Part 32 By Anistasia Allread Edited by Edeyn "So I'm off the squad?" Erika demanded, "Someone says I'm sick and I am banned from participating?" Taylor asked, "I know you're bi, and you've been seen making out with Julian Rock. Did he get you pregnant?" |
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"You'll bring the dress and stuff tonight, Right?" Erika asked her mother.
"Yes."
"I don't know what to do about my hair," Erika fretted.
"Don't worry. It's just the presentation. The important stuff comes tomorrow," Erika's mother explained, "You sure you are feeling up to this?"
"I have a brain tumor, Mom, I'm not dead," Erika rolled her eyes, "Yes, I feel fine. Emotionally drained, but fine."
"Okay. I'll see you before the game... you sure, you don't want me to drive you?"
"No. I mean, yes, I'm sure. Samantha's here now and we're supposed to meet up with Tricia," Erika swung her duffel onto her shoulder and headed for the front door.
"How are you feeling?" Samantha inquired, looking her friend skeptically.
"I'm a bit tired, but that's just because I didn't sleep well," Erika admitted.
"I wonder why?" Samantha's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Oh, I don't know, I guess somethings been on my mind..." Erika cracked a smile.
"You aren't going to cheer tonight are you?" Samantha nodded towards the cheer outfit that Erika was wearing.
"I don't see why I can't," Erika shrugged, "Nothing has really changed."
"You have a freaking brain tumor!" Samantha exclaimed.
"So?" Erika shrugged, "I'm not made of porcelain."
"Did you talk to Tricia last night?"
"Yea, she came over last night to comfort me."
"Oh?" Samantha's eyebrow rose.
"Mom and Dad were arguing about what I should do. She came over to give me a hug."
"What? She did a drive-by hugging?" Samantha smiled.
Erika laughed, "That's good. A drive-by hugging," she said as she chuckled, "Yes, she did."
"Are you ready for tonight?" Samantha asked.
"My mom's bringing my dress, shoes and stuff to the school. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this, though," she touched her hair.
"With all of the girls on the cheer squad, I'm sure one of us can do something with it," Samantha looked up at the sky, "It's supposed to be overcast tonight, but no rain. So it won't be quite so cold."
"So?" Erika shrugged.
"So," Samantha went on, "It may be warm enough that you won't have to wear a coat during the presentation."
"Oh."
Tricia was out of the front door before they even turned up the driveway. She flew down the pavement and wrapped her arms around Erika, holding her for a long moment.
"Are you ready for tomorrow night?" Tricia asked.
"I think so," Erika started to wonder.
"Boutineer?"
"Oh, shit! Are we supposed to get those for Homecoming? I thought it was only for Prom."
"Don't worry. I got him one," Tricia assured her.
"You don't mind this double date thing do you?"
"Not as long as I have you there," Tricia squeezed Erika's hand.
"Okay, what is going on?" Victoria demanded during a break between classes.
"What are you talking about?" Samantha asked.
"You three are acting all... weird," Victoria looked from Samantha to Erika to Tricia.
"I've noticed it, too," Krystal said turning her attention away from Jorge.
Samantha gave Erika an alarming look.
"Come on," Victoria urged, "We were all at camp together. We've kept..." She glanced at Jorge for a moment then back to Erika and Samantha.
"We've got a special pact, a sisterhood. We should be let in on it," she finished.
"It's up to you," Samantha said to Erika.
"I won't tell, either," Jorge added, "Krystal would kill me if I did," he gave Krystal a smile.
Erika took a deep breath and sighed long and hard before nodding. The small party of friends leaned closer to hear what she was about to say.
"I don't want this to get around the school," Erika looked from one to the other.
"Only Samantha and Tricia know so far and I don't plan on telling anyone else, so I'll know if I hear about it."
Her friends nodded.
"Last night I found out that I have..." she paused, took a breath, "I have a brain tumor."
"Oh my God!" Victoria gasped.
Krystal just stared at her, "Cancer?" she managed to mutter.
"Don't know yet. The doctor said it was the size of a grape."
"Where?" Krystal asked.
"The pituitary," Erika explained.
"Does it hurt? Causing problems?" Victoria inquired.
"It hasn't caused me any pain," Erika told them, "It has impacted..." her eyes flicked to Jorge for just a moment, "my hormones."
"What are you going to do?" Victoria asked, "is it operable?"
"The doctor says that it might be taken out."
"That really sucks," Jorge shook his head.
Tricia rolled her eyes, "D'ya think?" she oozed sarcasm.
Victoria flipped her long, dark braid over her shoulder and stood up, "I want a hug," she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Erika. Krystal's arms were around the two of them a moment later, followed by Samantha's and Tricia's.
"Whoah, can I get in on this action?" Greg remarked.
"Go to hell," Tricia spat.
"Oooh, fiesty," Tyler laughed.
"Grow up," Samantha sneered.
"What do you mean, I can't practice?" Erika demanded.
Melinda pulled Erika out of the gym and into a back hall, "I got word that you have a brain tumor."
"Who told you that?" Erika demanded.
"It doesn't matter," Melinda argued, "What matters is that nothing happens to you that could endanger your recovery."
"So I'm off the squad?" Erika demanded, "Someone says I'm sick and I am banned from participating?"
"You are definitely NOT off the squad," Melinda's voice was harsh.
She took a deep breath and softened her tone, "It's a school insurance thing. The school doesn't want a lawsuit against them if something should happen and you get hurt."
"So it's okay for someone to fall off from a pyramid and break a leg, but not okay for someone with a brain tumor to dance?" Erika demanded.
"Erika, please, don't get mad at me, I'm just the messenger. Take it up with Principal Crawford."
"Principal Crawford knows?" Erika could feel her blood boiling, "Who else knows about this? Does the whole school know?"
"No!" Melinda defended, "Calm down, please, Erika. No one else knows about this. I didn't tell anyone."
"Except Principal Crawford."
"No, Principal Crawford told me," Melinda corrected, "I swear, I didn't tell anyone."
"So what am I supposed to do?" Erika demanded.
"Talk to Principal Crawford," Melinda was almost in tears.
"Fine!" Erika spun on her heels and stormed through the gym and towards the office.
"I'm sorry, Erika," Principal Crawford apologized, "The school can't risk you getting hurt. Not unless we have a doctor's note saying that you are risk-free enough to be on the Cheer squad."
"Rally squad," Erika corrected, "Rally only dances, we don't do tumbling."
"It doesn't change my decision. I'm sorry Erika."
"What if I get my doctor to write a letter saying that it would be okay?"
"Then, it would take the liability off of the school, and I would most definitely allow you back," Principal Crawford explained.
"Mrs. Crawford, how did you find out? Who told you?" Erika asked.
"I got a concerned call from your mother," The Principal disclosed.
Erika bit back some very unladylike words, and kept silent.
"She's worried about you, Erika," Principal Crawford tried to excuse Erika's mother.
Erika kept silent.
"Is there anything I can do?" the principal asked.
"Let me back on the squad," Erika offered.
"Other than that. I can authorize a few more days off if you need it."
"I think I'll be fine, thanks."
Principal Crawford's voice was very motherly, "Are you going to be all right for tonight?"
"I'll be fine," Erika sulked, "I'd be better if I was dancing with my squad."
"I truly am sorry, Erika."
"Can I go now?"
Principal Crawford nodded.
Erika sat on the gym bleachers watching as the cheer and rally squads worked on their integration for the night's show. Melinda and Taylor stood out front watching. Both girls were in the evening's court presentation and would not be dressed or participating in the cheers.
Erika wanted to cry, but she'd feel stupid, if she let loose. Just what I need, to be a stinking crybaby. She hung her head.
"What's going on?" Taylor asked sitting down next to her, "Melinda said that Crawford won't allow you to cheer today for medical reasons."
"I... I really can't talk about it," Erika told her.
"I'm the Rally Captain, other than Melinda I should have the right to know what's going on."
"I know, I'm sorry," Erika sighed, "It's just I don't want anyone to know, and too many people know already."
"It's medical, right?" Taylor asked.
Erika nodded.
"I can't see how being on your period would have Crawford exclude you from Rally. Are you pregnant?"
"What?"
"Are you pregnant?" Taylor asked, "I know you're bi, and you've been seen making out with Julian Rock. Did he get you pregnant?"
"No!" Erika didn't know if she should laugh... or be insulted, "I'm just not ready to have my issues spread all over the school."
"I wouldn't tell anyone," Taylor cajoled her, "I was just curious and concerned is all."
"I have a brain tumor," Erika mumbled.
"No, seriously," Taylor scoffed.
"I am serious," Erika locked the dark girl's gaze.
"Oh, shit, you are serious aren't you?"
Erika nodded, "I found out yesterday."
"That's why your mom came by?"
"To take me to the doctor to get the news."
"Shit. That really sucks," Taylor shook her head, "Can they do something for it?"
"They want to cut it out."
Taylor shuddered at the thought, "When?"
"I don't know yet."
"You don't want anyone to know, huh?"
Erika shook her head.
"Okay. I won't say a word," Taylor gave Erika's knee a squeeze.
"Thanks."
Taylor wrapped Erika up in a hug and gave her a squeeze, "You excited about tonight?"
"Not yet," Erika admitted.
"Got other things on you mind, huh?"
"Literally," Erika smiled.
"Well, at least you can join us in the parade," Taylor encouraged her.
"I won't be able to do the pep rally," Erika scoffed.
"There will be next year," Taylor noted.
"Perhaps."
The coolness of the afternoon breeze chilled Erika's exposed legs under her rally uniform as she joined her squad as they waited to climb up onto a flatbed trailer, hooked up to a semi-truck. The edges of the trailer had been decorated with red and white decorations.
"How are we going to cheer on this?" Erika asked.
"Well," Jordon smiled, "You aren't. You are in the court, so you have to ride with them."
The blonde pointed down the line of vehicles and student-made floats lined up in the school parking lot.
"Have fun, Erika," Samantha smiled, "I'll be riding in one of those cars next year."
"There you are," Taylor ran up to her, "Come on, they're waiting for us."
The dark skinned beauty pulled on Erika's arm and guided her to a line of convertible cars.
"Here you go, Erika," Principal Crawford held something sparkly out. Erika took it and looked more closely at it. A small, silver tiara with white stones glimmered and dazzled her eyes in the little light being let through the clouds.
"Here slip this on, too."
Taylor held up a wide sash that draped over her shoulder. She looked down and read 'Princess' in dark letters.
"How do I..." Erika looked in askance at the tiara.
"Here, let me," Tricia came up behind her and gently took the tiara from her.
Tricia stood in front of her and carefully placed the circlet upon her head. She carefully adjusted it, then pushed the combs down into Erika's hair, securing it.
"Beautiful," she smiled.
She leaned forward and brushed her lips against Erika's.
"You're as pretty as a Princess."
"Um, she is a Princess," Taylor pointed out.
Erika flushed at the description.
"Come sit with me," Taylor summoned her.
Erika climbed into a red convertible T-bird, and sat up on the top of the back seat next to her Rally friend.
"What exactly are we doing?" Erika asked Taylor.
"We are parading to the park next to the courthouse and having our pep rally. Didn't your school do that?"
"Not a parade," Erika lied.
School had always let out early on Homecoming, so Eric always took advantage of the distraction and escaped school to the comfort of his computer and comix.
The red-and-white-clad marching band at the front of the parade began playing the school fight song.
"Here we go," Taylor beamed.
A moment later the salesperson from the car lot that the car was from released the brake and the red convertible slowly followed the floats and vehicles in front of it.
Erika was surprised to see people lining up in front of their homes to wave as the students passed, cheering and waving. Some of the student body clubs even threw candy to young kids smiling up from beside their parents. Patrons at businesses, as well as business owners, along the route came out and smiled.
Erika waved and smiled, mimicking Taylor's posture and body language as much as possible.
The park had a small stage that was permanently set up. During the summer festivals, entertainers would use it to entertain the crowd. Today, however, it was set up with a PA System. Samantha, in Melinda's absence, was in charge of the Cheer squad. Both squads lined the back of the stage. The marching band was in rank off to one side playing the fight song to the cheering and clapping of the students. A few guys sat up in the winter stripped branches of nearby trees to get a virtually unobstructed view of the rally.
Principal Crawford, bundled in a black pea coat, welcomed the student body and then introduced the football coach who spoke followed by Greg and Tyler who both told the gathered how they hoped to play a good game and win. The Student Body President then took the microphone, and introduced Melinda as the Homecoming Queen and then one-by-one announced the court.
Hearing her name, Erika's heart sped up. For once she wasn't scared or nervous. Just excited. She joined the others of the court on the stage as hundreds of pairs of eyes watched her. For once in her life, having so many eyes focused on her didn't scare her. It was almost a rush. The faces of those watching her were filled with happiness and content, rather than malice and rejection. For the first time in a long time, Erika felt accepted. Sure, her sisters of Cabin Columbine had accepted her, but it was quite a struggle to get to that point. A struggle with other strong personalities as well as a struggle within her own mind, of the possibility that she might actually like being a girl. Now, she not only liked it, she felt comfortable and accepted as such.
After the pep rally, Taylor guided her back to the car and the nice salesman quickly drove them back to the school.
"You're coming to pizza right?" Taylor asked.
"Pizza?"
"It's tradition. The cheerleaders and football players and a lot of the students meet up at Pizza Barn for a pizza feed before we go back to the school and get ready for the game.
"I... I guess so," Erika stammered, not ready for this, "Let me see what Samantha and Tricia are doing."
"They'll be there too," Taylor stated confidently.
"Okay. Sure, I guess."
To Be Continued...
Comments
She Does It Again
Will she ever stop making things bad for Erika?
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Maybe she is just worried
Maybe she is just worried about Erica, but that really sounds like intentional sabotage to me by Erica's Mom. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Another great chapter Anistasia!
Sales
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Yeah
Anistasia is sure making mom hard to like. Erika's tumor has been substantially the same since summer and likely way before that considering her physical development problems. Mom's reaction to call the school is pretty over the top. Likely she's being emotional and protective, but it's made Erika's life tougher. It does add more conflict to the story and put more pressure on Erika. I wonder if Erika will rip mom a new one when she's sees her. I kind of expected her to call her mom (and do it then) after she talked to the principal. Oh well, it's hang on and enjoy the ride that Anistasia has us on.
Other Comments
I'm going to agree with others that the school needed to be told so that they would act appropriately if something did happen to Erika. That said, ideally Erika and mom would have talked about it first, and mom would have thought about or asked the principal what actions the school might take (so that she could go ahead and get a doctor's note that day, assuming she's just trying to protect her child). Short story is that I stand by what I said earlier.
The way Anistasia has done it adds conflict and pressure to the story and has pushed many reader's buttons. Great story Anistasia.
Erika's Mother is in need of a Straightjacket!
She is now going out of her way to sabotage and hinder Erika's development - imposing her will and way over top of her daughter's. This WILL result in mental abuse from a parent Erika wants to have in her life but hates what she is doing. Its time to lock Erika's mom up committing her to a mental institution for rehabilitation in modern society or for Erika's father to stand up and do what's right and divorce her sabotaging bigoted-religious LGBT hating behind. Erika's mother has already grown up and is set in her ways. Erika's father has a responsibility now, having proven he is understanding towards Erika, to provide her with a safe home and way of life free of Erika's mother's way of thinking, harassment, abuse, and possible sabotaging with doctors towards her treatment.
It's time to kick her out before she kills, maims, or render's Erika mentally dysfunctional from her actions (meaning sabotaging her medical treatment and life).
Again, I HATE Erika's mother!
Sephrena Lynn Miller
BigCloset TopShelf
TGLibrary.com
Erika's mother is going to
Erika's mother is going to do all she can to sabotage Erika becoming a girl even as she professes to be okay with it now. It could lead to the parents getting divorced due to her pettiness and refusal to accept Erika as she is. J-Lynn
Finally - the Title is Accurate
RAMI
Finally, Erika is a Princess and Eric the Plague seems to be fading from existance. The stories title is now complete Erika/Eric/a and Eric are the Princess and the Plague.
Of course Mom called the school! She has two concerns on her mind. The first and foremost is the health/welfare/safety of her child, whether that child is a boy or a girl. The second is the gender of that child.
In my opinion her reaction is based on fear and is normal. Mom called Principal Crawford so that she can be aware that Erika has a situation that could be critical. That nothing critical has happened prior to this does not mean that something could not happen in the future. Mom is not a doctor and may be overreacting. She wants her child to be safe. It appears that Mom did not tell the Principal Crawford to pull Erika from the team, the Principal was just following the rules, rules meant to protect the child and the school. If something did happen at school and they did not react properly because of lack of information, Mom and Dad would be devastated and those attacking Mom would be asking why the parents did not act reasonably.
Mom is conflicted!! But even while opposing the transformation, in her mind and maybe heart, she is still helping Erika prepare for the Homecoming events. Give her a break. Both the Martins are struggling with this, trying to do the best for their child and showing their child love.
I wonder how many other people think that Erika is having sexual relations with Julian. If Taylor who is supposedly a friend thinks it is possible, what do others who don't know her think. Does she have a bad reputation already?
What is worse, being know as the Plague or the School's Bi-Slut?
Again AA gives us another wonderful chapter, with lots to contemplate.
RAMI
PS - Gosh, I tired of being the Contrarian one here. I guess someone has to do it. :-)
RAMI
I'd Have Said...
...most of the same things you did, but I wasn't near a computer yesterday. I'm definitely with you as far as Mom's concerned.
Interesting question about Erika and Julian. I think our protagonist would rather be Erika the Slut than Eric the Plague, but if the rape attempts were to start, I'm not sure there'd be much difference between the two. Hopefully she can avoid being alone with predatory males in the vicinity, at least until the martial arts lessons start to do some good.
Eric
couple of things
1.) Give mom a break this time. Just because the tumor hasn't flared up before doesn't mean it won't. Also, for both the school and Erika's sake, the school has a need to know. At this pointy, concerns for Erika's safety probably overrode any thoughts mom might have had about the effect telling would have on her daughter's social life.
2.) Nobody so far has mentioned the sinister foreshadowing: A pizza party that Erika didn't know about. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that her friends somehow aren't there, but the macho assholes Greg and Tyler are and are thinking about Erika in light of her new unfounded "bi-slut" reputation. Disaster looming? We'll just have to wait and see.
BE a lady!
Pizza Barn
RAMI
1st Thank you for joing me in as you call it "The Give Mom a Break" Club
2nd I agree the party may be dangerous, but it is at "Pizza Barn". It is obviously a public place with adult supervision and other customers. Hopefully, Erika is smart enough to have learned from her last party and will be more cautious. If she wants to keep from being grounded again and keep or earn her parents trust she needs to be careful. Hopefully she will be.
RAMI
RAMI
Hello Princess, Good-bye Plague
I'm siding with the mom being concerned camp here. If she'd sabotage Erika in anything it would be being a homecoming princess. If she was really nasty, she'd give away Erika's birth gender, but she hasn't done that. I say there's still hope for her.
I like how quickly the news of the brain tumor spread, though I was a little surprised that the whole school didn't know by the end of the chapter.
I could've used some more descriptions for the various locations, but other than that, your writing is very good.
Thanks very much and please keep up the good work.
- Terry
She Didn't Bother To Tell Erika
I don't believe her motives were just out of concern. She didn't bother to tell Erika that she was going to tell the Principal. I wonder if she even told Erika's dad that that was the stunt she was going to pull? I know that she knows that Erika being on the Rally Squad does not involve anything like tumbling. I believe it is the first step in her plan to dismantle Erika's life bit by bit until she agrees to return to being Eric. I would not put it past her to drop more hints to people she knows about her not being a biological female if she doesn't give in. She needs to lay it all out and tell Erika just what is causing her to act like a selfish witch. There is something that goes deeper in her attitude that she is not revealing. I hope Erika lets her have it with both barrels when she returns home from Homecoming for going behind her back and telling the Principal. She deserves it!
I agree that is crucial
... that her mother did not even discuss it with her. It shows a lack of respect for Erika.
As far as her mother is concerned, anything she can do to bring back her Eric is fair game.
Anyway, I sincerely hope there is talk of testosterone blockers and the like being offered to Erika so she can make an informed choice concerning her surgery.
Kim
Amazing
I continue to be amazed at how many people want to crucify Mom.
I can tell you that as a parent, I would be notifying the school about the situation. I doubt seriously that Mom was thinking that it would get her suspended from the Rally team, but the school needs to know, because if something does happen, it needs to be taken seriously immediately. So the school, and the nurse have to know. Maybe she should have mentioned it to Erika, but there were other things going on that morning.
We have not seen anything from Mom that said she wanted Erika off the rally team, and in fact the conversation at the beginning did not make it sound like she was trying to get her to quit the team. Yes she was making sure that Erika was ok, let's face it she was fairly emotional the night before.
In fact, despite the anger we saw the night before she was remarkably pleasant this morning. The anger the night before was justifiable since Erika was suggesting that she would prefer to keep a tumor in place to keep from starting puberty, that is just plain not thinking rationally on Erika's part. As a parent, that would upset me too.
With regards to acceptance of Erika being Erika, you have to remember, it's really only been two weeks since the big reveal. Yes, she knew about it before that, but Eric had not really let her know that he felt that he needed to be Erika full time. Mom did not see it as an identity as such. She also had minimal time with Dr. Barts one on one up until two weeks ago.
Mom is in classic mourning stages for her son. She is currently in anger / denial mode, and that will take time to work through, but she IS continuing to see Dr. Barts. She does seem to be trying, as in this morning with the dress and hair recommendations. But the anger and the denial will continue for some time, until she eventually can come to acceptance. Two weeks is not even close to enough time, and it is not fair of us or anyone to expect it to be. Sure we all know that Erika is here to stay, but we have information that Erika's mom does not, and is not ready for even if she could be told.
Looked at realistically, I think Mom is doing the best she can. She admits to having problems with it, and she clearly is clinging to the hope that it may still go away, but I still think it is clear that she loves her child. In fact, the father's reactions have been far more unrealistic then the Mothers.
Anistasia, another great chapter... Keep up the great work!
Hugs,
Kristy
Mom
I agree with Kristy, Mom had to tell the school, or the doctors would. Any possible contagious/life threatening problems would need to be reported to the school as soon as possible, due to liability. Give the Mom a break all, she didn't tell Dad about the summer camp, and everyone cheered.
Anistasia, another great chapter... Keep up the great work!
By the way, the Principal violated the law in this chapter
By the way, if you want to get mad at someone, the Principal clearly violated the privacy provisions of HIPPA in this chapter. She disclosed private information about Erika's health situation to a STUDENT. That is a clear violation. She should have called Erika in, and informed her that she would have to take a leave of absence from Rally. She certainly should not have informed another student before speaking with Erika about it.
It is actually incredible that she would do that.
Hugs,
Kristy
Ooops, I'm sorry.
Kristy, you're right. I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think this one through well enough. I will try and think these things through a little better in the future.
I hope it didn't ruin the story for you.
A.A.
Not at all Anistasia
A.A.
Not at all! I only pointed it out because of all the anger pointed at Mom by the others. Regardless of what people want to believe here, Mom did what she is supposed to do, she notified the school of a potentially life threatening situation with her child.
You can argue whether she should have told Erika or not first, though why Erika would think that her parents would not notify the school, I am clueless on. But that is another discussion.
To me, the Principal's action here, is just another in a string of failures this school has in following the letter of the law with regards to Eric/Erika, and I pointed it out for that reason.
Your story continues to be my favorite one on this site, have no fear!
Hugs,
Kristy
Good Call
RAMI
Kristy - Good Call. The principal blew it. She should have called Erika in first and told her she had to be off the squad. At most she should have told the rally squad captain that Erika needed to be off the team pending a medical clearance. That she actually told her about the brain tumor is a BIG NO NO
RAMI
RAMI
6-5-1 Comments On Mom
RAMI
As of 9:15 AM EDT - it appears that there are a total of 13 comments (this being # 14). Six are anti-Mom including one very definite hatred of Mom, five comments to some degree or other to give mom a break or understanding, one comment that in my mind is somewhat neutrel and one comment (mine on the Pizza Place) that is not on the topic.
How much better a compliment can a writer get then the emotions that the story has raised. The split in the comments shows how well Anistasia has created her characters. Readers feel for them, and see the characters as real people who can be liked or hated for what they do.
Again Bravo for another great chapter.
RAMI
RAMI
Another terrific wrinkle!
I love it that the faithful readers of this saga are so emotionally involved! It just shows that Anistasia has been able to write such believable characters.
Great job Anistasia. And I hope some of the faithful here don't ever get mad at me!
Hugs
Carla Ann
Being off the rally squad is not a tragedy!
First of all, ITA with rami that this is a very well written, compelling story. The fact it elicits such passionate response is proof of that.
I commented on the last installment defending Mom. I don't understand the hostility. She's absolutely right to inform the school of a brain tumor! And Erika's instinct to leave it in to delay puberty is insane. Leaving it alone may be the medically safest thing to do, but the facts to render judgment on that don't appear to be available yet.
As far as discussing it with Erika first, how many parents do you know who actually respect their teenaged children as mature people? I'm not defending it; I'm just pointing out that it's common and that it's no real reason to crucify Mom. And let's be honest: could Mom actually trust Erika to take herself off the squad?
As far as disrupting her socialization, let's get serious. As trans women, we mourn the lack of a childhood and a history, and dream of an ideal. But most cis women don't get that ideal either. Most cis women didn't make the squad. Most were not pretty or popular. Many didn't have the close knit sisterhood we imagine. We are all scarred souls, and the lives of the women we admire on the street are certainly not as idyllic as we imagine them to be. Not being able to dance on the squad is not the end of the world. I just hope the tumor doesn't present any life or ability threatening complications!
I don't know...
Eh... I pretty well disagree with this statement here. First of all, my mother certainly would have told me of her plans to inform the school. In fact she would have asked me directly if it would be alright for her to do such a thing, maybe I'm a minority here (I dunno). Secondly, leaving the tumor in probably only occurred to Erika because she thought if she were to have the tumor removed not only would she *have* to start living as a boy again but she'd start going through *male* puberty. It wasn't an insane thing to say, especially since the doctor implied that Erika's feminine feelings may have been influenced by the tumor. Personally, I'd rather die than be forced into a gender I wasn't. Lastly, the mother *does* appear to be sabotaging Erika because she was so vehemently against Erika being herself. Even right after Erika's diagnosis of having a tumor, before she could even adjust to the idea of having something irregular and possibly fatal in her brain, the mother jumped on Erika about her decision to stop being Eric. Don't you think that's just a little bit heartless?
To wrap it all up: I think people have the right to jump on "mom's" case about this whole thing. Maybe she thought she was doing the right thing, maybe she *actually* was, but it doesn't excuse her previous behaviour and it won't excuse her future behaviour (which I'm very sure *will* get worse).
PS
The story is amazing and I certainly do look forward to each update! It's one of the few stories that covers topics I enjoy reading that still survives. A few of the other authors I use to read seem to have stopped writing, some for more than a year. I certainly hope you never do!
Great storytelling Anistasia
Not so long ago i really did not like Erika's mom now i'm not so sure about her. Okay maybe she did tell the principal about the tumor but like another poster has pointed out she could also have made public the truth about Erika, So lets just give her the benefit of the doubt and say that it does seem that she is acting in Erika's best interests.
Kirri
Erika's mother
... not revealing the public the truth about Erika is just enlightened self-interest on her part. Do you honestly think that her mother wants to be publicly known as the mother of a TS ?
Kim
Make no Mistake
Erika's Mother is acting in HER OWN self interest! She wants her son back and is deliberately sabotaging everything girlish that Erika wants to do. It's right there in the writing. Sure she helped Erika shop some but in the other activities, she is deliberately sabotaging. I think perhaps Erika coming home with a BF will hit the nail home to her Mother.
Sephrena Lynn Miller
BigCloset TopShelf
TGLibrary.com
Not true at all
Let's look at it...
I will rate each response from Mom from a 1 to a 5, where on this scale:
1 – Terrible Response
2 – Bad Response
3 – Neutral Response
4 – Good Response
5 – Perfect Response
So out of a total possible of 70, Mom score is 51, or an average score of 3.64. So from how I see it, Mom's responses have been overall neutral with a slight edge towards positive. When you consider that she has had about two weeks so far to come to terms with this, as something that is more than a summer lark, I think she is doing pretty well. I know that we would all like to see whole hearted acceptance from both her parents, as we would all want that ourselves, but this was completely foreign to her before parent's day at camp, and she is clearly trying.
Hugs,
Kristy
Fantastic Analysis
RAMI
KRISTY congratulations, that was a very fantastic analysis. You have followed Mom (by the way we have never learned her or dad's first names)feelings and actions from the start through this chapter and have analyzed them accurately. In fact you probably could have given her a few more points. I am happy to cede to you the title of mom's advocate.
Rami
RAMI
Informing the School
We don’t actually know everything that was said when they met with the doctor because Erika zoned out towards the end.
Specific questions that we don’t know about are:
Is there any immediate danger?
Should there be any limits on Erika’s activities?
What is the danger in or effect of doing nothing?
The answers to the first two questions would determine if informing the school was necessary and I would hope that Dr. Lipdick would provide a letter to the school listing any limitations on activities for Erika.
Michelle B
For the first time in a long time, Erika felt accepted.
lovely.