Running into Problems

I woke before the sun came up. I'd had yet another night of not sleeping well, again with a reason. This morning, a new beginning would occur. It would be the beginning of the life of Zoe Elizabeth Franks. I looked at the clock and saw that it was quarter till six. Fifteen full minutes earlier from when I'd normally get up, but I decided that rather than lay in the bed for those fifteen minutes, I may was well get a move on. I stood up, my pink satin night gown falling back to my knees. I stretched and looked at the hanger that hung on my closet door. I smiled, grabbed my robe and headed off for the shower. While I was in there, someone knocked on the door. I pulled my head out of the water.

"Yes?" I said.

"Zoe, I will be coming with you to the school. I talked it over with your mom and we decided that it would be better if we presented a unified front to the school. As in you are our daughter and we accept that. I also have approval from the board to tap into the resources of Gilenfelter Systems if necessary. We are a company that stands for the rights of our employees and their families." I blinked in the shower. I knew that the company that dad worked for took care of their own, but I wasn't expecting to have the resources of a multi-billion dollar company behind me. "Finish up, we have a long day ahead of us, I'm afraid."

"Ok. I'll be done and out in a few minutes." I quickly finished washing my hair, and moved on to my body. I used the lavender scented body wash that I had used on Saturday again. Now that I was clean, I got out of the shower and patted my self dry with one of the towels that hung there. They seemed like they were extra fluffy this morning. The next thing I did would have mom knocking on the door.

"Yes?" I said for the second time that morning.

"Ok, I was just making sure that you were up, you don't normally dry your hair."

"I know, but I'm going to be wearing the beret and I don't want to put it on my head with my hair wet."

"Smart girl." Mom said with a chuckle. I listened as her foot steps went back toward her rom. After my hair was brushed, I looked at myself in the mirror. Even though I had on a unisex white robe, Zoe looked back, her eyes still sparkling.

"I'm ready for this." I said, mainly talking to my reflection. "It's Zoe versus the world and Zoe is going to win." I opened the door to leave the bathroom and found Heather standing there.

"Were you just talking to your self?" She asked.

"Yep. I'm going to take on the world and win." Heather raised her eyebrows.

"I'm with you all the way, sis. I wish I were going to be there with you, I think that mom is going to be a sight to see in this regard." I looked at her.

"Dad is going to be there too. They think a unified front will help. Basically a 'this is our daughter and we accept that and nothing you can do is going to change it.' Dad thinks that today is going to be a long day..." Heather nodded.

"Probably. Will one of you guys keep me updated, please?"

"Absolutely..." I said disappearing into my room and closing the door. Once I had gotten dressed I looked at my self in the closet door, slipped the beret on my head and smiled. Zoe was here to stay.

#
After a quick breakfast of oatmeal, Mom, dad and I all left the house. Mom and Dad driving separate cars so that if I was just accepted as me and allowed to enter classes, they both could scoot on to work, and take care of their respective jobs. I rode with mom to the school, the entire drive was silent. I could see that dad was talking to someone on the phone already, presumably giving some instructions to his second in command. Mom passed him as he was driving slowly he looked over and waved as we went by. Mom parked the car and and we both got out. Dad pulled in next to us, his headset on his ear.

"Alright Robert, I'll call if anything changes, but hopefully I'll be in about eleven." He said. Mom's phone chimed and dad looked at his, which told me that his had chimed in his ear. I knew that the message was probably stating that I had arrived at school. I heard a car door open and looked to my left and saw that Emily was getting out of her car with a small briefcase in her hand. That was when I realized that mom and dad both carried theirs as well.

"Zoe, Mrs. Franks." Emily said, shaking mom's hand. She looked at dad. "Tom Franks?" She asked. Dad smiled.

"In the flesh. You must be Dr. Francis?" He asked.

"Morning Emily." I said.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person." Emily said to dad, shaking his hand. "Your employees have told me how great of a guy you are, Now I get to see it in person. I'm ready to go in when you guys are." Mom nodded and looked at us.

"Last night, Tom and I were talking and we decided that presenting a unified front, even though there was no division in it, would be in Zoe's best interest. Any division at all could be used against Zoe, that's not going to happen." Mom said. "You guys ready?" The question was more directed at me than anything.

"Yes." I said. My head held high. "Like I said last night, I have every right to an education, I also have every right to be myself. To deny me access to the school at this point is discrimination based on a medical issue. That is something they are not allowed to do. I have three of my greatest allies right here with me. I'm ready for what ever happens." Emily looked at me and then at mom and dad.

"Are you sure she's only thirteen?"

"Yes, both of our kids know to stand up for what is right, and what they believe in. After hearing Zoe last night saying basically the same thing, I'm confident that we raised our children right, and they are going to go far and accomplish many great things." Dad said. "If Zoe is ready for this, then so am I."

"Me too." Mom said, smiling. I think they were afraid that I was going to back down once we were at the school and they could see that I was still determined to win this one. I started walking toward the school, leading our small group. It only seemed fitting. Once inside, I would let them do the talking unless a question was directed toward me. Once the talking with the school started, I would be outgunned on my own, but between the four of us, I had the drive to make inroads into changing that which was not right. I walked up to the door and opened it. The building was teeming with students, that was fine with me. After we got inside the school, a friend that had come over to the house a few times, Riley, recognized mom.

"What are you doing here, Mrs. Franks? Where's Allen?" She asked, looking me up and down. Here was a girl I sat next to in quite a few classes and she was looking at me like I was a completely new face. Mom looked at her, and then at me. I didn't know how she was going to react, but the word was about to really get out. Mom looked at her again.

"Riley, can you keep a secret?" Mom asked her. Riley nodded.

"This is Zoe." Mom motioned to me. "She is going to be taking Allen's place." Riley looked at me.

"You and Allen have the same eyes." Riley said. I looked into her hazel eyes, wondering if she'd actually put two and two together. When it finally clicked, her jaw dropped. She hugged me, catching me off guard and about knocking me over. I'm glad dad was standing behind me. "I'm on your side, Zoe. If you need anything at all, shout. I love the outfit, by the way. I have it in red." I looked at her.

"Thank you, Riley." I said, trying to keep my voice level and failing. I had just been accepted by a classmate that I could add to the ally column.

"Riley, we need to go talk to some people in the office. See if you can come by tonight and I think that Zoe and you can catch up on some of what had happened." Riley nodded and went back to what ever it was that she had been working on when we walked in. She had been sitting at a table in the cafeteria with books open all around her. Once she had returned to her work, I led the way to the office. I opened the door, followed in by my parents and Dr. Francis. Mrs. Chattfield looked up and smiled at me, a look of confusion on her face until she registered mom, and then her eyes widened.

"Zoe..." She started. "If I hadn't seen your mom, I would have wondered who this new student was. Zoe, as cute as that beret is, you know you can't have it on in classes." She looked at mom. "I presume that you would like to see Mrs. Perkins?" She asked.

"Yes, we would, please." Mom said. Mrs. Chattfield nodded and picked up the phone.

"Hey Miranda, I have Mr. And Mrs. Franks to see you." She looked at us. "Ok, I'll send them back." She hung up the phone and looked at me. "Zoe, do you know where her office is?" I nodded. "Then if you would lead your group back there. You can get this over with."

#
"Come in." I heard Mrs. Perkins say after dad had knocked on the door. Dad opened it and walked through first, followed by me, and then mom and Dr. Francis. "Good morning, Mr and Mrs. Franks." She looked at me, and then at Dr Francis. I could tell that she didn't know who I was, and she definitely didn't know who Dr, Francis was. "Please, have a seat." She motioned to a couch that sat in the corner of the room. "I thought you had a son named Allen..."

"We did." Dad said, sitting on the couch. Mom sat on the other end and I sat between the two of them. Dr. Francis sat in a chair, and Mrs. Perkins rolled her desk chair over and looked at the four of us. "Mrs. Perkins, I'd like you to meet Zoe," Dad said, motioning to me, "And her Doctor, Emily Francis."

"That's your son?" Mrs. Perkins asked, giving me a look like I would bite her. "The two of you are letting your son run around in skirts?"

"Yes." Mom said. "Our son has been replaced by our new daughter Zoe. She's a girl with the exception of a few plumbing issues. Mentally, she's all girl, has been for a while, in fact. Her doctor has agreed with this assessment and has diagnosed our daughter with Gender Identity Disorder."

"See, when someone is transgender and they have to hide part of themselves, bad things tend to happen." Dad said. "When our son confessed his internal struggles to us, we took action to assist him to become who his mind is; that would be Zoe." Dad looked at me. "The light that went out in Allen's eyes returned when Zoe showed up."

"You two are crazy." Mrs. Perkins said. "I'm not letting him run around this school dressed like that. He will disrupt classes and get picked on. We have a dress code and his attire does not conform to it."

"Does your dress code address the needs of a transgender student who is in the process of transitioning and is under the care of a qualified psychiatrist?" Mom asked. Mrs. Perkins looked at her.

"What does that have to do with anything? Also, there is no way I'm letting Allen into this school dressed like that." Mrs. Perkins said. There is no way that a qualified psychiatrist would allow this to happen. It goes against human nature." Mom and Dr. Francis shared a look.

"For starters, your dress code has everything to do with it. When we walked in, I saw girls in pants, does that not go against your dress code? Also you don't have a choice in terms of letting Zoe into the school, she has every right to be here as any other pupil. Technically by law, you can't refuse her entry into the school regardless of how she's dressed." Dad said. "Your dress code is discriminatory. By refusing to admit Zoe into the population of the school, you are discriminating based on gender as well as infringing on her first amendment rights, namely, freedom of expression."

"I don't care. I'm not going to have a boy running around my school in a skirt." Mrs. Perkins said. "Children don't have rights. They are supposed to just do as their told. I'm telling you that I'm not letting him run around my school that way. If you don't like it, enroll him somewhere else."

"I should have to pay for Zoe's schooling in a private school as that's the only alternative to the city school district when I already pay for the city school district, why?" Dad asked, after being confused by Mrs Perkins logic.

"Mrs. Perkins, does the school district receive federal funds?" Mom asked. Mrs. Perkins looked confused by the question.

"I don't know and I don't know what that has to do with anything."

"A lot," Mom pulled a folder out of her briefcase. "Under title nine of the US Code of Regulations there is a prohibition of discrimination based on gender non-conformity. Zoe is also protected by the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution which states in section one that 'Nor shall any State deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.'" Mom handed the contents of the folder to Mrs. Perkins, who glanced at them, and then promptly tore them in half, dropping them to the floor. I presumed that mom had just handed her copies of both the relevant section of Title nine, as well as a copy of the fourteenth amendment.

"Mrs. Franks, those mean nothing to me. I don't want him running around my school in a dress." Mrs. Perkins said

"Mrs. Perkins," Dr. Francis said, speaking for the first time since we had come into her office. "What is it about Zoe running around the school dressed like any other female student that you don't particularly want?"

"Allen is probably doing this so that he can get into the girls locker rooms." Mrs. Perkins stated. I cringed at the name she used, something that Dr. Francis picked up on. "Furthermore, I can't believe you two," She motioned to mom and dad, "are listening to her," she motioned Dr. Francis, "about how to dress your son." She motioned to me. I blinked and finally found my voice.

"Mrs. Perkins," I started. "Do you have any idea how hard it has been for me to keep portraying as a male that I haven't been for the last three years? I feel alive, more so than I have in three years. The portrayal on the outside finally matches how the inside feels. Between my family and friends, I will get though what ever happens. For some reason you can't get that through your head. Also, Dr. Francis isn't telling my parents how to dress me. I am perfectly capable of doing it my self. As a matter of fact, I chose my own outfit this morning and put it on without help. What she did do was ensure that I met the diagnostic criteria in the DSM fourth edition, for having Gender Identity Disorder" This caused Dr. Francis to glance at me, her eyebrows raised. "Unfortunately, I'm going to set the precedent on this. As mom said, Under Title Nine, there is a clause that prohibits discrimination based on gender non-conformity. By refusing to allow me entry into the schools' population, you are discriminating based on gender non-conformity." Mom looked impressed.

"You're just parroting what you heard your mother say," Mrs. Perkins snapped. We were beginning to lose control of this situation. "You don't understand law, you are too young."

"Actually, Mrs. Perkins, Zoe found the Title nine information on her own, and interpreted it. I just confirmed what she thought it meant and was the first to bring it up." Mom said, patting my leg. "You see, between Tom and I we are excellent researchers; We have to be, our jobs demand it. If I didn't do my job right, it could cost a client a lot of money. If Tom doesn't do his job right, it could open the company he works for to a lawsuit. If Dr. Francis doesn't do her job right, it could cost a patient their life. Tom and I raised our kids right, and taught them to stand up for what they believe in, and to fight for what is right. Zoe knows that she has the right to a public education, and that she has the right to be herself, She knows she's in the right here..." Mom let the thought trail off. Dad stood up and looked at us. I heard the five minute warning bell. It felt like we had been in this office longer than that.

"Katherine, Doctor, I think we need to take this fight to the district office." Dad said. "I'm going to call Adam Peterson and have him meet us there." It was then that I realized that this was what Dad had meant when he said that I had the resources of Gilenfelter Systems behind me. Dad walked over and opened the door and looked at Mrs. Perkins. "You had a chance to not involve legal counsel or the school board, but you have decided to be stubborn about something that you can not control. I'm afraid that you may have just made your final mistake. Makes me wonder how many others you've made." The four of us walked out of the office and past Mrs. Chattfield's desk. She knew instantly that Mrs. Perkins hadn't accepted Zoe. She walked around her desk and looked at me.

"Zoe. Keep your chin up. You'll be back soon. I know it." I knew that the fight had just begun, how long it would take would remain to be seen.

"Thank you, Mrs. Chattfield." I said, my voice calm. When we had walked into the school this morning, I knew that this outcome was the most probable one. When we walked out into the hallway, Riley was standing there. She walked over to me and gave me another hug.

"It didn't go well?" she asked. I shook my head.

"No. It didn't. Can you do me a favor?" I asked. She nodded.

"Get anything that I miss and bring it to me tonight, please." Riley smiled and nodded.

"I will. Good luck where ever you're going right now." She gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." I said, blushing not because I had been kissed by a girl, while wearing girls clothes, but because it had happened at school. The two minute warning bell rang, and Riley looked at me.

"I have to get to class. Tell me about it later." I nodded and we walked out into the sunlight and to the cars. Dad was already on the phone. "Adam, can you meet us at the Tinapple City School District's main office?" He paused for a few seconds. "Yep, that's the address. Thank you."

"You guys know where we're going?" Mom asked. Dad nodded and got into his car, backed out and drove toward the distinct office... Mom and I got in her car, and she backed out, but waited for Emily to pull up behind her before she pulled out on to the main street to head to the district office.

#
Mom parked next to dad's car where Dad and Adam Peterson were talking, standing behind his car. Mom and I got out as Emily parked her car. Dad turned to us as Emily walked up and stood on my right.

"Guys, this is Adam Peterson, head of Gilenfelter's legal department." Dad said, before turning to Adam "This is my wife, Katherine, Dr. Emily Francis, and my daughter, Zoe." Adam nodded at mom and Dr. Francis before stopping on me. He looked at me for a few seconds...

"Zoe, if I didn't know you, I'd see you a nothing but a girl. Cute outfit, by the way." I smiled, and then curtsied.

"Thank you." I said. "Can we get this over with. I'd like to attend school." Adam looked at Dad.

"She's really good at school, wants to stay that way... I can see her following in either of our footsteps..." Dad said.

"Mrs. Franks, what do you do?"

"I'm a corporate lawyer at Tippendale. I understand what we're about to do here, but I can't do it. Conflict of interest..." Adam nodded.

"With the performance that Zoe gave at Memorial, I can see that too..." Dr. Francis said. Goose bumps had appeared on the exposed portions of my legs. "Lets go deal with the problem at hand." I let dad lead the way this time. I walked behind him, with Mom and Dr. Francis on either side of me and Adam behind me. We walked into the rather drab lobby of the building that housed the district offices. I had expected something a little more... elegant.

"What can I do for you, Sir?" The woman that sat behind the desk. Dad smiled.

"We'd like to speak to Dr. Hashburn, please." The woman looked at dad.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked. It took everything in me to not burst out laughing...

"No, we do not." Dad said. The woman shrugged.

"Then I guess you should call and make an appointment." She said. Dad raised an eyebrow. He turned and looked at Adam, who already had his phone out. "Susan, can you have Bill Johnson, Ted Waters, Sally Cunningham, and Betty Chapman all meet me at the Tinapple City School District's offices?" he paused, and then I heard him say "Thanks."

"So you are refusing to let us see Dr. Hashburn?" She nodded. "Even though the issue could result in the school district ending up in court and costing a fair amount of money?" She nodded again. "Is Dr. Hashburn in the building?"

"I'm not going to answer that." She said. I heard Adam on the phone again. "Susan, it's me again. Can you see if you can find me a direct dial for a Dr. Hashburn, He's the superintendent of the Tinapple City Schools and we are being refused access to see him. Yep, I'll wait."

"Ok. You're gonna play hard ball. That's fine. I can play it right back." Dad pulled his phone out and called the district office. The phone on the woman's desk rang.

"Tinapple City Schools, How may I direct your call?" she said into the phone.

"Dr. Hashburn's office, please." Dad said. She looked at Dad and smiled. Behind me, it sounded like Susan had made some progress on her end. "Ok, thanks Susan, Please connect the call." Adam said.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Hashburn's in a meeting, Please try to call back later." She smiled at dad as she hung up the phone. Behind me I heard Adam talking on the phone again. "Good morning, Deborah, My name is Allen Peterson. I am standing with Mr. And Mrs. Franks, their daughter Zoe, and Zoe's Doctor, Dr. Francis in the lobby. We would like to see Dr. Hashburn, but have met some resistance in the form of the receptionist down here." The phone on the receptionist's desk rang. It was a different ring than it had made when dad had called., and I presumed that it was an internal call rather than an external call. The phone systems at Dad's work did the same thing. I watched as the color drained from the receptionists face. She slowly picked up the phone.

"Rebecca," She said. I could finally put a name on this woman.... "Ok, I'll send them up to the second floor conference room. Yes Debbie."

#
I followed mom and dad upstairs and into the conference room. There were two doors, the one that we had come through, and one to our left. Mom and dad sat at the table, and I sat between them. Another showing of that unified front thing, I assumed. A few minutes later, Adam walked in with four people, presumably the four people that he had asked his assistant for. Adam sat on dad's left, with two of his people sitting on his left, and the other two sat on Mom's right. All four of them had carried briefcases, and they all pulled out papers. Mom did the same, and I glanced over at the papers she had laid out in front of her. It was a copy of the reverent portions of Title nine and copies of the first amendment and the fourteenth amendment. A tall, older man walked through the door that was to the left of where we sat at the table. He wore shirt sleeves and a tie, and he frowned when he saw the eight of us...

"Mr and Mrs. Franks," He said, looking at mom and dad and then looking at me. "Shouldn't your daughter be in school?" Dad looked at him.

"Dr. Hashburn," Dad began, "My daughter would be in school, if Miranda Perkins, the principal at Memorial Middle School had allowed our daughter to enter into the population of the school. Before I go any further, let me actually introduce the people that sit on either side of me. I'll start with my family and work my way into the others. This is my wife Katherine, and my daughter Zoe," Mom and I nodded. "At the far right end of the table is Dr. Emily Francis, Zoe's doctor." I kept my eyes fixed on Dr. Hashburn, who looked more and more uncomfortable as he realized that the remaining five people were more than likely legal counsel. "To my left is Adam Peterson, Lead Counsel for Zoe, and to his left are Sally Cunningham, and Bill Johnson. Sitting between my wife and Dr. Francis are Betty Chapman and Ted Waters. The four of them round out the Zoe's legal team." The color drained from Dr. Hashburn's face.

"Ok, I can tell that this is a serious matter as you've brought counsel. Before we go any further, I'm going to have members of our legal department come up here." Dad looked at Adam, who nodded.

"That's fine." Dad said. It appeared that he was going to let Adam take charge here. We watched him open the door and then speak to someone. Mom slid the papers that she had over to Adam who skimmed them and then nodded to mom.

"Zoe," Mom whispered in my ear. "Let Adam do the talking, and don't speak unless you are spoken to. I don't know how much of what is about to happen you'll understand, but I'll explain it all to you." I nodded, feeling my hair tickle my ears. The door behind us opened and three people walked around the table and sat, leaving the middle chair open for Dr. Hashburn, who walked back in a few moments later.

"Ah, Good. You guys are here." Dr. Hashburn said. "May I introduce the school districts lead counsel, Gunter Hammerstein, This is Larry Rollins, and Sarah Wender." He sat between Gunter Hammerstein and Sarah Wender.

"Since the three of you weren't in here for the introductions on this side of the table, I am Adam Peterson, along with Bob Johnson, Sally Cunningham, Betty Chapman, and Ted Waters. We represent Tom Franks, his wife Katherine, and their daughter Zoe. At the far end of the table we have Zoe's Doctor, Dr. Francis." Everyone but me nodded as we were introduced.

"What ever has brought you in without an appointment has got to be important, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Dr. Hashburn stated. Sarah Wender looked at me.

"Shouldn't Zoe be in school, rather than here?" she asked. I bit my tongue and let Adam speak on my behalf.

"Ms. Wender, you're right, Zoe should be in class." Adam stated. "You see this morning, when my clients went to Memorial Middle school, and presented Zoe to the administration, they were met with some..." He thought for a second. "Resistance. The principal there didn't seem to want to allow Zoe to enter into the population of the school dressed as the female that she is. She cited a dress code, that has no provisions for a transgender student like Zoe, and attempted to defame Dr. Francis." The four people on the other side of the table shared looks of confusion. "I've looked at a copy of this dress code, and the only part of it that I could find that Zoe currently violates is the beret... When my clients walked into the school, they saw girls in jeans, which is not a violation of the dress code, so my clients are having trouble understanding how their daughter does not fit the dress code for any other girl in the school."

"What is this transgender thing that you speak of?" Ms. Wender asked. It was this moment that I presumed that these people had been living under rocks for some time.

"For that, I would like to first let Katherine tell you guys a short story, and then Dr. Francis can expand on what it all means." Adam looked at mom.

"Ok, Last Saturday, my son Allen, revealed something to me, and then subsequently my husband. The news that he said would change our lives. He felt like he was a girl on the inside, and that the night before he had tried on his sisters skirt and top. He saw Zoe looking back at him. He said that the sparkle that had left Allen's eyes had returned. I didn't see this my self until after I had allowed Zoe to wear a skirt that I saw the sparkle. After consulting with my husband, who at first thought that Zoe was her sister, Heather, we decided to seek the assistance of a person that was trained in Gender Identity Disorders. My husband, using the resources that he has at work, culled a list of doctors for us. At the top of that list was Dr. Francis, who I called that day and scheduled an appointment for yesterday. After hearing what Zoe said, and seeing how Zoe was dressed at the time which wasn't much different than she is now, Dr. Francis provided a diagnoses of Gender Identity Disorder. As far as everyone should be concerned, Zoe is a girl." Mom looked at Dr. Francis.

"I will be frank and say that I'm not sure how Allen even got along in school with the way he looks. When I first saw Miss Franks, I had a very hard time believing that the person in front of me was really a boy in a skirt. Normally, a male wearing a dress will show as much by the way they move. I didn't see any of this with Zoe. Zoe was presenting as if she had been a genetically born female, and it didn't seem to be something that she had to try to do, it just came naturally. These cases, are, in my twenty years of experience some of the easiest to diagnose. For Zoe, this wasn't a phase, or an act to 'try to get into the girls locker rooms' as Mrs. Perkins had the audacity to suggest, this was her. Her mother said that the sparkle had returned. Zoe is who Allen was supposed to be from the time of his birth." The lawyers for the school district looked at me, rather closely. "To be transgender means that one has a different mental gender than their physical gender. The mental gender is the one that determines how people act. Zoe's been hiding in there for some time, and now that she's out, I think we're going to have a hard time trying to put her back in a box that she does not belong in..."

"I see," Ms. Wender said, not looking like she really understood what had just been said. "How does that bring you all here?"

"Well, does the school district receive federal funds?" The three lawyers looked at each other.

"Yes, but what does-" Mr. Hammerstein was cut off by Adam.

"What does that have to do with it?" Adam asked. All three lawyers nodded dumbly. "Under Title nine, A school district that receives federal funds may not discriminate based on gender non-conformity." The lawyers all looked at each other again as they realized where this was headed. "Also, Zoe is simply expressing her feminine traits, which is protected by the first amendment. She is also protected by the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. Oh, and by the way, Zoe found the information on the fourteenth amendment as well as the information on Title Nine...." The three of them looked at me, yet again; I was getting used to this.

"Did she understand what she read?" Mr. Hammerstein asked. "She cant' be more than twelve." Adam looked at mom and nodded.

"Yes, she did understand what she read, after she had found it and interpreted it, she asked me if that's what it meant. Also, she's a very smart thirteen year old, She is going to go far in life." Mom patted my shoulder.

"So, are we going to resolve this here and now and fix the system so that the next transgender student doesn't have to sit here and do this, or do I have to start to process a suit on behalf of my client?" The four representatives of the school district looked at one another.

"May we have a few minutes to discuss this?" Mr. Hammerstein asked.

"Certainly." Adam said. We watched the four of them all get up and exit the door that I presumed went to the superintendents office. After the door shut, Adam smiled. "I think we've won this part. Do you want me to push for the removal of Mrs. Perkins?"

"I'm going to leave that in your hands, Adam." Dad said. I trusted his judgment, and I had an idea of what Adam would do next. The only clock in the room was behind me, so I don't know how long the team from the school district deliberated before returning to the conference room. I noted that they all looked defeated when they came back in.

"Mr. Peterson," Mr. Hammerstein started. "We would like to propose some changes to some school policies as well as disciplinary action against Mrs. Perkins."

"How long will it take you to draft these changes?" Adam asked. "And what is the disciplinary action?"

"We will have the drafts done by this afternoon, do you have a number that we can fax them to?" Adam nodded and pulled a business card and slid it across the table. Mr. Hammerstein picked the card up and looked at it.

"Chief counsel for Gilenfelter Systems?" Mr. Hammerstein asked; Adam nodded. "Should figured... Your legal team is one of the best around here..."

"We take pride in our work, and we stand up for our employees and their families..." Adam said. Now it was Mr. Hammerstein's turn to nod. "Now about that disciplinary action against Mrs. Perkins?" Dr. Hashburn, looked from Adam to me, his eyes not leaving mine as he spoke.

"I'd prefer to not discuss disciplinary actions of staff members in front of students..." Dr. Hashburn replied.

"You lost that chance when this started. My client will find out one way or another about the disciplinary action, so you might as well just say it..." Adam replied. Dr. Hashburn pursed his lips and looked at me.

"She's going to be suspended for thirty days and will have to meet with the school board, and they will determine if any other actions will be taken." Dr. Hashburn said. "I'm getting ready to head over there and break the news to her. Zoe, you may come to school tomorrow dressed as you are, but without the beret. That is against the dress code..." I smiled. "If you run into problems with anyone, call my office, and find an adult at school too; but make sure I know about it. I will not stand for discrimination in my school district."

"I wanted to look my best this morning, Dr. Hashburn." I replied. "First impressions and all. Now I just have to figure out what to wear tomorrow..." Dr. Hashburn smiled for the first time since he had walked into the room that morning.

"Zoe, I'm sure that you will be beautiful in what ever you decide to wear." I blushed. " In addition, Zoe, your absences today will be excused as official as I can tell that you would have been in school otherwise. Mr. Peterson, my team will fax the proposed changes to you today, and you and your clients can look them over and submit changes. This is a time of change for our district, and is one that we will come through better on the other side."

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We had gone out to eat after the meeting with the school district. I received a few looks as I was a child amongst adults, and under any other day would have been in school; this wasn't any other day...

"I wonder what kind of changes the school district will make..." I wondered aloud. Mom glanced at me.

"Who knows, but we've scored one small victory today." Mom looked at dad and then back at me. "Zoe, since we are four blocks from the courthouse, and I have all of the papers for us to change your name, maybe we should go drop all of this off while we're down here. It might take a month or so before everything's done, but we'll get there." Mom said. I looked at her, and then at dad.

"Really?" I asked. Looking from mom to dad.

"Really," Dad said. "I've seen the process take a month for adult, but I don't know if you being a minor changes anything; I know that both your mom and I had to sign the paperwork for it, and had to certify that we aren't doing it to hide you from someone." I must have looked shocked, because Dad chuckled. "That's what I thought until I thought about it some more, and then it made perfect sense..." Dad let the thought trail off as the waiter brought our food and then we ate in silence.