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Mike doesn't try to sit with Bella anymore. She only had to get up and walk away twice. Now he sits with some other friends in another corner of the cafeteria and doesn't bother her. She can sit with Angela and Angela's boyfriend and Jessica and Jessica's current boyfriend and sometimes Eric and sometimes Lauren.
"So," Jessica says. "Bella, did you know Delaney came to school in a dress?"
"Oh?" Bella says. "I wonder if he made it himself."
Jessica looks rather stunned that Bella could miss the point by so wide a margin.
[You came to school in a dress, huh?] Bella inquires.
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"Well, I guessed that you're a trans, but you won't even answer a simple question," pouts Jessica.
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"Okay, try this one on for size," says Alice, waving his gingerbread in a shrug-like gesture. "It's not a simple question, and it's not gonna be a simple question until you stop thinking there's any good reason why I shouldn't feel like wearing a dress, and at that point you're probably gonna know the answer already."
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Jessica chews that over a bit. "I'm not a trans," she offers. "That's simple. If you are one that should be simple, too. And I don't think it's like illegal or anything?" She looks at Bella.
"Not illegal," Bella confirms.
"But it's weird! You're a boy, unless you're a trans, so -"
"I think it might be 'transgender'," Angela says softly.
"Oh. A transgender. So it's weird for you to wear a dress and you must have a reason because the boys who don't have reasons don't do it," says Jessica.
[Well, that was surprisingly lucid,] comments Bella.
"Not illegal," Bella confirms.
"But it's weird! You're a boy, unless you're a trans, so -"
"I think it might be 'transgender'," Angela says softly.
"Oh. A transgender. So it's weird for you to wear a dress and you must have a reason because the boys who don't have reasons don't do it," says Jessica.
[Well, that was surprisingly lucid,] comments Bella.
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[Yup. I'm surprised.]
"Okay," he says, "so what if the reason is that there's no reason not to?"
"Okay," he says, "so what if the reason is that there's no reason not to?"
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"But there are reasons not to," Jessica says. "You might get beat up, and also that looks really cold for February, and also everyone will think it's weird, and ask you why you're doing it, and also it doesn't fit you very well!"
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"Well, why don't you care?" Jessica demands. "And it - well, there's no such thing as a dress fitting on a guy, anyway." She starts to reexamine the fit before apparently deciding that would look uncomfortably like she was checking him out and breaking eye contact.
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"Okay," says Alice, "I'm taking that as a challenge. And do you really need to ask me why I don't care if I get beat up?"
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"Well, it doesn't make sense - I know you don't care, but I don't know why," Jessica says. "Why won't you just tell us if you're a trans or - a transgender or not?"
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He takes a bite of his gingerbread. [Bella, help me out here. How do I make this stupid question not stupid so I can answer it?]
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[Well, geez, I'm not clear on what you get out of wearing dresses and I can read your mind. If there's an answer you haven't been thinking of it while I've been looking.]
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[So read me?] he says.
The problem: he likes guy stuff and girl stuff, perhaps not equally, but both-ly. So if he says he's 'a trans' (Jessica's terminology doesn't bug him, except inasmuch as it is distractingly hilarious), that's wrong, but if he says he's not, that's also wrong. He's not a boy, but he's not a girl. Or he is a boy, and he is a girl. From where he's standing he can't really tell the difference.
Also, he just really likes dresses. He thinks they look cute on him. And he is totally going to make one that fits him perfectly, just to show Jessica what that looks like.
The problem: he likes guy stuff and girl stuff, perhaps not equally, but both-ly. So if he says he's 'a trans' (Jessica's terminology doesn't bug him, except inasmuch as it is distractingly hilarious), that's wrong, but if he says he's not, that's also wrong. He's not a boy, but he's not a girl. Or he is a boy, and he is a girl. From where he's standing he can't really tell the difference.
Also, he just really likes dresses. He thinks they look cute on him. And he is totally going to make one that fits him perfectly, just to show Jessica what that looks like.
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[So you're a mutant gender on top of everything else. Why am I not astonished?] Bella says. [Tell Jessica you're, I dunno, half-trans or something. I don't know why dresses are even a girl thing, they're awkward and impractical. I will go on wearing jeans or maybe motorcycle leather even after I take over the world and start affecting the use of crowns.]
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[Thank you for making me think about you in motorcycle leather again,] Alice says cheerfully. [You're the best.]
The crown adds a certain something to the mental image, too.
"How about half," he suggests to Jessica. "Half trans."
The crown adds a certain something to the mental image, too.
"How about half," he suggests to Jessica. "Half trans."
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Jessica makes a series of thoughtful faces. "Is that a thing?"
"Apparently," Bella says. [No problem.]
"Apparently," Bella says. [No problem.]
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"Well, okay, that was all you had to say," says Jessica huffily. "Honestly."
Bella rolls her eyes.
Bella rolls her eyes.
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"You need to work on your social skills," Jessica advises him.
"Thank you for the gingerbread," Angela puts in desperately, hoping to change the subject. "It's delicious."
"Thank you for the gingerbread," Angela puts in desperately, hoping to change the subject. "It's delicious."
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Alice rattles off a list of ingredients, many of which sound quite tasty on their own.
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Eventually lunch ends. [Are you going to come to gym today?] Bella asks as she heads for bio.