Chapter 26 - Everything is Fine?

I couldn’t resist a smile that the stresses on my shoulder, if only for that brief moment, were about how to survive Trig assignments. Natasha and I both helped out Summer on a particular question before the first bell sounded.

It took till the second bell before most people found their seats. Aside from my two friends, I was closed in on all sides by boys pressing at the boundaries of my zone. I bounced my leg nervously on the little basket and marked down the pages Natasha had in her notes. She gave me a brief overview of the last few days before Mrs. Horwitz called for order.

She gave some announcements for work to pass back and stuff on the board to do before we got into the main lesson. I jotted down whatever I could see that looked relevant in the best pencil I could dig out of my bag.

“Kenzie?”

My name in the teacher’s voice. Not unfamiliar. Not upset. A curious question. I looked up from my writing and tried to display as blank an expression as possible. I probably still looked like I was quivering. I knew I didn’t need to. Aside from Mr. Van Zand, she was the nicest (but not the best) teacher I’d had in over two years of high school.

With a deep breath, I answered as politely as I could with my tone yanked as soft as a freshly-dried shirt, “Yes, Mrs. Horwitz?” I set my hands on the open book in front of me. Her gaze was warm and calm as she continued, “Could you please come up front for a moment? I need to talk to you about a few things.”

Everyone else quieted a bit. I passed a look back and forth between Natasha and Summer with a quick shrug, as if to say, “Darned if I know what about.”

I threaded through the aisles with my neighbors' heavy bags blocking my way until I got to her desk. A stark dune of white chalk piled at the end of the board behind her. She gave me a little smile, and she sent someone to sit down.

She sat me in the chair right next to that ancient computer which only played stuff like Commander Keen and some random math games. She didn’t deal with me first but instead made sure everyone was working on the assignment and the room was in order. She used her full voice for that and her hawkish gaze. After a few minutes, which settled into a dull roar of listless activity, she returned and scooted her rolling chair towards mine and asked, after saying that I was dressed really nicely, “Are you okay?”

I set my backpack in my lap (a bad idea, as it soon numbed my legs with its weight) and offered up a smile. “Thanks…and I guess. It’s been a rough week. I’m sorry for missing class.”

She immediately assured me it was fine. She leaned in close, which made me want to lean away, but I stayed where I was and listened as she quietly told me, “Vice Principal Aceves met with me about you. He said you…have some unknown medical condition?”

I shifted my backpack off my legs before they really started to tingle. With a sigh, I softly told her, “There’s been some weird stuff. But I went to my doctor and they cleared me. Blood tests and all…”

She furrowed her brow in an expression which people often mistook for an angry scowl but which I knew well enough to say was just her face for curiosity. I went slack in the chair and scanned around the room to see who might be listening in.

The front row had stopped on that side and taken an interest. Mrs. Horwitz urged them back to work and they did so begrudgingly. After some pondering and delay, I finally told her, “When I’m around boys…or men…they slowly turn into girls in a few minutes or so. With girls, they get prettier or something. I don’t get it, but they can’t see anything in the tests….but…yeah…”

A moment of quiet passed while she made a careful inspection of my face. I just gave my normal expression with the tension I felt right then. I don’t know what I expected to hear in reaction, but she offered a quick, concerned frown and nodded before passing along quietly, “That’s weird but kinda cool too.” She followed that with a little smirk.

I would’ve thought so before Wes, but I didn’t bring him up.

Considering her love of the fantastical and science-fictional, I should’ve expected that reaction. Sadly, we couldn’t get much talk in with everyone coming up for assistance. I reiterated it didn’t seem to be something I could control.

After finishing up with a question someone had, she whispered over to me, “I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen. I’ll call my ex-husband and tell him to stand next to you for a while…”

Again with the same…well, similar sentiment to my gym teacher. Maybe that was what Cody was talking about. Hard to say. I shrugged and told her, “I dunno. I just don’t want to hurt anyone…” I took a deep breath. I meant it. At the same time, I knew I’d done just that when it came to Wes. Revenge bites back as it twists painfully in your mouth.

Ugh. I'd regressed to wretched tiredness again. The bane of the period right before lunch. Food felt like a long ways off.

Rubbing a nail, my math teacher gave a rough sigh and asked, “So, are you okay here?” It was better than being shoved in a far corner beside mountainous stacks of old, sliding magazines. Besides, I wasn’t sure if any of those corners would be far enough.

I watched Mrs. Horwitz for changes as I nodded and informed her, “I wish I could do more. If I was like a TA, then I could go around and it would be fine…”

Gently, she gave me a little pat on the leg. She’d done it before, and I appreciated the gesture as she told me, “I’ll work out something…even if I need to rotate the seating arrangement.”

She gave a little smile as she relayed a past case where she just couldn’t get a student to stay in one seat for much different reasons. Her solution had mixed results but (as she’d once said) even with over twenty years of teaching, she was never afraid to try something.  

For a while in junior high, I really wanted to be a teacher. That time had waned but not entirely passed. When I ran into a good teacher, a volume of ideas flooded me. When I ran into a bad teacher, a flurry of counters flooded me. Either way, it seemed I was destined for it, with one in my immediate family. That was before all this though.

I couldn’t tell how much the front row had heard. A few people were leaning away from me but without a sense of certainty that what I’d said was the trigger. No one piped up about our conversation.

Between helping students, she asked for details. I focused on my wheat issue, which she remembered. Compared to all the other times I told my story to that point, I focused the most on the idea of radiation. She grimaced, with analytical skepticism in her gaze.

However, she admitted, “There are many things I don’t understand. But I trust the Lord will reveal whatever purpose this is for you, trial or blessing, sweetie.” I smiled politely to her words and nodded.

With a sigh, I told her, “I’m just scared about being kicked out of my classes…or something.”

She shook her head quickly. “No one is going to do that. It’s a medical condition. Don’t you worry. Relax here. Clear off as much space as you need.”

Some people were gazing at me, but they were innocent looks. No one around knew what I could do. Beside the computer sat the most recent yearbook. It wasn’t bad to sit at a table. The chair itself was relatively comfortable (though dusty) compared to any of the others in the room. I leaned back and checked Mrs. Horwitz. She was barely outside of arm’s reach like this. Same with those in the front.

I started on the assignment. I caught the curious eyes of Summer and Natasha, but I just gave a half-frown in answer. I rotated my neck a little to stretch it and again cursed the stiffness of my clothes.

Funny thing. I could just sit down there and actually work through something on my own, like it was a normal day of class.

Or, rather, attempt to. I adjusted my glasses and peered at the book. Not even the first question on the page was a treat. I scratched out some formulas and ideas.

Eventually, Summer made her way up to the front with wide eyes and asked, standing with her textbook against her stomach, “Trouble?”

I took a quiet moment before answering her, “Nah. Just gotta be quarantined.”

She leaned back at that and asked, “Aww. Whatcha got?”

I shouldn’t have said anything, but I trusted Summer as much as I trusted anyone in my classes. Of course, I trusted Heather too. Brushing my hair back, I answered, “Something that turns boys into girls and makes girls more…girly…”

That earned a double-take from a girl and a guy who were waiting to ask questions of the teacher. Horwitz was too wrapped up in an explanation to say anything about my words. Summer expressed a look of silent amusement first, but she soon drew it back.

“That’s…not possible” was her answer. I had to agree. By any sense, this shouldn’t have been possible. And I didn’t have a simple proof. I tugged on my sleeves and shrugged as I whispered, “Hang around.”

She wore a slight frown and juggled her book to keep it from slipping. She continued in the line until she got her question answered, then asked, loud enough so I could hear, “Can I sit with Kenzie…like just for today?”

Horwitz wore her familiar frown again and took a deep breath. I cut in to say, “I don’t mind. I kinda have some issues with stuff and we can help each other.” I felt bad for Natasha though, with her little brightly-colored head in a sea of natural tones.

After a quick affirmative, Summer brought over another chair from the far side of the room, sat right next to me, and quipped, “Hanging.”

We flipped to the same page and Summer filled out the first part of her paper before asking, “So, details?”

What version to tell? I had so many. I decided to keep it simple. “Two guys in Biology changed and Wes from English got stuck as a girl. I got sent home. Doctor said I was okay. I’m back.”

Her eyes widened a little. She’d definitely heard of Wes from our little chats, but she couldn’t remember him specifically. Summer leaned her head back and asked, “Stuck?”

“No idea why. I just sit near people and they change…”

With every word I said, my eyes were tracing Summer for the first telltale signs that something was different. It was still too soon but it wouldn’t be long. Boys seemed to follow the same pattern as Ben. But other girls weren’t consistent. I’d been around Rebecca for almost the entire time and nothing much had happened to her. Heather had gotten some sort of big dose from me with what happened to Wes and she’d just acted a little out of it. Who knew what would happen to a girl over six feet tall and muscular.

I didn’t want to hurt Summer either. She loved swimming so much, and she was on the varsity team. Back then they had to swim at the park pool I’d walked by the other day. Quietly, I told her, “You don’t have to…hang around. I don’t want something bad to happen…”

Art by Alexis Rillera/Anirhapsodist