Squires-15

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Jess Stone had breasts. He had been like this his entire teen life not quite fitting in anywhere that he had lived and at the same time he hadn’t really had the chance to. His folks moved around a lot with his dad being a hydrological engineer but they were slightly afraid of what might happen to Jess if he attended school. Some people just didn’t get it or wanted too. Jess was now attending a new school when he decided to change things...

Only it was everyone else that was getting changed!

Squires
Chapter 15
by Bailey Summers

Copyright © 2012 Bailey Summers
All rights reserved.

Squires-15

 


Image Credit: anime couple


 

*Yasmine…………

She was expecting the worst really. It was something that some of the relatives and stuff she still sort of talked to had said to expect when they heard she was coming to school here and in America in general.

Not that she had a whole lot of contact with her cousins and stuff since her mother was still in this sort of family argument slash exile over her coming here. They had a big family really on her mother’s side of things and they were all over the map on this and the relatives here in America we’re seeing things as the ones in Dubai or the ones in Jordan or in any other part of where they were living.

The great grandparents of the family didn’t really approve but then again it had been a long road she heard for then to even warm to the idea of her mother being with her father and him non-converting.

That had been a big issue too except with her relatives in Jordan because there was like a split in that side of the family with some of them being Coptic and most of them being also very much liberal Muslims too.

But she still had about six or seven cousins that she really only knew online still freely talking to her.

They all were worried about her living in America.

Except Jamal, he was worried for her living and moving to Chicago and the rates of violence there and gun crime and stuff.

But it had been a whole lot less traumatic so far than she had thought.

So far.

But then again she was almost expecting a lynch mob.

There were no metal detectors and armed guards there who would look through her book bag. And she hadn’t been stopped and searched by security yet.

There was however a lot of looks sent her way from some of the students there and she could tell the popular kids from the not so popular kids…sort of.

That bunch with the strange girl boy and other’s seemed oddly popular too. Not like what she sort of new to be the case but like people sort of looked up to them or something?

They seemed like a whole bunch of the nerds and the outcast types and the kind of people who didn’t hang up in the halls talking in their own group instead of hiding from the whole pack Alphas of the school.

She did get looks from those ones though…especially some of the girls and there were some real hateful glares there though. Her hijab drew those like a magnet. She got a little shove by someone she didn’t see and some girl in nice clothes faked spitting on her and some African American kid glared at her and said. “Go back to Deerborne hajette.”

And that was before she got to the office to register as a student. That was a long and grueling process really between the forms and picking classes and juggling those with these odd slots meaning different periods on different days…?

It was really confusing to her and was way more confusing than it should be. It was a five day week but the school called the schedule days as one through six…then each day you had six periods for classes but you had seven slots for courses and those slots were number based on the schedule of the teacher running said class?

And if that wasn’t enough they called her into the guidance office before she even had gone to a single class to talk about how she was adjusting and her really messed up marks and school records and about prayer…and dress code.

No burkas…that was kind of obvious and she got a glare for rolling her eyes at that. It was America. Had she worn a burka here she’d have been lit on fire or something already.

Yes Mrs. Kirkston was definitely not amused with the eye roll. And she opened a file folder and she jotted something down. Then looked at Yasmine again and tapped her teeth with the end of her pen before she continued.

“Look here Yasmine, things have gotten a lot more complicated here in schools since nine eleven. There are people that will take offense to things that they really shouldn’t and that’s not fair but it’s also the way that it is. Many of the things are for your own protection.”

“Like no Burkas.” She new she was being a smart ass and part of her liked that as much as a large part of her just wanted to get along with people and just maybe have friends…

“Yes…like the no burkas policy. Now we can’t object to you wearing your hijab but many of the Middle Eastern girls here don’t and I would stress that you think about how you would like to fit in here. It’s always best to avoid fights true?”

Yasmine bit on her cheek to not say anything she wore her hijab out of faith and honor, she wasn’t sure that she liked that there were Islamic girls here that didn’t. It didn’t seem right and she wasn’t sure that she liked the fact that she glossed over Islamic and Muslim with Middle Eastern instead.

“I think that I’ll keep my hijabs ma’am they’re important to me.”

“Okay that’s fine. Now…we don’t allow any shirts or flags that denote any religious connotation. That’s more to keep the peace, and all religious icons like jewelery are allowed as long as they don’t exceed one inch in length.”

She nodded but she didn’t like it either, they land of the free wasn’t apparently. Though she could see how a person sorting a shirt with the flag of Islam or a Middle Eastern would start something here…and she was sure that there wouldn’t be a whole lot said about someone wearing one of the Christian themed shirts.

She chewed on her cheek again and nodded trying to be respectful to her. “Yes ma’am.”

“I know I don’t have to tell you that daggers and knives are not allowed on school grounds regardless of your faith is that understood?”

“Ma’am…I’m a Muslim not a Sikh, I do not carry knives or any other weapon.”

The guidance councilor chewed her lip and scribbled some more into the file she had opened on her desk.

“And lastly prayer, we have been served an injunction last year that prevents us from allowing prayers during class times. I know that seems wrong but we’re tied up in amendment red tape with that one. We do have a room number 312 that the drama club has donated from being their storage so students can have a place to pray during breaks from classes.”

Yasmine nodded, she had again expected as much and had even been warned about it but being told about it was something else and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

She was released from the office and sent out with one of the office girls who looked like a student that was working here instead of classes. She was dressed pretty secretarial so she thought maybe some co-op education class? This Adrianna gave her a quick tour of the school since it was too late to go to class and it was almost time for thee morning break. It was a fairly new building and pretty big with three floors if you counted the library and the music rooms placed on the third floor.

It was all pretty fast and this is this and that is that but it wasn’t the “Real” map of the school…who hung where, who sat where at breaks and lunches…what areas belonged to who and this Adrianna didn’t look that friendly enough to ask. Not mean to her but one of those you’re bugging me I was busy people.

That kind of made her hunch a little as they went because with the moving around as a kid and the stuff after her dad had passed.

It just seemed that she was always a bother to someone.

Even her Mom sometimes, like she was somehow to blame for all of this? Yasmine thought she got it some…it must be hell to lose your life’s love. She could even get maybe her mom sometimes taking it out on her since she was pretty much the only person around most of the time.

But it didn’t mean that it never hurt.

She got lost in here head for awhile looking up a bit surprised when the bell rand for the break and her and the office girl were in the cafeteria.

“There you go, your all set.” And she didn’t really wait for a reply as she was already walking away clicking her heels and threading her way through the students.

The place was filling up pretty quickly too which made her nervous. A lot of people made her nervous, she wasn’t fond of the whole crowd thing no matter where she lived. She went and got a coffee like many others were and she bought a muffin to try something called pineapple cranberry which sounded promising even though she thought cranberries were an American Thanksgiving food.

She looked for an innocuous place to sit and set her book bag on the table close enough to keep people from grabbing it but also to sort of hide behind.

“Nothing to see here just a girl and her muffin.”

Instead she watched people, trying to get a handle on things.

Her fellow “Middle Eastern” students were…there were scarily westernized…local cloths and almost the mall trendy stuff for both sexes and the guys all shaved…not that all of them needed to but she barely saw anyone sporting facial hair who was “brown.” And not that many girls she saw wore her hijab or anything like most girl their ages would and even some showed a lot of skin.

Yasmine was pragmatic and she wasn’t a prude either but her shirts fit and she wore stockings or leggings most of the time but these girls were really westernized many in pants and some in really short skirts and shirts that didn’t fit.

And…their noses…no piercing in most of them and they didn’t have the regular noses she’d grown up seeing. But these small pert western noses like…like they had them.

The thought of plastic surgery was kind of repellent to her and to fit in?

Just…eew.

And there was also like this subconscious thing were they sort of avoided each other in a way? Like they were sort of saying to everyone else we don’t know each other that well…which could be true but she doubted it.

The school had a pretty wide mixture of kids but white was the blanket color here. Then the blacks and then there were a pretty even number of Middle Eastern kids and Hindu kids and the Hispanics, there were some Asians too but they were in the minority groups.

She noticed the kids forming up into their friend groups or peer groups in some cases. The sports teams seemed to congregate together and they seemed to have the cheerleader types and the kids with the really nice clothes with them too ad right on the fringes of them were the next bunch who wanted into the group like they were holding court and almost flanking them were these sort of satellite groups with these clean cut…Very Christian types that obviously were showing their faith despite the apparent rules and some of the ones she encountered first thing were there and then there was these other kids that looked like they fit in with these “Christians” but they had shirts on that said stuff like don’t tread on me and had a coiled snake on them.

Definitely the Alpha wolf pack here and stuff and between them and their hanger’s on and fringe groups there were quite a few of them.

And they were even able to scared or intimidate some people just by looking at them…pointedly looking at them and saying things she was too far away to hear but seemed to have an effect.

Then there was a commotion with them as this really beautiful girl came in looking like she’d went to a salon before coming here and she was stunning and crying at the rush of faked almost formal care and concern they had for.

“You poor thing…he’s a bastard…he really is gay we seen it this morning…”

Yasmine sat and almost shook her head saying to herself. “Do they live in a bubble? I mean can’t they tell how fake they’re all being?”

It really was in a way like watching bad acting.

And this girl…she was really beautiful but she was going on and on about some boy called “Johnny the fag“…and how “Brian was fucking the tranny.” And she went on and on crying and alternating with calling people low and really as much as Yasmine hated the term…well she was being a bitch.

This Britney was someone to avoid.

There was another stir in the Alphas as the boy-girl…that dark haired one with breasts showed up with their friends in that motley crew and they were talking and chatting. It was a whole unlikely group too when you got a look at the from afar. Geeks and nerds, a couple of jocks, one in a varsity jacket, a black skater kid, some one using sign language a busty femme Latina and this tall slender almost boyish beauty with straight long blonde hair and a few others just sort of a loose group.

They were getting coffees and drinks and raiding the sweets counter and they didn’t seem too much like the typical groups of kids that formed cliques…too many were too different.

But they seemed friendly and even popular..ish. People talked to them and people were going up to this sandy haired jock boy and hugging him and kissing him…even some other boys? They were saying “Happy Gay Day.”?

Then the Britney girl caught sight of them.

*Brian…………

It had been an interesting morning especially after word blazed around the school that he kissed Kenyon. It sort of added to the him and Johnny rumors and he actually had started to find it kind of amusing and weird.

He hadn’t minded the kiss and he really didn’t feel a thing from it other than it was actually kind of fun…it felt good to thumb his nose at the haters and stuff.

And weirdly…as much as he was getting the hate on from his old crew and stuff he was getting kind of friendly respect? From kids that he never knew or had used to give him these looks.

He was getting what those looks used to be because they still were giving them to is old crew…the look said you’re an asshole but I’m scared of you.

It was kinda nice for people to sort of see him in a different light.

And he had wondered just how much he’d been caught up in and found guilty by being with Brit for so long.

God…it felt good to feel clean.

And he found the way Kenyon blushed at him between first and second period funny as heck.

But kissing Kenyon brought one thing to his mind really clearly.

If he could kiss Kenyon then he could definitely kiss Johnny…Oh sigh…wow…yeah thinking of kissing Johnny despite the name had Brian actually feeling turned on. He even tried to think of Johnny as a guy…not because he was rejecting it but like a mental experiment…to see if he could.

Nope…

It was her face…the blue eyes, the platinum blonde hair with the pink streaks in it and her ready smile she seemed to have.

And Honey, Lindsey and the others…he was so not used to a girl actually being real friends with her friends just because…no agendas. Johnny was so a nice girl and he was pretty sure he was starting to like nice girls.

It was actually kind of a decent day given yesterday…and then Britney came in through the other doors.

She was right on top of her game with a definite makeover and a look that was calculated too. He’d seen her do it where they were dating. “Looks state before you say a thing.”

So she had a school hoody the zip front on to “Look” like she’s having a hard time getting it together…her cropped v-necked sweater thingy…soft wool but shows off her navel and cleavage, Yoga pants because they show off her ass and he could see under all of that “Can’t cope look” she was wearing some of her expensive lingerie stuff.

And there were fake hugs and fake sympathy from her, for her… “Like Ohmigawd like he almost gave you the AIDS.” Oh and lots of fake tears too as she was upset enough that she was sort of sidling up to Shawn Locke the rising star of the school on both track and basketball and on the short list for top senior guy and prom king next year…maybe even this year depending on how he medaled.

He was getting lots of shitty-dirty looks too from people as she cried and said stuff…in that sneaky way not loud enough that you could hear her from there but loud enough that they were getting the gossipy overheard stuff she was “Confiding.” in friends with.

Brian kind of glared and sort of hunched and knew the bullshit was thick over there and that he was getting shredded even more. He blinked when Jessie passed him a chocolate milk and a hot chocolate chip cookie.

“Uhm…thanks…”

“You look a little lost.”

“Sort of…I’m glad to be clear of it but that was my normal over there.”

Jessie took a drink of his strawberry milk and nodded. “I get that you two dated a long time I hear.”

“Since middle school.” He sighed. “I think I really didn’t know what I was getting into with Brit and then when it was heading to me not liking her very much I’d been so long that I didn’t know how to get out.”

“You just described most abusive relationships Bry.”

“Pfft…no I’m a guy, it was just me not nutting up.”

Jessie looked at him. “Most…most abusive relationships aren’t physical Brian it’s about power.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m stringer than her Jessie.”

“No not that kind of power but…” Jessie watched Britney for a few seconds then broke off a corner of the cookie he gave Brian and ate it causing a stir with the people interested in watching them. “Let me guess…you guys didn’t go anywhere or do anything that she didn’t want to do…and if it got to a fight it was her whining and ten bitching until you caved and then…if you were winning the fight she’d bawl…get upset and make you feel like shit for making her feel bad and then you’d cave.”

Jessie took another sip of strawberry milk. “Then she’d reward you sometimes with sex.”

Brian looked at Jessie offered more cookie which Jessie took. “Sounds like you two were dating.”

“Nope, no how, no way…I’m sorry but the stuff I said it’s abuse pattern stuff. My mom worked with a lot of abused poorer women in some of the places we lived at. Britney was treating you the same way that guys treat their women like shit then are all flowers and I’m sorry baby.”

Brian just sat there a few seconds and hen looked down at his sneakers. “Shit…”

Jessie leaned over and gave him a one armed hug around the waist which was weird but considering that Jessie had breasts the sort of girlness of it wasn’t totally unexpected…but it oddly just felt like a friends gesture.

“Thanks Jessie, y’know you’re one of the first people to just cut the bullshit ad tell me stuff like it is.”

“We’re friends Brian, I knew we’d likely end up as friends when you and the guys you were with didn’t jump in on the fight by the dumpsters.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re an honorable guy and that’s rare y’know.”

Brian blushed, he didn’t really know what to say. People didn’t go around and took stuff like that into account…much less say it and it kind of felt good. Kind of like this morning standing up with all of them as Kenyon came out. He hugged Jessie back in the same way and blushed more as he felt Jessie’s breasts pressing into his side. “Shit sorry I didn’t mean to…”

“Bry, their just boobs, it’s okay…half the planet has them. It’s not like you copped a feel.”

“I know but…”

Jessie laughed and it wasn’t unpleasant or a full on guys laugh but smoky like a guys but with a softer edge to it. “They are kind of fun though when they have that effect though.”

“What?”

Jessie just grinned. “You doing anything tonight?”

Brian looked at Jessie. “You asking me out? I thought you were going to date Kenyon?”

“I am going out with Kenyon but Danny and I thought we’d get a game going over at Kenyon’s and us be there as moral support.”

“Moral support?”

“He hasn’t told his family yet.”

“Oh…shit. Yeah I’m there. So what are we playing?”

“Dan’s got a few choices but we might just go with Star Wars.”

“Uhm…like running around with light sabers and stuff, isn’t that for kids?”

“No, no it’s Role-playing like Dungeons and Dragons make believe but more than that, it’s why it’s a game.”

“Oh okay, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Cool we’re trying for something everyone knows so it’s either that or AMSH.”

“AMSH?”

“Advanced Marvel Super Heroes, because most people have some knowledge of Star Wars or comics.”

“Yeah, never played anything like that before.”

“It’s actually kind of fun though I haven’t played much either.”

“Sounds really geeky.”

“Hey, Geeky and nerdy are really in.”

“They are?”

Jessie looked at him grinning. “Yeah and y’know nerdy girls can be hella cute.”

“Hella? You’re learning.” Brian grinned and Jessie smiled and shrugged.

“I’m going to go and ask some other people too.”

“Jess?”

“Yeah?”

“Is Johnny a geeky girl?”

Jessie grinned. “Hey Johnny are you a geekette?” he called out.

She yelled back from where she was talking. “I love blue police booths!”

Jessie grinned. “There you go.”

Brian looked confused. “Huh…what?”

“Look up the Doctor.”

“Doctor Who?”

He didn’t get why Jessie was laughing. “Exactly! Meet me during study hall we can bone up.”

Oh the head snaps from the Alphas…he said Bone on purpose.

*Johnny…………

She hadn’t really stopped smiling all morning. The date with Danny and then actually having girl-friends to talk it over with…okay so Lindsey wasn’t exactly into the whole giggle-girl-squee thing but she did listen and she did talk and she was becoming her friend. Honey…Honey was just as girl-friend starved as she’d been and they had a great time talking even with Honey’s mom chirping in it’d been fun.

Then this morning. This morning was great with the getting Lindsey made over and…and then there was Kenyon coming out.

That was brave…it’s so hard coming out.

And for a guy like Kenyon that doesn’t come across as the wispy, primping stereotype it’s kind of harder. It is really if you come out and you already fit the stereotype a lot of people shrug it off. But if you still challenge their perceptions the haters come at you a lot harder.

That’s a fast lesson when you’re TG.

But then Sam the deaf kid and she was sure Danny and Jessie went and started this whole kissing Kenyon in this Happy Gay Day thing that was still going on here at morning break. She loved the fact it was this kind of peaceful loving style protest before the haters got to Kenyon.

Even if some kids didn’t like gay PDA’s it was one of the fastest easiest and coolest things that she’d seen. It’s have never been able to happen this long in her old school. Here it wasn’t liked but between their group into it the LGBT kids as few as the were and a few of the just socially conscious or social rebels there must have been fifty or sixty kids.

That’s a lot of kids for the faculty to start stuff with or rather that’s a lot of parents.

She smiled and chatted during the break with some of thee new kids. That was a whole lot harder than she thought. They hadn’t talked to her before this, she’d been here a good chunk of last years last semester and they never came near.

Or defended her, that’s what else made this hard. She was the only openly Trans person here and until now they hadn’t really gotten near her.

But here they were and other too talking to her and she was talking to them and it got tense a little when Bobbi Cambridge the L queen came over and shook her hand and gave her the light social hug.

“Hey cool thing you guys did with your friend, we might have to steal that.”

“It was really Sam’s idea.”

“Who’s Sam?”

“The guy over there signing and stuff.”

“Oh, well very cool I didn’t know he’d be up on the LGBT issues.”

That was the first little tweak. “No, there’s a lot of people that are really better versed in sex and gender equality out there than some think.”

She was sharp and she got it, their eyes clashed for a moment.

“Well some think that but unless they live it the only get part of it.”

“Lots of people get it and are going through it without the need to be official about it.”

“I really don’t think that some people get some issues…Johnny..” She smiled but sort of emphasized her name….like a guy dig.

“Oh I wouldn’t know Bobbi, that could be that I had to form my own opinions.” There was a dig to Bobbi’s name and the fact they never came round before.

They locked eyes and stared at each other. Bobbi got closer and into Johnny’s face but was very calm and quiet about it.

“Look, I’m not trying to start something why are you on my ass about it?”

Johnny looked back and was fighting hurt and anger and was very, very close to tears. “I know you don’t like me, I know that you think I’m some guy or something trying some sick joke or something but I’m not and…and…and you fucking hurt me.” She was angry whispering and breathe red hard through her nose to not cry. Not now not in front of everyone…her and the Alphas.

Bobbi whispered back. “What!? I never did anything to you?”

Johnny stared at her hard right in the eyes. “Yeah…exactly…”

Bobbi looked like she was going to reflexively say something back and she stopped and stared at Johnny and blinked a few times her mouth even hung open a little as stuff hit her.

“Oh…shit no we didn’t did we…?”

A couple of tears slid down from Johnny’s eyes and she quickly wiped them away and sniffled. “No…and no one did at my last school either…I thought this wasn’t going to be any different.”

“Oh dammit…Johnny…shit it was just…” Bobbi looked apologetic.

“Trannies freak you out?” Bobbi nodded.

“I just don’t get it…and here you are with that name.”

Johnny sniffle laughed. “You’re a fine one to talk.”

Bobbi sniffle laughed a little too. “Bobbi is so much better than Roberta, cuter too.”

Johnny nodded and smiled a little. “It really is.”

They stared at each other and both let out this exhaled sigh and hugged. They slipped over and bought coffees and just leaned on the edge of the bench table they were using. Bobbi took out some nicotine gum and chewed.

“Can I ask you something though since we’re clearing the air?”

Johnny nodded. “Sure.”

“Why Johnny?”

“I went back to it actually I was Jennifer before this.”

“You’d make a good Jennifer.”

“No, I didn’t. I was everyone’s door mat until I couldn’t take it anymore and as soon as I did they made sure that I knew that I was only being tolerated.”

“Being tolerated?”

“They beat me until I needed to be hospitalized and missed the rest of that year.”

“Oh fuck…bastards…”

Johnny nodded and leaned into the hug that Bobbi gave her from one side and Lindsey from the other who’d just slipped over and was quietly listening.

“I purged everything that was Jennifer out of my life and was going to swear to stay trapped in boy mode for however long I was going to live.”

Lindsey stared a little more than that and hugged her tighter.

Bobbi asked. “So you’ve never tried another fem-name?”

Johnny shook her head. “No…I didn’t need to. I was in recovery and web surfing trying to take my mind off of everything when I saw these videos of this Trans singer girl on you tube and she has a big following and she’s on I-tunes and stuff and the thing was…we have the same name. She kept her boy name and she turned it all on it’s head.”

“Okay…” Bobbi nodded.

Johnny smiled. “She’s really pretty and the thing is it’s not a gimmick or a stage name it’s her name and she said once. Hi I’m Johnny and I’m a girl.”

Lindsey nodded. “You are too so Johnny is a girl’s name.”

Bobbi nodded. “Like Frankie or Toni or even like me.”

Johnny nodded. “It’s kind of like something I hang onto now as like a personal truth…I’m Johnny and I AM a girl and there’s nothing they can do to change that.”

Bobbi nodded. “I agree it really works for you.”

Johnny nodded. “Not for everyone some girls really do have their real names very different than their closet nameplates. It just fits for me.”

They hugged and started talking about actually taking the LGBT a bit further in the school as Johnny pointed out that besides the lesbian and gay kids there’s others here that need a safe haven too especially the gender-queer kids that don’t really fit in the lines anywhere.

*Lindsey…………

She nodded as Johnny talked adding in. “That’d be me.”

Bobbi looked at her, actually Lindsey though again…but she was never sure. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m like gender numb or something. I sort of feel not like a girl, not like a guy and I’m not really attracted to either.”

Bobbi looked her over this time like she was looking for something. “Low hormones?”

“Not as far as I know, I have periods like everyone…like normally.” She gave Johnny a sorry smirk who waved it off. “It’s just it doesn’t compute most of the time for me.”

“Really you look great?”

“Thanks it’s nerdy-girly-sporty-butch courtesy of Johnny here and Honey. I just used to wear whatever I could afford and what hand-me overs would fit or could be adjusted.”

Bobbi nodded. “So you think there’s a definite need?”

Lindsey nodded. “Heck yeah it’s high-school we’re all kind of messed up y’know I think that there should be a safe place for us all really. And there’s got to be a lot of people that are in hiding because they don’t want to be outed as something freaky.”

Bobbi nodded again. “We really need to look at all of this stuff way more then you girls want to help out?”

Johnny was answering some Dr. Who thing Jessie asked and smiled at that. “Yeah, sure I’d love to actually get in on something that’ll maybe leave the school better for others after graduation.” She looked over to Johnny. “Hey Rose you in?”

Johnny blinked and grinned. “As long as we can paint the doors blue.” Lindsey grinned wider because Johnny had a pretty spot on English voice just then and of course catching it Dan held his hands over his heart. “I knew there was a reason I’m so attracted to you.” he said to Johnny.

Lindsey laughed as Johnny said. “Oh you’re just interested in my wibbly-wobbly gender bendery bits.” And kissed him on the cheek and that’s why she liked these people. They get her, they as just as geeky and odd as her and brave. Before them she had no friends and had to reign everything in and while she might not get exactly what was going on with her she was Lindsey here and not Dishwater and that was good enough for all of them.

Poor Bobbi though all lesbian hip and trendy looked confused at the sudden flirty geek storm and why others were laughing.

She moved to beside Bobbi. “Don’t worry young padawan I’ll translate stuff for you.”

“Padawhat?”

Lindsey just grinned. “It’s the…You will learn grasshopper you will learn.”

They all talked together as Jessie and Danny were talking about the game over at Kenyon’s house and getting Kenyon to call his folks to see if he could use the garage game-den and have people over.

*Kenyon…………

Oh it had been the morning of like all morning with him coming out….and then this whole Happy Gay Day thing.

That, that was borderline super embarrassing. He’d have nixed it right away if he new it had been going to happen but then again…

It seemed to be doing something good and he got to be kissed…Danny and Donnie were surprising more than anything and Nick was so shy that is was cute if he’d thought about it. Sam who came up with it was alright too but Brian…Brian had kissed him…this straight good looking athletic guy and that made parts of him stir to life in a very gay way.

Thinking on it he was pretty sure that he liked guy’s like Brian if he was going to be the kissee…and with some of the other gay boys that seemed a little “Softer” he felt more the aggressor kind of feelings. If he’d have to say he had two different types.

Then there was Jessie…

Oh…when Jessie had kissed him he got an instant boner and he had it most of the morning. Jess has breasts which were…if he had to be honest they were okay…well he suspected they were likely awesome for their size but it was not why he liked Jessie so much.

It was everything else.

Sigh.

He’d been kissed a couple of times between first and second classes and there had been some girls kissing him too. That he didn’t mind but at the same time…it was still that whole in shock kind of distressing that they really didn’t do much for him.

And while it’d been cool there was some backlash starting. A few people mostly the popular kids or the entourages that were associated with them had been giving him some dirty looks.

The churches said. “Faggot…Queer…Cocksucker…You’re going to hell…and God hates fags.” some was quietly aimed at him in class and more openly in the halls and there responses from the kids that were around him right back.

“Bigot….Sheep…Jealous…”

Lindsey…he was really finding them getting closer like friends. She had hit one bunch of them with. “Fantasizers.” It actually took some of them a few minutes before that sank into the thickheads.

Danny used. “Yeehaw…” and a fake spitting thing like a weapon and Jessie just had that so cool hands in his pockets sexy cat-guy walk and said. “Banjoes.”

He never really expected this from people if something like this happened and he could kind of see that besides the whole Happy Gay day thing that the friends he had and the unified front was sinking into the other kids, or some of the other kids. By morning break they’d all sort of gathered with a lot of the LGBT kids and some of the other kids that were the odder set like the theater and the band kids and the glee club types.

What was embarrassing was the attention he wasn’t really a spokes person type but he was really getting talked to by a lot of kids. And more kissing but mostly the whole friendly in solidarity thing.

It was so strange.

He’d worked out like crazy over the summer, weights and protein powder shakes and running and lots of drills to get on the basketball team…to be popular. He’d been a faceless nobody back in his old school and if anyone knew him it was for his brothers.

Now he hadn’t made the team this year yet and he was popular all of a sudden for being out and gay?

That was just weird.

Jessie came over near the end of break and he felt his heart speed up. He looked so hot…the dark hair, the intense eyes, that sexy smile that you really only seen on movie stars…Jess had definitely this sort of Johnny Depp thing there with his smile…that sexy I know something smile and the old army jacket he wore just added something to him that the ‘Murica! Teabagger kids or rather the ones that called themselves the Young Patriots just couldn’t pull off.

Yeah seriously there were these kids with that whole political stuff in school just like the churchy crowd. They’d been as edgy as edgy gets all morning and right now looked like them with him all being gathered together was really getting them going and talking and bitching until…until Brian’s ex showed up.

He nodded in her direction as Jessie came over. “If I was gay before she’d definitely do that to me.”

Jessie grinned. “Yeah but you have better taste that her right?”

“Right…are we…?”

“Still on for Saturday night?”

He nodded. “Yeah…?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“You are?”

“I’ve never dated before and I was hoping to before college.”

“Really?”

“Yes…” Jessie actually came over more and leaned on him.

He smelled so good…like Jessie and like nice cologne and more recently chocolate chip cookies. It was making him hard again.

Jessie looked at him. “You’re going to tell your parents?”

“I have to it’ll get out to them before the night’s out it’ll be all over those sites about the school.”

“So might be already then?”

Nick typed out on his phone saying. “It is.”

Kenyon looked up and breathed. “Oh god.”

Jessie touched him…a hand on…an rubbed his chest…he felt his heart race at the touch. “We’ll deal.”

“How?”

“We have a party.”

“A party?”

“Sort of. We do the happy gay day thing at your place while we set up with people coming over to have a game in that den you said you guys had.”

“Game?”

“RPG Danny want’s to try running a game now that we have way more than enough numbers.”

“Oh cool that’s a lot of players.”

“Yeah but Dan’s got a good idea.”

“Oh?”

“AMSH.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Advanced Marvel Super Heroes, it’s older but really easy to play I guess and perfect for a newb crowd.”

“Uhm makes sense, I thought I heard him talking Star Wars a second ago though.”

“Too many players for a good storyline.”

“Oh..and this?”

“Dan? Why AMSH?” Jessie called over.

Daniel gestured all around them. “Isn’t it obvious? We do Xavier Midwest.”

Both Kenyon and Jessie nodded and Dan was suddenly explaining that idea to the others and Jessie looked over to Kenyon. “So, we set up a game and have lots of people over and we make it safer to break it to your folks?”

He wasn’t sure it’d work but he wasn’t sure it wouldn’t either and he nodded. “They might be okay with this because well we know gay people and some kids and family with gay kids but…”

Jessie smiled and rubbed his arm. “But being okay with someone else’s house isn’t your own. We’ll be there.”

“Oh, okay really?”

“Yes and with food and stuff, we’ll load them down before we tell them. We’ll even have a cake.”

“A Cake?”

“Hey we can’t buy them booze.”

He laughed and nodded “True.”

“Call them okay? Make sure it’s okay first.”

He took out his phone and called home getting his mom who was more than excited that they were going to have kids over like when his brother was home. Kenyon let her go on a little before saying they’d see her later then he sighed with relief and put away his phone.

“It’s cool and no one from the office called about the fight.”

Kenyon bit his lip and he looked around and Brian gave him this odd look and nodded and took a few steps using his size to block the view of him and Jessie and he leaned down and gave him a soft kiss.

“Thank you, I’m really not sure if I’d make it through without you.”

Jessie pulled his lips in and tasted the kiss… then that smile. “You’re welcome…”

The break bell rang and Jessie gave him a quick kiss back. “See you at lunch? Be aware, Be safe.”

*Jessie…………

Things were good, almost too good really and while he was having a good time and starting to see people, regular people getting together he knew the “Alphas” were up to things.

Despite the whole hub-bub that started when Britney showed up and stuff and the dirty looks the older heads over there were acting like this was no big thing and he especially didn’t like the almost casual smiles.

He told everyone to “Be aware and Be safe.” As they headed to classes and he tried to do the same thing for himself.

Tough he was still surprised at how much he found himself liking Kenyon, and kissing him. He had told himself he was open minded given the way he’d been born but it was still a pleasant surprise to like the way he tasted on his lips and the double tingle from his breasts as is nipples had gotten pointy and hard and the semi-hard-on he gotten from the kissing too.

But the coming out party, and the meeting Monday night and holding off until after school to get the news out that the school had changed the meeting of the school board to Monday night and where.

Nick had really saved them a lot of frustration by learning that and telling them that.

He finished early in English and used his laptop to type out a letter/e-mail about the stuff going on here at the school and the change in the meeting as a dodge towards the kids and the parents that might show to protest what’s going on. There were several local new stations and lots of bloggers that he was going to send this too and there was a whole other list of people in city hall his dad had from work he was going to send this too also.

And a few civil rights organizations too like the ACLU.

He saved it on his laptop and a USB drive and he pocketed the drive in a front pocket. He looked up at a couple of the kids from the entourage pack and let them know that he knew they were watching him.

It came to a head before lunch in the changing room before gym class and he’d enjoyed Kenyon’s blushing at him as they changed and he joked around a bit with the guys who were getting more used to him being there and having boobs.

He still refused to show them when asked as he changed to a sports bra and he saw this look of anger in the eyes of those Christian boys the whole time with him and Kenyon.

He was especially kind of proud at the average guys being all not a big deal about Kenyon coming out and even joking with him about how cute he found them. Kenyon was really blushing but after a few minutes he played along a little bit saying he hadn’t been openly gay enough to really be objective.

“Bullshit.” The Churchy mouthpiece swore. “You’re a faggot, you dream about being a sodomite.”

Kenyon looked at them and actually looked pissed.

“Look…I didn’t want to be gay, I fought it for your information. No one wants to be different or ostracized let along be something that everyone knows is hard as fuck to live as.”

“Liar, you love being the perverted freak you are.” He looked ready to get into a fight with Kenyon and Kenyon looked ready to fight back.

Jessie couldn’t help notice Kenyon was actually pretty solidly muscled as he bristled.

Kenyon actually got closer to the churchy guy. “Yeah I’m gay, I like guys and I have sex dreams just like everyone else. I like COCK and I might want DICK but it’ll be a cold fucking day in hell before I’d lower myself to sleep with the likes of you douche-bags.”

That’s when the fight happened.

The Churchy kids swung on Kenyon jumping him and started punching him as a group and some of the cammo-kids too and the rest of the guys and Jessie jumped in to break it up and it got worse when one of them pushed Josh away from him and there could be heard. “Get your dirty hands off me nigger!”

It got really violent them with about a even match between the kids involved and the kids that had tried to break it up and Jessie felt someone punch him in the back of his head and ripped at his sports bra.

Then the whistles and the coach and assistant coach were there and the assistant coach had the walkie talkie out and was calling security.

They all missed Gym and since the whole thing had amounted to bigotry and racism and hard feeling on both sides it had most of them in the hall outside the gym getting reamed out by the coach.

“Gentlemen and today none of you really deserve that term… sex and sexual orientation, race and faith had no place in my classes…in my gym and there was one ruler in that gym and that’s sportsmanship!”

There were some looks of protest building and Jessie just nodded a towel wrapped around his chest.

The coach cut the about to’s off. “No…don’t say a damned word you do and you’ll get an incomplete for the year.”

There were some shocked looks from the haters and the mouthy churchy boy stepped ahead and got in the coach’s face.

“You can’t do that you’re violating my rights! I was exercising free speech and my freedom of religion!”

The coach thundered back. “Oh YES I CAN…Good Sportsmanship is the foundation of the whole curriculum it’s the FIRST thing they say to teach in the books for the classes. I know that I covered that with ALL of you and seeing you’re FAILING to how good sportsman’s like conduct you’re NOT completing my class! Therefore you get and incomplete! Now sit down and be quiet!”

Jessie had to admit…it might not be within the rules but it could definitely be argued that it could be in the coaches powers too. Especially if the teachers union went to bat for him. He was honestly impressed.

There were no detentions just sit outside as they were in the hall and to think about it. The assistant coach got Jessie his shirt he was going to wear but they all just sat there.

“No taking, no walking around just stay right there until you all decide to act right and shake hands.”

They were twenty minutes late for lunch, the Coach literally put his foot down with the faculty that came over to see what was going on and while the VP looked upset as did the guidance councilor that the coach had punished them and argued against them all being suspended for fighting. His gym, his rules. And he didn’t back down either. The actual Principal or who Jessie thought was the Principal showed to look but he avoided the entire scene like he didn’t want to know.

Hmm…that seemed to say a lot. He looked like he was just putting his time in.

The Coach though…he had some more respect for. That was someone tilting if he ever seen it.

The guys that were on his and Kenyon’s side of the fight/scuffle on the plus side joined them at their tables they need two now really and the haters went to their cliques and there was a lot of talking over there. The word “Sue” came up several times loudly over there.

Jessie smiled at Kenyon who sat down while some ice wrapped in a shirt and gave it to Jessie for the back of his head.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it was a dirty shot.” There was a lot of agreement.

“Bastards.” Lindsey spat.

More nods and agreements.

Jessie winced. “It’s not really my head but my chest, they yanked off my sport bra and I’ve got bra-burn or something.”

The girls did a collective wince and Honey covered hers reflexively.

Jessie smiled at them all. “Thanks, the sympathy really does help.”

Daniel grinned. “I could rub soothing, soothing cold cream on them for you? It’s what a friend would do.”

Some of the girls smacked him calling him a “Perv” or “Imp.”

He laughed at imp and Burns steepled his fingers and chuckled evilly.

Jessie smiled an shook his head making it ache a little more. “Ow…dammit and I was just healing up from the last fight.”

There were some nods and looks of sort of respect from the guys that had been in the fight.

Then he looked over at something and sighed and he got up. “Dan, guy’s… a hand?”

He walked over to where the new girl was and she looked stunned…just standing there looking shame faced as she looked at her clothes…covered in tomato sauce and her hijab gone her hair falling down in front of her face.

Britney giggled as she walked away with some of the other girls and some of the guys moved to sort of innocently flank them. “Whoops sorry, I didn’t see you there!”

The girl had tears starting to fall down her face and Jessie quietly leaned close but didn’t touch her. He spoke quietly in Arabic.

“~Sister please go with the ladies and allow me to deal with this.~”

(I’m using ~ to denote Jessie speaking in another language.)

*Yasmine…………

She’d been quiet, she’d been quiet and just kept quiet through the rest of her classes until lunch break then she went to the interfaith room to pray. It was pretty nice actually with donated items and decorations and on a board someone had used a wood burning kit to write in a whole bunch of languages. “Only Truth.” She liked that though it looked kind of new there. There was a few others there meditating or some such and reading except for one girl that was tuning a violin and was dressed in an extremely dark dress and loads of make up.

No one bothered her there at all until she left and she sort of had the feeling she was being followed…there was some giggles…and titters of laughter and she heard the voices of those mean fake girls.

“She’s stacked….Big ass too…Camel tits…”

Then some guy’s voice. “What do you call a pregnant Muslim?”

“What?” That was the fake girls.

“Bomb-maker.”

The laughter froze her in her tracks…she’d never heard anyone say something like that since she’d come to this country…it…they were talking about kids…babies and…she felt her knuckles tighten and she tried to fight for calm…for peace but it was so hard and she just walked into the cafeteria when they passed her.

“Whoops sorry I didn’t see you there!”

The girl that had came in late at morning break…and she was covered with tomato juice…

That’s when she noticed they yanked off her hijab too and she saw one girl bump pass it to some guy and another and it went into a garbage can in their area and several lunches got dumped on it.

Wasn’t anyone…

She saw her own people the other middle eastern kids ignoring it or looking away and the few that did look pissed off were getting stared down but these…these…she hated the word but infidel…in the whole sense of the ignorant on purpose cruel…

No…she wasn’t worth…and she could feel them so smug and satisfied and she looked to the teachers and guards and they were looking at her confused, some frowning and she though…one a woman a little smug?

The shame and the tears came then…

!?

“~How…How do you speak?~”

It was that boy, the one with the boobs and his friends…she was a little scared but him saying Sister in Arabic helped…she spoke several languages herself from moving so much.

“~I spent time in Africa my father made wells and irrigation things, some stuck enough that I kept learning.~”

Yasmine nodded still shocked and even more when the black skater boy took off his hoody and passed it to her.

“I’ll get it dirty it’ll stain.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter it’s a shirt, you do though miss.”

The short blue haired one nods. “He means it’s an honor Miss.”

Honor…?

She started to go with the girls and she saw the boys walk right into their midst and lots of the bullies were standing up and faculty and security were moving and this boy with the breasts and these others were…

He walked right over to the garbage and he started digging through the mess and the food. He passed the stuff to the black boy and the blue haired one and they dumped the splattery messed back on their tables.

There were screams from the nasty girls and shouts and the security man yelled. “Cut it out both of you! Now!”

This very angry looking man came stalking over and snarled. “Stone! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She didn’t want this…but…in all the schools she’d been in no one ever tried like this either…

She hoped he wasn’t in trouble.

*Jessie…………

He looked at the VP and held up the hijab covered in food and greasy gunk. “I’m getting this sir, you know what this is?”

“Yes I know what this is, it’s a hijab.”

Jessie nodded over to the girl. “It’s her hijab and it’s over here…all the way over here and in the garbage…you think she took it off and dunked it all the way over here then dumped all that on it?”

The VP looked at his staff that were there and the teacher from the morning that had a clash with Lindsey spoke up. “We were busy, we can’t see everything.”

The VP turned from her looking mad at her too and looked at Jessie.

Jessie stared right back. “No one did anything sir, it’s not right.”

“It’s not your job Stone.”

“Then do the job sir.”

“Stone…”

Jessie looked at him. “Let it go sir, you know it’s bullshit what they did and you know that this’ll get out of hand.”

The man wasn’t Jessie’s favorite person but he wasn’t a fool either, this could spark something racial and if not here then once it got home with the muslim kids here.

The VP looked around frowning. “You have witnesses that seen this Stone?”

“Yes sir including myself.”

“Okay what happened?”

Jessie explained how the events unfolded and there were several of the kids on Jessie’s side saying how it happened and Nick spoke on his phone.

“It’s recorded sir.”

The VP stared at the boy that couldn’t talk and frowned. “Recording video is against the privacy code of the school and the law.”

Jessie looked at the VP. “They can’t charge that many of us sir it won’t stick and you know the parents won’t allow a cell-phone blocker without a huge fuss. You don’t need to use it legally to use it as administrative evidence sir.”

They stared down at each other again then he nodded and the alpha kids involved were yelling at him all at once and threatening to call parents…do you know who my father is?…I’m calling a lawyer!

The VP pinched the bridge of his nose and turned on them. “Enough!…In school suspension for you and you and you…” He pointed out the offending members including Britney.

“But…But it was an accident! I didn’t take her rag Jerry did.”

“You splashed the young lady.”

“Shelly hit my elbow it was an accident! Look at the video!”

She was staring the VP down too. Any everyone knew it was planned and everyone knew she was lying. But knowing it and proving it were very different.

He breathed out hard. “Fine…but you and her are on notice, the rest of you all next week plus Saturday detention this weekend!”

There was more bitching and complaining from the Alpha kids that did it and there were some mutters from some of the others in the student body. He had the security guards literally escort them to the office.

He looked at Jessie. “Go to the janitor’s and get this cleaned up Stone.”

“Yes sir.”

“And Stone…”

“Yes sir?”

“It’s not your job.”

“Then don’t make me necessary.”

There was another tense few seconds and the VP left with the guards and the kids stopping only to gesture at the teacher from earlier giving her this come with me now finger gesture.

The place was quiet and some of the others like Brian and Sam came with the cleaning stuff and told Jessie. “Go take that to her dude.”

Jessie took some cleanser there and started working it into the cloth hoping to get the worst out even taking his Tide stain pen out of his jacket and pulling the top out with his teeth and headed for the girls bathroom.

He stopped and looked at Nick.

“Thanks for having our backs Nick, all of us. That was brave.”

There was a look between them there two…

Nick blushed and then looked at Jessie. “Y…Y…You can’t stop the signal M..Mm..Mal.”

Jessie grinned and he walked alone out of the cafeteria people moving out of his way until he went into the kitchen of the school and used their hot water to wash the hijab clean.

There was a lot of people watching…No one in the kitchen stopped him either.

He left looking for the girls.

There was buzzing and talking as soon as Jessie was gone from sight and some people moving and changing tables. They were upset…upset that Britney got away clean…like always. Britney shot then all a smile and walked passed he guys cleaning her nose held high and spared only a look of hate for Brian. She met with her part of the Alpha’s court as they had moved outside and left with their bunch en masse following the seniors amongst them who were talking and looking like they just were…amused.

Danny couldn’t help it.

He started whistling. “We’re not gonna take it.” By Twister Sister as they were vacating and he and Donnie and Sam and Brian and Kenyon were cleaning up the mess.

*Johnny…………

It was the guys…Jessie…just he just didn’t stop and he just sort of drug people with him into the light.

Them all standing up for the girl…Donnie literally giving the shirt off his back.

And the thing with Jessie speaking Arabic or something to her and going over there…to root through food and garbage like his pride had nothing to do with what he was doing.

The girl was Yasmine and she was new to the school…her very first day here and this had happened.

She knew it was the hateful bitches too Yasmine was really pretty, in that Arabic kind of fine features and light skinned way and she had the generous curves she’d seen in Middle Eastern girls. Yasmine was a looker and she was definitely a muslima girl adding jealous skank to racist assholes.

Honey went and got Yasmine spare clothes from her locker now that they were getting the idea from Johnny’s spares in her locker.

Yasmine was really shy and quiet too with really good English, a bit of an accent but it was a good touch not a bad one.

Her and Honey and Bobbi and Lindsey plus some of the other girls watched her trying to wash Donnie’s Hoody in the sink and wiping at her eyes until there was a knock at the door and Lindsey who was playing guard let Jessie in.

Yasmine looked shocked and Honey leaned over whispering that. “Jessie has breasts so…”

Yasmine nodded but still looked nervous like this was really outside what she knew.

Johnny smiled and wiped at her eyes when he passed Yasmine her hijab washed and damp but clean.

Yasmine’s hands shook and she started crying and Johnny watched Jessie do with her what he had done in the library holding her. He leaned on the sink counter and pulled her close and said something soothing.

“~We’re not all that way sister, we’re not you’re safe amongst friends here.~”

Johnny wasn’t sure what he said but Yasmine shook and cried really hard…She and Honey moved to settle in on other side of them both and settled into hugging the poor girl too.

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Comments

As always, such a powerful

As always, such a powerful chapter in so many ways. From Johnny's conversation with Bobbi, to the coach showing what it truly means to be an educator (kudos to the coach as well), to finally the aftermath of the treatment of Yasmine.

Speaking for myself (which you already know Bailey), this is a poignant look at society in the US these days. The dichotomy of the people and the issues that swirl. And before anyone could say what happened to Yasmine wouldn't happen, I know for a fact it does and did. Not in school perhaps, but just out and about since my conversion.

Samirah M. Johnstone

Thanks Shannon, Squires is issue loaded for sure.

Which is what I'm trying to do and tell the main story and maybe even a few other events too that'll shape things. Kids can be nasty work and more so with everything so charged in today's atmosphere.

*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

“We’re not gonna take it.”

Elsbeth's picture

Very good chapter, slowly tearing down the walls even among the LGBT crowd, which can be pretty thick at times. Always a good chapter and great story.

*hugs*

-Elsbeth

Is fearr Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla clíste.

Broken Irish is better than clever English.

Thanks Elsbeth:) You're right way too often it's LG..B..t.

Especially when there's no one there that's openly TG it's easy to get into a mindset of exclusion if there's no one there to be the reminder of hey us too.

Bobbi got a real up close look of how they hurt Johnny by not stepping up.

*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

So much

I want to say, but can't find the right words. Simply very well done!
hugs
Grover

Thanks Grover!

It's still really appreciated:)
*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

“Then don’t make me necessary.”

Well, this just keeps getting more and more interesting. The fact that the VP stood there and took it, I'll tell you when I went to high school the VP (and the principal) would have gone ballistic.

I am somewhat surprised the L queen even bothered to talk to Johnny, but I guess she hasn't gotten set in her ways yet. Not enough that she couldn't get Johnny's point anyway.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Jess has this won't back down bit now that was

beaten into him. That changes people and sometimes that is something people can see. Besides the VP is pissed but he also knows when he can't lose it. It would've made things a whole lot harder if he did.

Bobbi...well she got a good look at how her attitude hurt Johnny and she got called out on her shit. She tough might not have talked to her yet but for the Happy Gay day thing and looking the part really.

I haven't fully decided on parts of her character yet.

*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

How long until

Nick or one of the others has the PA wired to play appropriate theme music on demand?
great chapter, thanks

It would be

a nice touch, wouldn't it?

The nerds and nerdettes and the LGBTs and the OOs (Otherwise Odd) at most real schools, if they joined forces like Bailey has them learning to do in her story, ought to be able to come up with all sorts of technology things to thwart and torment the The Thugs (student bullies) and The Bad Guys (elected politicians who are ultimately responsible for "the rules of the game" that The Thugs are able to bend and/or ignore).

If the adults won't "do their job", the kids will have to do it for them. All they need to do is be careful to respect the rights of others to maintain the "moral high ground". Jessie and his band of strange-but-merry men is doing a good job so far.

May the force be with them,
T

LoneWolf and Tarzana:)

My first thought was in the PA hack would be the Star Wars Imperial March triggered by keypad when the Alphas are going in or out of somewhere.

Now Mind you Jessie has some use for music in striking back. A little maybe pysche warfare? Changing ring tones too...The theme for Peewee's play house?

Or some song about how fake and vain they are, that I'm open to suggestions for.

Bailey Summers

This is fun

Using your example of the Imperial March as the Alphas enter the lunch room:

The PA playback ought to be limited to only the speakers in the lunch room. (No one in other parts of the school would 'get it'.)

Or ... have many of the cell phones or MP3 players in the lunch room do a synchronized playback.

Or ... something else that I haven't thought of yet, but those geeks do.

***

I'm sure that talented kids (like the geeks and the geekettes in most high schools) could figure out how to make this happen.

T

Great story

Bailey.

I know it has to be hard to keep coming up with a new episode every week or so, but as long as you can do it, you will have people like me hanging on the edge of our chairs ...
.
.
I really like this scene ... (emphasis added)

He {the VP} looked at Jessie. “Go to the janitor’s and get this cleaned up Stone.”

“Yes sir.”

“And Stone…”

“Yes sir?”

“It’s not your job.”

“Then don’t make me necessary.”

.
.
... and this one ... (emphasis added)

He {Jessie} stopped and looked at Nick.

“Thanks for having our backs Nick, all of us. That was brave.”

There was a look between them there two…

Nick blushed and then looked at Jessie. “Y…Y…You can’t stop the signal M..Mm..Mal.”

*
*** *** ***
*
Does anyone know of any real world examples of student vigilantism like this? To be clear, I mean non-violent except, obviously, for self defense.

T

Bailey, you are my hero ...

I have been playing around with some scene and chapter ideas for a while now, that deal with students and former students trying to 'fix' the school system.

But you have built an actual story. A damned good one, too. I salute you. Please (pretty please) keep it going ...

“Yes I {the VP} know what this is, it’s a hijab.”

Jessie nodded over to the girl. “It’s her hijab and it’s over here…all the way over here and in the garbage…you think she took it off and dunked it all the way over here then dumped all that on it?”

The VP looked at his staff that were there and the teacher from the morning that had a clash with Lindsey spoke up. “We were busy, we can’t see everything.”

The VP turned from her looking mad at her too and looked at Jessie.

Jessie stared right back. “No one did anything sir, it’s not right.”

“It’s not your job Stone.”

“Then do the job sir.”

“Stone…”

Few high school kids are experienced enough to do what Jessie is doing. In my little snippets of a story, I fantasize about a former student who has since finished college and started her own business, succeeded wildly, and come back to help the current generation of OOs cope with the failure of the adults to actually fix ANYTHING.

Jessie looked at him. “Let it go sir, you know it’s bullshit what they did and you know that this’ll get out of hand.”

The man wasn’t Jessie’s favorite person but he wasn’t a fool either, this could spark something racial and if not here then once it got home with the muslim kids here.

The VP looked around frowning. “You have witnesses that seen this Stone?”

“Yes sir including myself.”

“Okay what happened?”

*
The adults actually running a school are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Many of them can and do see what The Thugs are doing. But they also have to live inside the system of rules created by The Bad Guys. Life (for some of them, at least) really sucks.

On the one hand, they want to do the right thing. On the other hand, they want to not lose their job (most of them have a spouse and children to think about). The Bad Guys (elected politicians and their cronies) can make make their job go away with just a word to the right bureaucrat.

Jessie explained how the events unfolded and there were several of the kids on Jessie’s side saying how it happened and Nick spoke on his phone.

“It’s recorded sir.”

The VP stared at the boy that couldn’t talk and frowned. “Recording video is against the privacy code of the school and the law.”

???
Against the law? In a PUBLIC school?

Why are the elected politicians making rules that protect the Bullies? When you are 'in public' (what part of 'public' school is in doubt here?) you can have NO legitimate expectation of privacy.

What the hell do you think public means?

On the other hand, when you are not in public, you have EVERY LIGITIMATE expectation of privacy.
???

Jessie looked at the VP. “They can’t charge that many of us sir it won’t stick and you know the parents won’t allow a cell-phone blocker without a huge fuss. You don’t need to use it legally to use it as administrative evidence sir.”

*
Our present legal system is not functioning properly. The Bad Guys have managed to skew the rules in such a way as to favor The Bullies (those who would initiate physical force against others, for whatever reason). But the legal system is not the only tool available to use for combating Evil.

Have you noticed how the cochroaches scatter when you turn the lights on? For any public business, the lights should always be on. For any private business, however, the lights should be off except under extraordinary circumstances.
*

They stared down at each other again then he nodded and the alpha kids involved were yelling at him all at once and threatening to call parents…do you know who my father is?…I’m calling a lawyer!

The VP pinched the bridge of his nose and turned on them. “Enough!…In school suspension for you and you and you…” He pointed out the offending members including Britney.

“But…But it was an accident! I didn’t take her rag Jerry did.”

“You splashed the young lady.”

“Shelly hit my elbow it was an accident! Look at the video!”

She was staring the VP down too. Any everyone knew it was planned and everyone knew she was lying. But knowing it and proving it were very different.

*
The Good Guys do not win every battle
*

He breathed out hard. “Fine…but you and her are on notice, the rest of you all next week plus Saturday detention this weekend!”

But the war continues.

T

OMG!!! What an AWESOME comment!!!

Thank you so much for this and I'm seriously blushing over this now:) The entire thing is amazing and you're totally getting it.

The thing with them recording stuff in school is technically illegal but so often not enforced. But certain recent events have brought it into focus in this school.

A good comment last chapter said:

Unfortunately the teacher is right

Submitted by Tracey Willows on Fri, 2013/03/01 - 3:01pm.
That the other student's privacy rights were being violated by cellphone recording.
I know using cellphones as a deterrent is an important part of the story, but you set this in Illinois, which has a "two-party consent" law for wiretapping. That means that it is technically a crime to use an "eavesdropping device" to overhear or record a phone call or conversation without the consent of all parties to the conversation.
Illinois law defines an "eavesdropping device" as "any device capable of being used to hear or record oral conversation or intercept, retain, or transcribe electronic communication whether such conversation or electronic communication is conducted in person, by telephone, or by any other means."
Personally I think the law is outdated as it was written for wiretapping, but as written it also applies to using a cellphone to record conversations. It's a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison per offense, so by filming a group if they all pressed charges the penalties would stack up fast.
The law is under attack by legislature and in the courts, but it is still on the books and being enforced, especially when used to record cops who had rather not be recorded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNyYB_D2rV0

Bailey Summers

Holy crap ...

... now I'm blushing!

Bailey, you need to know that this is an important story, and you're doing great. The people HAVE to take things back from the politicians (and their cronies). Otherwise, we are doomed.

T

Loophole?

The law as stated in that quoted comment appears to relate to audio recordings but doesn't seem to mention (muted)video recordings - so if events were filmed with the microphone disabled, via CCTV or webcam with motion detection or timelapse (all three of which record pictures only), it might technically be legal. On the CCTV front, especially if notices were positioned at the school entrances stating that images were being recorded for the purposes of security and crime prevention, while also stating proceeding beyond that point implies consent.

If the school's unwilling to stretch to CCTV, then put more staff on breaktime supervision duty - they don't necessarily need to be teachers - admin (office) staff, teaching assistants, caretakers or any other adult employed by or volunteering for the school will do. In the UK, before catering was outsourced to private companies (so I'm not sure if it still applies), more "dinner ladies" / "lunchtime supervisors" (i.e. catering staff) would be employed than was required to prepare and wash up the meals, precisely for the purposes of supervising the pupils.


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

That could work Mittfh.

But the laws involved and the lawyers would agree that there would still be invasion of privacy issues there. It's not the good kids that have a problem with this it's the trouble makers that play fast and loose with things that will be the loudest opponents.
*Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

So option 2 then...

If lawyers and the troublemakers' parents argue vociferously against any form of recording what happens in the corridors in real time, then security concerns could still be (partially) addressed by deploying more staff on supervision duty - preferably 'no nonsense' ones (like the coach) rather than those who believe 'survival of the fittest' should apply to a school setting and if someone gets bullied, it's the victim's fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time (possibly like whoever was supervising the canteen).


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

The school and the school board will like that.

As they can say that they're willing to put more bodies into the task. Actually it won't happen any more than the chance of hiring more security officers. They're a public school and rely on funding or donations if the parents want to raise the money the school needs for the extra staff they'd be more than happy to do so. And we can all see how people will react to being asked for more money or worse...it's America...higher taxes.

Then they'd ask for volunteers to come to the school to be the extra eyes and ears. And that'd bring up wavers and insurance and rules of what they could do and not for working with children including background and safety checks.

Then they'd calmly tell the parents that things happen in schools, kids are human and make mistakes it's how the learn. And they've looked into this issue many times ad the results have been the same.

They'd also say that perhaps the parents should spend some time just trying to get the kids to be a bit more open and understanding to others whether socially awkward or part of a school social group.

Oh I'm almost writing the meeting here better stop:)
But you get the gist of what they'll do.
*Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

its not your job

then don't make it necessary, what a great line. bailey, I love most of your stories but you have out done yourself on this one. while I don't have children in high school I hope this not an example of high school in America today. keep up the good work.
robert

001.JPG

Unfortunately RJ it's that way in a whole lot of schools.

Now picture the school from the story without Jessie showing up there. But actually make it worse...more bullying, social crusification and faculty too tied up in red tape to be effective. School shootings and teen suicides are on the rise because of all of these things.

Jessie was nearly killed from hate before he's never really managed to be afraid of things any more since then.
*Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

Words can not.....

I don't know why these double posts are happening! Taarpa

Words can not.....

Accurately express the feelings and emotions provoked by your story here Bailey. I so look forward to each installment and you never disappoint. Ms. Summers take a bow, you've earned it! Great Big Hugs!!! Taarpa

Thank You Taarpa:)

I'm so glad that you are enjoying this so much Miss Taarpa. I'll tell you what your support really helps.
*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

A whole lot of stuff going on

Jemima Tychonaut's picture

A lot of stuff going on this chapter and the Squires doing their best to tackle it. I love that the central message of this is that all bullying and discrimmination is wrong. At least poor Yasmine has found friends.

If I had to pick one thing that really resonated with me it would be Johnny calling out the school's LGB students for not coming to her aid because of their own issues with her being trans. I must confess that Johnny even gave me something to think about with her explanation of why she kept her birth name. There's a large part of me that feels Jennifer wasn't given a fair chance to live but I can respect Johnny's view as to owning her birth name. I guess the important thing is just like the others, she's doing the best to live her life as she wants and not letting the bullies control her. :-)

Not an easy chapter to read given the issues being addressed but certainly thought provoking.



"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I kind was wanting to touch on that with Johnny.

Both the LGBT stuff and how that goes sometimes with TG kids and the reasons why she's keeping the name and why. The rest was still good too but I wanted to get the Johnny and the Jessie and the guys standing up moments in.

It kind of felt like they were all Tilting in this one.
*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

In my first reply last Friday,

I finished with a question to the group. I am repeating it here in case anyone who missed the original might have an example of what I'm looking for.

[T] "Does anyone know of any real world examples of student vigilantism like this? To be clear, I mean non-violent except, obviously, for self defense."

***

I suppose if you know of an example that did involve violence we ought to look at it too. Even if it turns out to have no other value, it can always serve as a good example of a bad example.

Thanks,
T

Total awesomeness.

Extravagance's picture

As ever.
*Re-sheaths his sword and bows before the high master of awesomeness*

Catfolk Pride.PNG

Total Awesomeness:)

Is the cute little chibi-vee boy.
*Huggles and scratches.*

Bailey Summers

Marhaba Bailey...

... sabah alyasmeen. (A little Arabic seemed apropos).

The world would be a much better place if there were more Jessie Stones to go around.
.
.

Lora123falle.jpg
The girl in me. She's always there, striving
to be more Bailey-good-character-esque.

Very cool comment Lora:)

Yes, we need more people out there like Jessie and his friends:)
*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

Happy Gay Day!!!

Ole Ulfson's picture

A lot of troubled kids are coming together here. If you took every kid at my high school who was troubled or uncertain about things, and was bullied occasionally or regularly, they'd outnumber the alphas 2 to 1.

“Heck yeah it’s high-school we’re all kind of messed up y’know I think that there should be a safe place for us all really. And there’s got to be a lot of people that are in hiding because they don’t want to be outed as something freaky.”

Truly insightful!

What a great story,

Ole

We are each exactly as God made us. God does not make mistakes!

Gender rights are the new civil rights!

And yet they far too often keep the power by abuse and fear.

Welcome to the non-stop cyber bullying of this day and age where people are way to prone to be nasty and vicious online.

There should be a safe place.
*Great Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

Only faculty with cojones

Jamie Lee's picture

It seems the only faculty member who has the cojones to stand firm on his rules is the coach.

Faculty in the cafeteria saw what happened to Yasmine by lack any spine to take action. All those kids have to do is scream lawyer or calling parents and the faculty turn to mush.

Jessie and the rest proved their willingness to stand up to the crap being perpetrated by the small minded gutter sloths. And it proved to Yasmine that not all students are AHs.

The gutter sloths really don't fully understand what they've started by attacking Yasmine. And taking her head scarf.

Others have feelings too.

Grrr

“What do you call a pregnant Muslim?”
“What?” That was the fake girls.
“Bomb-maker.”

What do you call a soldier who throws a water bottle of urine at starving children?
Hate maker.

Fuck this really pissed me off so bad, I am literally tearing up. Joking about her kids being forced to be suicide bombers is so wrong. It actually hurts. Probably more than it should because it is such believable dialog.

Props Bailey for an accurate representation of the casual racism that is actually considered funny and reasonable by a large majority of 'good people' . I appreciate your writing and am very impressed with your ability to present dialog that could be ripped from the pages of reality, especially when it is from so many different personalities and view points.