Chapter 30 – Normalcy
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Do you want an afterword written by me about my thoughts surrounding this novel?
  • Sure, before the Rachael one-shot Votes: 10 33.3%
  • Yeah, but after the Rachael one-shot Votes: 9 30.0%
  • Sounds good, but update this chapter so that it's in author's notes at the end Votes: 9 30.0%
  • Yes please, but as a dm or a different story or something Votes: 1 3.3%
  • Nah, who would want to read about oddly specific autobiographical detail from a girl on the internet Votes: 1 3.3%
Total voters: 30

I woke up with the sun as birds chirped. Lily had thought far enough ahead to bring breakfast fixings in a cooler she'd left in her car. We ate, fooled around, and admired the world around us. Before long, she drove me home, and I got to fill my parents in on the bare-minimum of the details.

Sarah left after a few days, as she needed to get back home. Her send off was a bit more sober than the first time around.

The rest of the summer flew by before I could tell it to stop. Everything was as perfect as I could have imagined it being. After our night in the woods, the physical side to Lily and I’s relationship had gotten kicked up a notch.

The group having more than doubled in size added a whole new way for us to do things. We played a larger variety of games that the four of us had never had the numbers to play. Everyone seemed to click with each other. All of us were just content to live in the moment. Things were... normal.

Finally the time came for our last D&D meet up. I walked in the door, getting home from work and everyone was already there.

Starting with me: I was your nerdy teenage white girl, nothing special. My height came in just below average at 5' 8" and I had curly brown hair and gray eyes. I used to ride the bus to school with my best friend Kai. We'd known each other through thick and thin. He was a total goof, with dark brown skin, and a smile that would always spread to everyone else in the room. Then there was Sadie, who was the most loyal person I knew. Both Sadie and I used to run for the cross country team, although she was always faster... partially due to her unending fighting spirit. I walked over to her, and we did our special handshake that always ended in a high five. Beside her was Megan. Megan was slightly taller than me, with long blonde hair. She was fierce, gentle, and a good friend. With an arm wrapped around her was Ross. We worked together at the nearby grocery store, and he was nothing but a gentleman. To his right was Rachael. She might come off as a bit goth, but spilled over with positivity. Next, there was Jordan. They were shy, but one of the kindest people I knew. I heard a laugh come from beside me and I turned to see Lily: my girlfriend.

I'd had a crush on Lily starting sophomore year, and had worked up the courage to ask her out at the beginning of junior year. In fact, we were quickly approaching our two year anniversary. As couple, we worked pretty well. Both of us were adequately nerdy, as she was into Harry Potter and biology. We'd had our share of ups and downs, but in the end... we worked out pretty great.

The final leg of our campaign contained twists, unforeseen hurdles, and a team broken apart. Of course, all of that would be incomplete without the final battle where everyone fought together and pushed aside their differences, reunited by the experiences they had shared. Come the end, each went their own separate ways, but would all be ready... should a call to action come again.

We had pushed this final game night as far as we could, but some of us (myself included) would be leaving for college within a day or two. It had come time for us to say goodbye.

As I looked around the room and people starting to say their goodbyes, it dawned on me that had I not gone through my transition... most of these people would never have been a part of my life. For all the hardships I'd gone through because of my transition, meeting them was beyond worth it.

Some part of this situation felt familiar. I'd had my fair share of goodbyes over the past year, and I knew how they generally played out. This was no different. Each of us was going down our own next steps, but we would undoubtedly cross paths again. Of course, knowing that in my head versus knowing that emotionally were two very different things.

As Rachael and I were going to the same school, our goodbye was perhaps the most upbeat. But I wasn't the only person she was saying goodbye to, as she had of course bonded with everyone else immensely during her time here. Hugs and a few scattered tears hinted at what was to come.

"Keep an eye on this one for me, alright?" Lily said to Rachael.

Rachael flashed her a smile, "You can count on it. I'll keep her out of trouble."

Since she needed to get home and then to Westchester, she left immediately after.

What happened next was an array of hugs, high fives, kisses, and tears. Kai was going across the country, and had elected to drive rather than fly so he could have a car while at school. That meant he too was leaving directly from our game. He gave a spitter spatter of hugs. He and Lily had been working on their own high five routine just to show Sadie and I up. It gave us a good laugh, and a moment of reprieve from the tears. He worked his way to me, and I could feel the waterworks coming. He was my best friend, and had been there for me when I needed him the most. We hugged wordlessly as tears streamed down my face.

"I'm gonna miss you," I eventually got out.

"Me too." For being as large and manly as he was, it was an open secret that he was a sucker for situations like this. I could see tears pouring down his face as we parted. He and Sadie made their way outside for their own goodbyes in private.

Unfortunately none of the three couples had decided to try our hands at long distance. It added an extra bittersweet curve to everything.

I walked over to Megan and we both just laughed awkwardly through the tears. I turned to Ross and caught him in a tight hug. They both needed to be getting back as he was helping Megan pack up.

I turned to Jordan and we both smiled, giving our impressions of New Yorkers as we said, "Hey!" and hugged. The two of us were old hats at this, and that helped ease things along.

Lily was going to help me get things packed, so I was saving our goodbye for the next day.

Tears flew freely as I waved to everyone as they pulled out and drove home. I walked back inside, sat in the bathroom for a minute as I wiped away the tears and caught my breath, and threw myself into packing.

Westchester was a good solid drive away, so things needed to be somewhat essential for me to bring them. As I sifted through old stuff I happened upon the photo album I'd made while at the facility.

"What's that?" Lily said, as she peeked over my shoulder.

"Oh... I, uh, took a picture everyday while I was gone to document my head space. It was an assignment, no biggie."

She raised an eyebrow and I knew I wasn't getting away without showing it to her. We flipped through, and commented on every page. We were in awe and a bit weirded out by my starting point as I was so different from that person, and yet exactly the same. We laughed at my awkward in between stages, and Lily ood and ahhhd as I slowly filled out into how I ended up.

It was a nice reminder of the what I'd been through, just a year ago.

We finished up and packed everything out to the car. The plan was to leave pretty early the next day, so I would have time to unpack the next evening. Lily slept over and we squeezed onto my twin mattress. The next morning my mom woke the two of us up with coffee. I was a bit shaken, because while we happened to be in a presentable state, my mom didn't know that.

We drank our coffee and I put on clothes for the road. Breakfast was light as we needed to get things going.

It was time for me to head out. My parents took the cue to give us a bit of time alone.

Our kiss lasted forever, trying the best we could to hold onto that moment, that small instant where everything was still normal. I held her tight, and she was the one to pull back eventually.

"You've gotta get on the road," she said.

"Who cares, I'll just stay with you. Right here. Forever."

That gave her a small pained smile as we knew it could never happen.

"I... I'll miss you," she said to me.

Tears were doing their best to come out, but if I let them start, we'd be here another hour.

"I'll miss you too." I took a deep breath. "Goodbye Lil."

"Bye, Amy."

We kissed one final time, but it was fleeting. I knew I had to get in the car or I'd never leave. I piled in, and we pulled out of the driveway. Tears were running down my face uncontrollably. I was incredibly sad, but happy too. Happy that we had what we had. Happy that someone loved me no matter who I was. We pulled down the driveway and I looked back as my home and the girl I loved shrunk into the distance. We pulled out onto the road and I smiled, content with the adventure I'd had. I felt comfortable I could handle whatever college was going to throw at me, because I'd bested one story already and if I could do it once, I could do it again.

After all, I'm not all that special. My story didn't have spaceships, swords, or superpowers. It was the story of a high schooler, plain and simple. The only difference... is that high schooler just happened to be me.

End of Part 3

 

The End

 

 

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