Bonus Chapter
Hello, Grace

“Grace, you’re back!” I said, jumping up and down happily. We had taken a trip all the way to Los Angeles to be at LAX for Grace’s return this summer. We being Matthew, Lauren, Liz, Sam, my mom, and me. We were waiting in the airport terminal when Grace finally popped out.

“That I am,” she said, dropping her luggage and running up to hug me. “God, it’s so good to see you all again.”

“Ow,” I said, touching my breast. I started HRT a few months ago, and there were definitely some growing pains. Grace had run right into it, which hurt my breast buds quite a bit.

“Oh, sorry about that,” she said, awkwardly putting a hand behind her head. “It hurt a lot for me too when I first started hormones.”

“It’s okay, you were just excited,” I said, rubbing at my boob. “They’re just super sensitive right now.”

“Hi Grace,” Sam said, offering a friendly wave. “I don’t know if you remember me-”

Grace instantly pulled Sam into a large bear hug, gripping her tightly. “Of course I remember you! You’re Sam, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Sam said, blushing bright red.

“Matthew, you come in here too,” Grace said, rushing to Matthew and giving him a hug as well. “I still haven’t forgiven you for getting together the second I left though.”

“Sorry about that,” Matthew said, chuckling.

“I wanted to be around when you two became a couple!” Grace said, still sounding a little disappointed. “Whatever, you two are together now.”

“We just passed our nine-month anniversary a few days ago,” I said, smiling at Matthew. We celebrated by having a fancy dinner at a restaurant and fooling around at his place afterward. It was really nice.

“So cute,” Grace said, grinning. “Anyways, Liz, Lauren, get in here too.”

She gave them both a quick hug and then ran back to get her luggage that she dropped earlier.

“We should get out of this airport,” my mom said, fanning herself with a brochure she picked up somewhere. “I’m getting a little tired.”

“Thanks for offering to pick me up Ms. Lee,” Grace said. “I appreciate it.”

“Of course,” my mom said, taking Grace’s luggage from her hand. “It was a shame your parents couldn’t come, so I thought it would help at least having a few familiar faces when you exited the plane.”

“Yeah, they had work and stuff, I have to stay with my grandparents,” she grumbled. “My grandma’s great, but my grandpa always complains about me transitioning.”

“Hey, don’t listen to him,” my mom said, ruffling up Grace’s shoulder-length brown hair. “You’re you, and that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks, Ms. Lee,” Grace said. “Let’s get out of this airport though, it is really packed.”

***

“Are you all alright back there?” my mom asked, looking in the car’s front view mirror. Luckily, my mom had a pretty big SUV that had eight seats to fit us all. Grace rode shotgun, while the rest of us were packed in the back.

“We’re alright!” Lauren said, pumping her fist in the air. “This is going to be so fun. A vacation at L.A. without our parents and we have Grace? Just perfect.”

“I’m still here to supervise you all, you know,” my mom said, laughing at how excited Lauren was.

“Yeah, but you’re not strict,” Lauren said.

“I can be when I want, so stay careful,” my mom said.

“Please don’t become strict,” Lauren pleaded meekly, much to the amusement of everyone else in the group.

“Wait, Mom, where are we going?” I asked from the very back of the car, where Matthew and I were sitting.

“Well, we’re heading to Santa Monica Pier for our day in Los Angeles,” my mom said, smiling as she anticipated our reactions.

“Woah, that sounds fun,” I said, excited to go there.

“I’ve been there once before, it’s super cool, but also super crowded,” Lauren said.

“It’s a summer day, so I’m sure it’ll be packed,” Liz said, staring out the window.

“Well, let’s just enjoy the most of our time there,” Matthew said, shrugging. “We might have to wait a little, but as long as we have fun it’s okay.”

After a few minutes, we pulled up the crowded Santa Monica Pier parking lot. My mom was just barely able to grab a spot, and we all stepped out.

“It’s so hot,” Lauren groaned, trudging along towards the pier.

“Should’ve brought a hat like me,” Grace said, putting on a baseball cap. “It doesn’t really help with the heat, but at least it gives you some shade.”

“Maybe I should’ve brought that,” Lauren said, sighing. “Whatever, let’s just get to the pier.”

Get to the pier we did. I looked around the busy pier, wondering what to do first.

“Let’s get some snacks,” my mom said, making the decision for me. “Who wants pretzels?”

“Meee,” Grace said, raising her hand. “A cheese pretzel sounds really good right now.”

“Let’s go,” Mom said, as we headed towards the pretzel stand. Even the unassuming pretzel stand had a very long line, which disappointed Lauren.

“At least we don’t have to hike,” she grumbled under her breath.

“Oh yeah, Pinnacles,” I said, giggling to myself. “You were dying.”

“Those hikes were way too long,” Lauren said.

“What are you all talking about?” Matthew asked, curiously listening in.

“We went to Pinnacles National Park on a field trip, don’t you remember?” I asked.

“Woah, that sounds cool, in New York the only places we visit are lame museums,” Grace said.

“Oh yeah, you brought me back flowers from there,” Matthew said, chuckling. “That was cute of you to do.”

“Well, I had a crush on you so,” I said, trailing off as I blushed brightly.

“We’re almost at the front, jot down what you want to order in your mind,” my mom said, as we looked at the menu. I decided to go for a plain pretzel. We all ordered, taking our pretzels with us as we continued walking along the pier.

“This is actually super good,” Grace said, biting into her cheese pretzel.

“What, did you expect it to taste bad?” Liz asked, taking a big bite of chocolate pretzel.

“No, but I didn’t think it would be this good either,” Grace said, a droplet of cheese falling off the pretzel onto the floor.

“We should ride the roller coaster,” Sam said, pointing at a group of people screaming as they whizzed by us on the coaster track.

“We should,” my mom said. “Let’s get going, the line is long.”

***

“Katie, you ready?” Matthew asked, sitting on the seat next to me. We started to incline, the yellow track leading us upwards.

“I don’t know,” I said, biting my lip nervously. “It might be scary.”

“You’ll be okay,” Matthew said. “We’re at the top now, it’ll drop-”

It dropped, and I screamed. Even though the roller coaster wasn’t that fast, I was still pretty scared. I was a baby when it came to stuff like this. The roller coaster cart sped through the entire pier, letting us look at all the landmarks. I kept on screaming until we finally slowed to a stop where we began.

“You screamed so much,” Matthew said, laughing. “Were you okay there?”

“I was okay, it was just scary,” I said, letting out a shaky breath. “I’m okay now though.”

“That was the slowest roller coaster I ever rode on,” Liz said, shaking her head as we got off the ride. “I can’t believe you were screaming your head off back there over this, Katie.”

“I wasn’t screaming my head off!” I said, embarrassed. “It just scared me a little.”

“A little, to say the least yeah,” Liz said, laughing.

“There’s a Ferris Wheel here too,” Grace said pointing at a large white Ferris Wheel with red and yellow capsules.

“Oh my God,” Liz said, looking at the wheel. “I haven’t been on one since that circus we went to months ago.”

“I remember that,” Sam said. “I got Mr. Fluffy from that circus.”

“Heh,” Grace said, laughing slightly. “Did you get a hamster or something?”

“No, it was a rabbit plushie,” Sam said, as we got in line for the Ferris wheel. “My hamster is still alive somehow.”

“Never knew you had a hamster,” Grace said, rubbing her chin.

“I remember Sam wanted to ship you that rabbit plushie,” Liz said, giggling. “She had a real crush on you.”

“No, I didn’t!” Sam yelled, blushing bright red.

“It’s okay, I know I’m attractive,” Grace said, ruffling up Sam’s hair which just made her blush even brighter.

We all laughed, enjoying the banter between everyone.

***

“I’m hungry,” Lauren said, looking around the pier. We’d spent our entire day doing various things in Santa Monica, and it was getting dark now.

“We should probably get some food here before I send you all back,” my mom said. “Get into my car, girls.”

“I’m not a girl,” Matthew said, raising his hand.

“Sorry, I just said girls since we have five of them here,” my mom said, laughing. “Here though, let’s find a restaurant to eat at.”

We all crammed into the car, as my mom looked at her phone to try and find a good place to eat. After a while, she smiled and started up the navigation app.

“Grace, can you be my navigator for today?” my mom asked, handing her phone to Grace. “It’s a little hard to drive and navigate at the same time.”

Grace led us to the restaurant, and we arrived after just a few minutes.

“Woah, seafood, so fancy,” Sam said, shocked by the restaurant we just arrived at. “Isn’t this expensive, Ms. Lee?”

“You all are only seventeen, don’t worry about money,” my mom said, winking at Sam. “Consider it my treat.”

“Thank you, Ms. Lee,” Lauren said, smiling brightly.

We walked into the crowded restaurant, and it took a lot of waiting until we were finally seated at a massive table. The entire place smelled like delicious seafood and butter, and you could see the ocean right out of the window.

“The prices are so high,” Liz said, her fingers drumming on the wooden table as she looked at the menu. “Are you sure about this, Ms. Lee? We can eat McDonalds if we need to.”

“No, you all will not be eating McDonald's,” my mom said, laughing loudly. “Let’s just enjoy the meal.”

My mom ordered a meal for all of us, with each of us individually ordering some side dishes we liked. I got mashed potatoes and some biscuits since they sounded good. We all decided to chat a little until the food came out.

“So, how was New York, Grace?” Sam asked, resting her head on her arm. “Is it better than California?”

“Not at all,” Grace said, shaking her head. “It was so cold this winter, I thought I’d freeze to death. It’s hot here, but I prefer that over the cold.”

“I’d like to go to New York,” Lauren said. “It’s way too hot here, I felt like I was going to pass out today.”

“You two should swap places,” I said, giggling.

“Maybe they should,” Liz said, rubbing her chin. “Look, we can have Lauren dress up in Grace’s clothes, and then go back. Nobody would be able to tell the difference!”

“We don’t even look remotely alike,” Lauren said, rolling her eyes. “Grace is cute, while I’m just a blob.”

“Look, everyone here is cute, no insecurity today,” my mom said.

“I just wanted to get rid of Lauren,” Liz said, giggling.

“Hey!” Lauren said, feigning offense. “I know you want me around, even if you deny it.”

“Sure, bestie,” Liz said, laughing.

“Oh, the food’s here,” Matthew said, looking as the waitress brought over our food on a large tray.

“Wow, that smells super good,” I said, gripping onto Matthew’s hand.

“Yeah, it does,” he said, giving my hand a quick squeeze.

“I ordered crab for all of us today, so dig in,” my mom said, as we were presented with an absolutely massive crab.

“This looks delicious,” Lauren said, her mouth watering in anticipation. “Thanks, Ms. Lee!”

“Of course, eat up,” Mom said.

***

“I’m about to burst,” Lauren said, rubbing her belly. “I ate way too much.”

“Everything should be in moderation, Lauren,” Liz said wisely, wiping her lips with a tissue.

“Yeah, should’ve told me that before I ate half of this crab,” Lauren said, groaning as she stood up. “I think we have to go back now.”

“Yeah, I need to get you all back to your parents before ten,” my mom said, getting up as well. “Here, I have to pay and then we’ll go.”

My mom paid for the meal, not letting us see what the price was. I guess it really was that exorbitantly high. We all crowded into the car again, for our final drive.

“It’ll take an hour to get back home from here,” my mom said, looking at the navigation app. “Grace, mind telling me where to go again?”

“Not at all!” she said, taking the phone.

I sat in the back, holding Matthew’s hand and leaning my head onto the window. It was a long drive, and we were all pretty tired from the day we had.

“Grace, how long are you staying this time?” I asked.

“I’m staying about a month,” she replied from the very front of the car. “So we’ll have plenty of time to hang out.”

“Ooh, that’s nice,” I said, looking over at Matthew in excitement. I had missed Grace a lot, and it was nice to have someone who was transgender as well with me. “We’re all stuck in one place during summer break, while you get to travel across the country to California.”

“I’m just cool like that,” Grace said, flipping her hair. She turned to my mom real quick, letting her know the direction. “Left turn here. Seriously though, it’s really nice to be back here.”

“It’s nice to have you!” Sam said, smiling brightly. “What’s up with your friends back in New York?”

“What Sam is trying to ask is if you have a girlfriend,” Liz said, giggling.

“I was just trying to ask about her friends, not that!” Sam said, shoving Liz playfully.

“Sadly, I am still single pringle,” Grace said, shaking her head. “It’s a little disappointing, but what can you do.”

“Oh, that’s sad,” Sam said, her eyes sparking up with hope.

“Anyways, talking about couples, you’ve taken good care of Katie, right Matthew?” Grace said, looking back at Matthew and me holding hands.

“The best care I could give,” Matthew said, ruffling up my hair as I screamed for him to stop. “She loves me, don’t worry.”

“No, I don’t!” I said, annoyed and trying to fix up my bangs. “You’re so annoying.”

“Sure,” Matthew said. “I’m excited for our year anniversary, I wonder what we’re going to do.”

“You better plan a good surprise for Katie,” Liz said. “She deserves a good one-year anniversary.”

“I’ll do my best,” Matthew said, chuckling.

***

“Bye Grace!” I said, stepping out of the car to wave to her. We had dropped everyone else off, and it was just the two of us left.

“See you, Katie,” Grace said, waving back. “We better meet up a lot this summer. You guys are the sole reason I even came over, to be honest. Otherwise, I would’ve stayed in New York.”

“Ha, I’m honored,” I said, giggling. “We’ll see each other tomorrow, okay?”

“Promise me that,” she said, holding out her pinky finger at me. “I missed you a lot.”

“Promise, we’ll have so much fun this summer,” I said, interlocking my pinky with hers. “See you, Grace.”

“See you,” she said, entering her grandparent’s home. I watched the door close behind her and smiled. This summer would be a ton of fun.