Male or Female. Those were the two choices that appeared on Caramel's computer screen. The computer class was making an account for some educational site that no one was going to use or care about after that day,, and this was one of the questions on the survey to get in. Male or Female. All Caramel had to do was check the box next to "male" and this would be a breeze. But it wasn't. He had this feeling inside that it wasn't the right box to check. That he wasn't really a boy. This wasn't really a new experience for Carmel. He'd felt like this for a while, but hadn't really confronted it. He thought it was just a phase or something. But now, he had a situation where he had to choose. Male or Female. I need to think this through he thought. He raised his hand. "Ms. Cheerilee? Can I go to the bathroom?"
"Yes, Caramel. Just remember to sign out before you leave."
Caramel speed-walked down the hall towards the restrooms, only to abruptly come to a halt before them. Another choice. He could either go into the boys room, or the girls room. He turned from one to the other, as if he was watching a tennis match. Defeated, he finally sat leaning against the wall in the middle. He rested his head against the cold tile, trying without prevail to clear his mind. He (or may eh she) sat like this for a while. It could have been a half of an hour, or maybe just thirty seconds that he sat there leaning against the wall. Suddenly, he heard quiet footsteps coming down the hall. He looked up to see a girl with light blue hair with a flower in it carrying a flute case. She seemed to be going to a small-group band lesson. (If you don't know what that is, it is a band lesson that people in band go to in the middle of class, along with about five other people, to work a little more personally with the teacher) "Hi," she said in a soft, small voice.
"Hi," Caramel responded, head still bent.
The girl sat down next to him on the floor, setting her black flute case next to her. It landed with a small clack on the linoleum tile flooring. "Hi. I'm Coco Pommel. But most of my friends call me just Coco," she said.
The girl seemed nice enough. "My name's Caramel."
A concerned expression appeared on Coco Pommel's face. "You seem troubled."
"Yeah. It's kinda hard to explain," he said while taking in a shaky breath.
"You can tell me. I won't laugh or anything." There was nothing but sincerity in her eyes.
"Okay, but it's kinda crazy. You see, I was born a boy, but I don't feel like a boy. I feel like I'm a girl trapped in a boy's body."
Caramel checked Coco's expression, expecting to see one of disbelief or laughter. But she looked at him with understanding. "I know what it probably is."
"What is it? Is it some kind of disease?" he asked worriedly.
Coco lightly giggled at this. "No. It's called transgender. It's where a person was born one gender, but feels like the opposite gender. And there's nothing wrong with it. It's just how a person is. It also isn't a choice. It's a feeling of not being born the right sex."
"So, are you also transgender?" Carmel questioned.
"Oh, no. I'm okay with being the gender I was assigned to. But I'm asexual and aromantic."
"Huh? Like an amoeba?"
She sighed dramatically. "Not the first time I've heard that one, and it's definitely not gonna be the last. I just don't experience sexual or romantic attraction no matter the gender. I didn't know what it was, either. I thought I was broken because I didn't feel the same way about boys that the other girls did. I assumed I was lesbian, but I didn't really feel anything towards girls, either. I learned about a site called AVEN, and decided to check it out. I had a feeling that I was one of them. I know that it can be hard coming to grips with who
you are, especially if it's something people aren't educated very much on, but keep in mind that you will have friends to help you along the way."
"But what if my friends laugh at me? What if they don't want to be my friends anymore because they think I'm weird or diseased or something?"
Coco gave a calming smile . "Then they aren't very good friends, now are they? True friends will help you no matter what."
Caramel looked up at his- no, her new friend. "Thanks," she said, getting up. "I'd better get back to class. You think we could hang out sometime?"
"Sure!" Coco said brightly as she walked into the hallway towards her band small group lesson that she was probably already late to. But wing late was an extremely small price to pay for helping out a new friend.
Caramel walked back into the classroom with newfound strength and understanding. She had an answer now.
She hovered her cursor over the option of "female," and a large weight seemed to have been lifted from her shoulders as she pressed down on the mouse. Female. She was a transgender female, and if anyone didn't agree with that, then shame on them. Because she wasn't going through a phase. She wasn't broken. She was not mistaken.
