In the last two days, I had spent more time out of classes than I had in classes. Dr. Franklin opened the door and we walked into the Main office. Mrs. Vickers looked up as Susan and my mom entered the office, followed by Katie and I. Dr. Franklin brought up the back of our little group. Right after the door had shut, it opened again and Officer Mullin and Lieutenant Chang walked into the office.

“They are back in the conference room.” She said. “Should I call and have the school board folk show up for this as well… I can already tell that this isn’t going to bode well for someone.. Probably Mr. Petry…” Mrs Vickers let the thought trail off. We followed Susan back to the conference room. Susan opened the door and walked in, followed by mom, and then Katie and I. I watched the lawyer for Mr. Petry swallow a lump in his throat and turn pale. I assumed that he didn’t know that he would be going up against Susan Richards.

“Good Morning.” Susan said, pulling a chair away from the mahogany table and sitting in it. Mom sat next to her. “My name is Susan Richards, and I represent Morgan Smith, and her family.”

“I’m Tom Jones,” The lawyer for Mr. Petry said, swallowing another lump in his throat. Something was telling me that Susan had a reputation… “I represent Mr. Robert Petry, and his son, James.” He slid a piece of paper across the table to Susan. “This is an injunction signed by Judge Alan Peterson preventing Miss Morgan Smith from attending classes. The injunction was filed on the premise that Morgan is causing a disturbance that is disruptive to other students learning.” Susan read the paper, and then sat it back on the table.

“Morgan is causing a disturbance? Would this be the same disturbance that caused young Mr. Petry to attack Morgan yesterday?” Mr. Jones shifted in his seat and glanced at James. “Also, Morgan is protected under the decision of Alex Johnson, Et al versus the Takoma County School Board, of which Judge Alan Peterson was the signer. I am fairly confident that Judge Peterson was unaware that Morgan is protected under that ruling.” Susan paused for a second. Mr. Jones looked uncomfortable.

“Mrs. Richardson, I was unaware of the altercation between my clients son and Miss Smith, as well as unaware of the fact that Miss Smith was protected by the Johnson ruling. I will have the injunction reversed.” Mr. Jones stood and left the room. Officer Mullin walked in.

“Mr. Petry, you have five minutes to remove your self from the premises before you are arrested for trespassing.” Officer Mullin said. Robert Petry looked at his son and scowled.

“Out to the car… Now.” He said. He looked at me and then at Katie. “I apologize for his behavior. My wife and I tried to raise him better…” Robert Petry offered his hand. “Morgan, If there is any thing that I can do to help you in any way. Let me know, ok.”

“Thank you, Mr. Petry.” I said, reaching out and shaking his hand. He turned it so that it was flat and gave it a kiss like the guys always did in the old movies. I giggled and blushed. I executed a curtsy. “Have a nice day, Mr. Petry.”

“You too, Miss Smith.” He said, and then left the room. Katie and I looked at each other.

“That was…” Katie paused. “Odd…” She giggled. I just looked at her.

“Yeah. Where did they come up with that crap?” I said aloud to no one in particular. Mom gave me a disapproving look.

“Morgan,” She started. “Young ladies do not talk like that.” She said. I glanced at the floor.

“Yes, Mother.” Susan looked at Mom.

“You know, I’ve noticed that you keeping both of your girls in skirts has kind of changed their behavior… They are more…” Susan paused. “Docile…” Katie and I looked at each other. Katie hadn’t worn pants since I had set my self up to get caught. I knew exactly who had the keys for the locks on the boots, and I also had correctly predicted Mom’s ‘disciplinary’ response, I also had predicted that Dr. Franklin would diagnose the GID after I came completely clean about my feelings. I had withheld that I felt like I should have been a girl in the first sessions I had with her after dad had died. I had taken his death pretty hard and got very depressed. I used wearing skirts and dresses and my imagination to become someone else. I think that Dr. Franklin knew then that the gender issue was going to come up again at some point. “Katie, when you get home, put all of your pants in my room and I will put them up for you. You can wear skirts and dresses like your girlfriend.” Katie blinked.

“Yes, Mommy.” Katie said, and then winked at me. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I was sure I would find out later. Mrs. Vickers came in and looked at us.

“Morgan, Katie, you girls should head back to class. We will be switching into third period.” Katie and I had a study hall
that period.

“Yes, Mrs. Vickers.” Katie and I said and grabbed our books, and left the office. We walked, hand and hand toward the only room in the school that was setup as a lecture hall, which was very rarely used for lectures, but more often used for a regular classroom. Katie opened the door at the bottom of the steps so that we could go upstairs. When we got to the landing, I turned and gave Katie a kiss on the lips. Katie took a deep breath and kissed me back. We smiled at each other and when we got to the top of the steps, I opened the door for Katie. We got to the door of our classroom, the bell signaling the end of second period.