“Troy, I told you before, if you need to talk to me, you can.” Mr. McCoy said.

“I know, sir.” Troy answered back.

“Are there problems at home? Problems with your brother, or parents?” The teacher asked, probing for a clue.

“No sir.” Troy looked up. “They've all been great, it's.....it's personal and I don't feel comfortable talking about it here.”

Mr. McCoy nodded slowly. “It has to do with your injuries after Thanksgiving, right?”

“In a way.” Troy answered. “But I don't want to talk about it.”

Big thanks to Djkauf for the Editing.

It's back to School time for Tracy. Or is it Troy?

January 3rd 1983

School had started up and Troy was once again in the funk that seemed to follow his boy side. Life was cruel. He had been having a hard time concentrating on class work. His eyes and mind began to wander to the clothes that the nearby girls were wearing. From the shoes, to their skirts, or pants with the colorful fringe on them. He had some of the skirts that some of the girls were wearing in his own closets. He even had a pair of the more popular shoes, but he couldn't wear them at the school. No, his life was hard enough. He knew if he came to school as himself, as Tracy, that he'd be fighting an uphill battle.

“Mr. Patterson?” A voice cut through his day dreaming. “Are you paying attention?”

“What?” He looked up, blinking a couple of times, while several classmates snickered at him.

“I asked if you could tell me what Harriet Tubman was famous for.” His teacher repeated.

Troy thought about it for a moment. It had been in one of the school work assignments he had read for while he was out. Then it dawned on him. “She was a slave, who freed slaves?”

Mr. McCoy was nodded slowly as he said it. He smiled and turned to the chalkboard and wrote that down. “Very good, Troy. Yes she was a slave. She was also a spy and a nurse. But she was known for her work in the underground railroad.”

Troy breathed a sigh of relief as the teacher turned his attention onto a different student, who was also suffering the same issues of not paying attention. The boy who sat behind him leaned forward and whispered. “Teacher’s pet.”

Troy ignored him and tried to force himself to focus on the lesson, which proved very hard. He was barely paying attention when the lunch bell rang. As everyone got up, he reached into his desk and pulled out the brown bag that held his lunch and stood up. He was halfway to the door when Mr. McCoy stopped him. “Troy, could I get a moment?”

Several of the kids passing him began to make the same noise. “OOOOHHHHH” But Troy ignored them.

He went over to the desk, slightly aware that someone was behind him. “Mary Beth, I need to speak to Troy for a moment, do you need something?”

“I was just going to wait for Troy.” She replied.

“Ah. Could you wait outside. And get the door on your way out.” He said.

“Okay.” She replied, and Troy could tell she wasn't happy. She slowly shuffled out the door, closing it as requested.

“So, Troy. What's wrong today? I've never seen you this absent minded in all the time I've known you.”

“Sorry, I've been a bit distracted.” He slumped his shoulders as he replied.

“Well after the events of the past month, I can't blame you. But I've caught your eyes and attention was all over the place. If this had been a test, I'd have to fail you for cheating.”

“I wouldn't cheat.” Troy softly replied. “I'm sorry I was looking around.”

“Troy, I told you before, if you need to talk to me, you can.” Mr. McCoy said.

“I know, sir.” Troy answered back.

“Are there problems at home? Problems with your brother, or parents?” The teacher asked, probing for a clue.

“No sir.” Troy looked up. “They've all been great, it's.....it's personal and I don't feel comfortable talking about it here.”

Mr. McCoy nodded slowly. “It has to do with your injuries after Thanksgiving, right?”

“In a way.” Troy answered. “But I don't want to talk about it.”

Mr. McCoy held up a hand in surrender. He knew some of the facts. Troy had stitches. They had been pulled out when he tripped and given where the blood had been on his arms and how he carried Troy, he knew it was the crotch area that was hurt. He wasn't sure of everything that could be wrong, but he began to think that there may be some truth in the rumors that had went around the school about body parts being removed. “Okay. I won't press the issue. But if you need to talk, just come see me, okay?”

“Okay sir.” Troy nodded.

“Now go eat and I'll see you back in here after lunch.”

Troy headed for the door and walked out. He wasn't surprised to find both Mary Beth and Peter waiting for him. “You didn't have to wait.” He said, looking to Mary Beth. She smiled and held up a brown bag.

“Thought I'd hang out with you today.” She stated.

“What about your friends?” He asked. “What will you tell them?”

“I told them you asked for help on some of the homework stuff that we had when you were hurt.”

“You didn't tell them where I was hurt, did you?” He asked.

“No.” Mary Beth replied. “I kept that a secret.”

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief.

“So what did Mr. McCoy want?” She asked.

“He wanted to know if everything was okay at home. He noticed I kept staring around.”

Mary Beth nodded. “Yeah, I saw that too. What were you looking at?”

Troy leaned in and whispered so just his two friends could hear. “Cynthia's shoes and her skirt. They're really pretty. I wished I could have worn mine. I got those shoes, but in blue.”

“I'm guessing you told Peter about me?” She asked. Troy nodded.

“I trust Peter with my life and now you have that trust, just because of what you know. But I told him how you found me in Livermore.” Troy stated. The three of them stopped by a bench near the library and sat down, Troy taking the middle.

“Hey, could I come over at some point and hang out?” Mary Beth asked. “I can bring Emily May, too.”

“I guess. You have my number.” Troy smiled at her.

“Cool. Maybe this weekend.”

~o~O~o~

Clark just watched as Troy sat there with Peter and Mary Beth. He knew he had to wait. Just pictures of Troy as a girl were one thing, but he wanted a couple of him dressed up at his house, that way he couldn't deny it. He wanted to ruin Troy, like he had ruined Bruce. His brother had a plan. Make the fun drag out. Ruin him at school. Pass the pictures around and then go beat him up. It was a simple enough plan.

“It's all that fag's fault Bruce is in jail.” He muttered, fighting back the urge to just walk over and beat Troy to a pulp. He stood by a tree, watching Troy, Peter and Mary Beth laughing and having a good time. It wasn't fair and he knew it. Troy got to have fun and his brother was locked away.

~o~O~o~

Rancho Las Positas Elementary, Livermore CA

Rachel waited for the class to clear out and she followed Brooke out onto the play ground. A few moments later, Sage came jogging up to them from her classroom. The weather was cloudy and it had been threatening to rain all day, but for the moment, it was just windy. The three girls went to a bench near the playground where Rachel and Sage took a seat.

“Oh man, I'm glad to be out of there.” Brooke said as she stretched in her chair.

“You're telling me.” Sage agreed with a nod. “So didn't want to come back today.”

“At least it's nice enough that the guys are playing basketball.” Rachel said as she watched some of the boys on the ball court. “Nothing beats cute boys.” None of them had noticed a couple of girls walking close to them.

“Oh look, like um, Orca thinks the guys would, like want her.” A thin girl with a trendy hair style remarked, using the Valley girl talk that had become very popular. “You're so grody, like gag me with a spoon.”

“Like grody to the max!” A second girl scoffed at Rachel. “Like barf me out.”

“Oh shut up, airhead.” Brooke snapped back.

“Like, make me, freak.” The girl towered over Brooke, who just sat there and raised one eyebrow.

“I don't make trash, I throw it out.” She replied back.

“Like, shut up gimp.” the first girl snapped at Brooke. “None of you will ever get a guy, I mean, like, look at you.”

“Totally, like oh my God, bag your face.” The other girl glared at her.

Sage put her hand on Brooke's shoulder. “Come on, let’s just go.”

“Yeah, like go. We don't need dweebs like you messing up out playground.”

Brooke started to roll towards the first girl when Rachel put a foot in front of her wheel to stop her. “Let's go. It's not worth it.”

“That's right lard ass.” One of the two girl quipped as Rachel took the handles of the wheelchair and pushed Brooke away. “Waddle away.”

Rachel began to let go of the wheelchair, but Sage grabbed her hand and held her there. “Not worth it.” She stated. “Let’s just go where the normal people are.”

~o~O~o~

Vance led Troy to the door of the house, then used his key and opened it up. Troy headed for their bedroom, stripping the moment he got inside. Vance was ready for this and he waited out of courtesy for his sister. Ten minutes passed and Tracy came walking out. The boy's clothes were gone, now replaced by a skirt and a pink T-shirt. She moved into the kitchen and began setting up dinner.

“Hey, I thought you were to take it easy?” Vance asked.

“I’m off the main restriction, I can do some stuff.” She replied. “I'm not doing a lot of bending and I sat all day in class. When recess hit, I didn't play at all, we just went to the library.”

“Oh, okay.” He said as he went to the living room and turned on the TV. Then he went and plopped down in his fathers chair.

“Hey, Vance?” Tracy came back out and leaned against the door frame for the kitchen. “Did Dad and Mom talk to you about New Years Eve?”

“You mean you and Peter kissing?” He asked, Tracy nodded. “Yeah. I'm to keep an eye on you, but I can't have girls over.” He stated.

“Dad wasn't too happy that he kissed me. How do you feel?” She asked.

“Not my lips.” He replied with a smile. “I don't mind, but if he attempts to do more, I will beat his ass for touching my kid sister.”

“You don't have to worry about that.” Tracy said as she went back into the kitchen. She raised her voice so he could hear. “I don't want him seeing my body like this anyway.”

“Still. It's in the big brother handbook.” Vance replied. “It's my job to defend your honor.”

Tracy walked back to the doorway and looked at him. A smile crossed her lips. “Thank you, Vance.”

“No problem, Sis.” He replied, making Tracy smile brighter.

~o~O~o~

[Livermore]
Sage had been sitting in the waiting room, working on a few bits of homework, while she listened to music on her walk-man. She was working on an English assignment, deeply engrossed in what she was doing. She wondered if she'd be able to get the chance to call Tracy that weekend, see how her New Years day went. All the parents decided that a call on the weekends was better then a call each day of the week. All of the girls reluctantly agreed to the deal, so all the girl were planning to be at one of the houses on Saturday. She was scribbling down a note of something to ask Tracy, when the Doctor walked over and tapped her shoulder.

She screamed and bounced in her seat, knocking her notebook out of her hands. Ivan held back a laugh as he gestured to the doors. “It's your turn young lady.”

“That's not funny.” She muttered.

“You're right. But I've been calling your name for a couple minutes now. Good thing I'm nice enough to get your attention.” He picked up her notebook and handed it to her. “Come on, you can finish your English work later.”

She took the offered book and stuck them in her backpack, then followed him to his office. “No mother?” He asked.

Sage shook her head, which he didn't see. “Nope. She took 'Romy to the doctor. She'll pick me up when I'm done here.”

“I see.” Ivan said as he shut the door behind her and went to take the chair he usually used. Sage sat on the couch, putting her pack next to her. “So, how was your holidays?”

“Good.” Sage replied. “Got a lot of clothes and music on Christmas. Plus having Tracy here for that week totally rocked.”

“Have you spoken to her since?” He asked.

“We called her on New Years Eve. The Go-Go's were playing on the TV and she loves them.”

“Good. It's nice that she has friends like you and the other girls to talk to.” The Doctor replied. “How are you handling being around her? With someone your age now, who is like you more than the other girls.”

“I'm good. Heck, I wish there was a way we could convince her parents to come up this way.”

“Well, they do have a life where they live.” He replied.

“Yeah, they do, but Tracy has to hide in the house. That sucks. She's so afraid that someone will find her and it will be all over.” Sage sighed. “It sucks 'cause we could bring her here and she'd have fun.”

“Well, life can't be all roses.” Ivan replied. “I mean you have to have issues still, right?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “No one knows about me, but there's some real bitches at school.”

“Not really a nice thing to call someone, now is it?” The Doctor asked.

“No, but it's true. They go out of their way to insult Rachel over her weight and Brooke because of her wheelchair.” Sage stated.

“Do they insult you too?”

“They have in the past, but Brooke seems to be a bigger target to them.”

Ivan nodded and scribbled down a note or two, then asked. “Are they aware about you?”

“No. Mostly they tease me because of my Mothers VW bus.”

“Kids do that. They find a weakness and go to town with it.” The Doctor leaned back in his chair. “So how did you deal with it?”

Sage chuckled. “Brooke and Rachel were about to fight, but I pulled them away.”

“Smart girl. Nothing good ever comes out of fighting.”

“I try.” Sage leaned back in her chair. “It's weird, for years Brooke was my biggest hater, and now she's one of the first to come to my defense.”

“Does something about that bother you?” He asked.

“Not really, I've just been thinking about it because when Tracy was here, she asked how we all met.”

Ivan nodded slowly. He knew the story well, after seeing Sage for many years now. “I see. So you told her and now you're thinking there's something more to Brooke's motives?”

“Not really. She's been there to back me up when problems come up. Heck, she was ready to kick Mary Beth's ass with us when they called Tracy, Troy, at the mall.”

“Could be she's seen the error of what she did.” Ivan said. “She has gotten to know you and you've done everything to show her that you're her friend. Maybe all she needed was to see how the other half lives.”

“Yeah, that may be it.” Sage agreed. “She was really awesome when Tracy was here, hell she let her stay at her place for a night, just the two of them.”

“See.” Ivan smiled at her. “But there's something bugging you, isn’t there?”

Sage rested her head on the back of the chair she was in and looked at the ceiling. “Yeah.” She finally agreed.

Ivan was quiet for a few moments, giving her the chance to tell him without him asking, but she remained quiet. “Well?” He asked. “what's wrong?”

“It's me. What if someone sees it?” Sage asked. “There's so much I know that Tracy doesn't, like how to tuck. Granted, it's not that big that I worry about it, but still. I have all this know how, and she doesn't, but I'm always afraid someone will find out.”

“Well that is a risk that will always be there, till you're ready for the operation, but I think you should wait till you’re fully grown.” He said. “And are you totally sure that this is the way you want to go?”

“I've known I'm a girl for the past few years now. I haven't gone out as a boy since like first grade I think.” Sage stated, then her eyes lit up and she gave him a slight smile. “So....now that I'm twelve, can we get me started on the hormones?”

“You know, I was wondering how long you'd wait.” Ivan chuckled.

~o~O~o~

[Patterson home]

That night Tracy lay on her bed, diary opened up in front of her and pen in hand. She considered what to write. There were several things she could write about. She knew she hadn't touched it since she had bought it in Sacramento and the Doctor she had seen had told her to write daily, so she decided to start. She took her time while she wrote, making sure the letters were nice and neat.

She didn't sign it, instead she just shut the book and rolled off her bed and tucked it into the drawer that her panties were in. She went back to her bed and flopped down, then she pulled the blankets over her. A few moments later, Vance came in and she wondered how long they would be sharing a room.

“You all changed? Or do I need to bug out of here?” He asked.

“Naw, I did that already.” She replied. “But thanks for asking.”

“No problem. You ready for bed?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Tracy replied. “Could you get the light?”

“Sure.” Vance turned off the lights, then climbed up to his bunk. “Night Sis.”

Next up, more fun with Tracy and crew.....and the storm is coming! Today's story was, like, totally gnarly and brought to you by, like, the words, like, Awesome and um, like grody.