pretend.”

Joey’s mom adds “I agree, these Lgtb or whatever they are need help.” Joey, holding back tears, looked at the time and saw it was seven o'clock. He had to leave for school.

“Bye guys, see you later,” Joey said before running out the door and riding his bike to school. He just let his mind wander...

“Why are they like this? Why are they so unaccepting of LGBT people? Would they still be this way if they knew I was trans? Would Abigail give me a chance if she knew? Or would she ignore me? She shouldn’t, but still, I can’t risk it.” He pulled up to school and chained his bike to the bike rack and entered the building. He walked over to the lockers where he and Abigail would always meet.

“Hey, Abby, what's up?” She was standing at her locker, wearing black leggings and a jean jacket with a white T-shirt and her long black hair flowing down her back.

“Hey!” Abby said, “You ready for the rest of junior year? Halfway done!”

Joey just gave a fake smile and replied, “Yeah, I can’t believe it!” Abby looked him up and down and gave him a confused look.

“Joey, you know you're my friend and I love you, but you would have a girlfriend if you didn’t always dress dumpy,” Abby said to him. Joey just looked down.

“This is just how I feel comfortable,” he replied. Abby placed her hands on her friend's shoulders.

“You can talk to me about anything. You know I will be your friend no matter what,” Abby told him. Joey brushed her arms away and faked a smile. “It's fine, honestly. You wouldn’t understand anyway,” Joey replied. “Now come on, we have to get to class.” Abby reluctantly let the topic go, not wanting to push it further.

The two friends went to their class and went to sit down in the back, but the school's queen bee figures, Jessica, Becky, and Sarah, quickly took the seats, forcing the two friends to sit in the front row.

Their teacher walked in and greeted the class. “Hello everyone, my name is Mrs. Davis, and welcome to English 3! I recognize some of your faces from previous years of homeroom, but seeing as we'll be spending a lot of time together, I want to get to know you better. Please write down the one wish you could have more than anything.” Mrs. Davis passed out half-sheets of paper for the students to write their wishes on. When she collected the notes, she noticed Joey's and smiled as she read it, making him blush. “Thank you, class, I am glad that I got to know you all better through this fun activity. Joey, would you stay a moment after class? I'd like to talk to you.”

Abby leaned over to Joey and said “Someone is in trouble, haha.” Joey sat through the rest of the class on edge, and when the bell rang Joey stayed back, waiting for the room to empty. Mrs. Davis broke the silence. “Joey, you aren’t in trouble. Quite the opposite, I want to help you.” Joey looked at her, confused. “I can help you become a girl,” she finished. Joey just fell to his knees and cried.

“My family and friends wouldn’t accept me. I don’t see how you could possibly help.”

Mrs. Davis kneeled down to comfort him. “What if I told you that I am magic, and could make you a girl?"

“Wh-what do you mean?” Joey replied. 

“I mean I could turn you into a girl, but you’d have to be my daughter. If you wanted that, it would mean leaving your old family behind, and I’d understand if you refused,” Mrs. Davis said comfortingly. Joey dried his eyes and thought about it for a moment before he replied:

“I mean, I don’t hate my family, but they wouldn’t accept me if I did come out to them.” Tears began to well up in his eyes again. Mrs. Davis hugged him and comforted him.

“I understand this is extremely hard to decide on, but I want to use the little bit of magic I have left to make your wish of being a girl come true, and all I want is you to become my daughter.” Joey looked at her and asked,

“Would I be seen as a cis girl, and have a normal life like any other cis girl?” Mrs. Davis smiled at him.

“Of course you would, and you’d even be able to learn magic from me and all the books I have always wanted to give to my daughter.”

Joey looked up at her and asked, “Why would you do this, though?”

She looked away and tried not to cry. “My sister wasn’t accepted and ended up killing herself. You remind me a lot of her, and if I could’ve helped her I would have, and I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. Being closeted tore her apart, and I want to relieve you of that pain.”

Joey frowned, looked up at her, and said to her, “Make me your daughter. Mom.”

She gave him a loving smile and said, “Sure thing, sweetheart. You’ll wake up in a few hours, and the changes will be complete.” Joey blacked out shortly after.