[colpse]
Nisha: oh my wdy orz
Jules: so
Jules: tell me why
Jules: you thought that was a good idea?
Nisha: srsly
Nisha: who let u in the kitchen ?.?
Nisha: nvr cook again ToT
Leon: idk i think you did good
Leon: you were being bold
Leon: and it was for a good cause
Leon: i approve ^.^ b
Nisha: -_-
Nisha: Leon
Nisha: i kno abt u
Leon: ?
Leon: know what?
Jules: anyway
Jules: if you were going to try that with your dad
Jules: dont
Jules: he will probably hear it from your mom
Turns out, my pn was terrible. And a lot of things had gone terrible for me this week, so I wasn't feeling particurly confident in myself. Especially since my friends were telling me how bad my ideas were. Aww man. I was not looking forward to seeing Amber at the next club meeting.
Jules: anymore pns we should know about?
I couldn't help but squirm at Julia's question. My eyes scanned over the bag from the thrift store, still holding the clothes I had bought specifically for part two of my pn.
Mymy: honestly
Mymy: i had more ideas
Mymy: but dont worry
Mymy: not gonna try anything else
Mymy: not feeling too great
Mymy: ttyl
I silenced my phone and exhaled a deep sigh, then proceeded to stare out the window in apathy. Just watching the scenery blur by as we made our way home. We had stopped at a few more pces; another clothes shop that Gigi and Miss Denise poked around in for a bit, an arts and crafts store for me, and a beauty supplies store.
A finger suddenly jabbed me in my ribs while I was daydreaming. Startled, my eyes snapped over to the culprit, Aunt Gigi, holding a shopping bag out towards me. I looked around, noticing that we had parked the car. I hadn't even realized that we had already pulled up to the driveway of my aunt's house.
"Here," Aunt Gigi said, thrusting a single bag into my arms. "Carry that into the house for me."
I took the bag from her, confused. I lifted it up a bit to test the weight. It wasn't even heavy and when I looked in the bag there was only two or three shirts inside. Why did she need my help with this?
"Um..." I tried to get her attention, but all she did was look back at me, raising an eyebrow.
Okay...
I shrugged my shoulders, then opened the sliding door on my side of the van. I looked back, seeing mom and aunt Gigi having a conversation.
That can't be good.
Miss Denise had already opened the front door and pced her bags on the coffee table in the living room. I walked in after her, also pcing the bag my aunt gave me next to hers.
"It was nice hanging out with you." I said to Miss Denise, smiling at her as I made to turn back through the front door. She returned a smile and wave herself, then I watched her go into my aunt's bedroom? I was so confused by this, that I didn't even notice when Gigi finally entered the house. She walked past me, pcing her bags to join the others.
"Okay. Well... That was fun! Let's do this again sometime." I smiled at her, then turned to go back out the- Why was the front door closed?
"Maya."
I stopped in my tracks just before reaching the door.
"Yes?" Slowly turning back around, I saw that Gigi stood a bit behind me, like a judging statue. I tried to keep eye contact with her, I really did. But I was getting the feeling that she was really suspicious of me. And in anticipating the question that I didn't want to hear from her, I looked away in guilt.
"Maya. What happened back there? At the thrift store." She asked me in a gentle voice. By the way she held her hands on her hips, I could tell she wasn't going to let me go until she got a satisfying answer. That didn't stop me from trying to get out of this mess anyway.
I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder and took a few steps backwards to the door. "I better go. Mom's waiting in the car, y'know?"
"Actually," She started, holding up a finger. "I told your mom that I needed you for something, so she left. I'm going to take you home afterwards."
I froze in my retreat to the door. I whirled around and looked through the window at the spot in the driveway, where mom should have been parked, was empty.
Oh. There's no way out of this, is there...
"Now, C'mon over here and sit down," She gestured toward the opposite end of the couch. "So you can expin properly."
Sighing, I slowly walked over to the couch. It gave me a bit of time to try and think of a way out of this.
I could ask my friends what to do...
Before I sat down, I turned my back to Gigi, opening the group chat as fast as I could.
Leon: Maya?
Leon: You okay?
Jules: lets give her some time alone
Nisha: Maya!
Nisha: Come back!
Nisha: we were joking
Nisha: mostly
"Maya. What are you doing? I asked you a question." Aunt gigi stopped me... Again.
"I was just-" I waved my hands loosely in the air, trying to buy myself time for a believable excuse.
Looking for someone to get me out of this.
She stared at the phone in my hands, then her eyes flickered up to meet mine. Put it away, they told me. Sighing, I did as she wanted me too. But now I had to focus. I didn't want to screw this up again and make it worse for everyone, so I had to decide how I wanted to approach the question.
"So, what was that about?" She said, sitting on the other end of the couch.
I don't have to tell her everything. Just enough to get by should be fine...
"It was a prank." I said bluntly. My original idea got me into this mess, it could also get me out.
"A... Prank."
"Mmhmm. Just a harmless internet prank. Wanted to see how she would react, y'know? Nothin' too serious." I smiled, trying to keep my inner thoughts from btantly showing how hard I was lying off of my face.
Gigi studied my face. For a long time, it felt like. I couldn't hold it together. As my smile faltered, I gnced out of the window before I could accidently give anything away on my face.
"Uh huh..." She said in a questioning manner. "I don't really understand why you feel like you have to lie like this if it's 'just a prank'.
"I'm not lying." I rebutted.
She sighed. Then, she shuffled closer to my side of the couch, leaning towards me.
"Maya. Are you trans?"
I- I couldn't believe she just straight up asked me that!
"N-No! I'm not!" Came my exasperated reply.
Aunt Gigi stared me down with earnest, unmoving eyes. And I broke. Again. I couldn't help but ugh at this incredibly ridiculous situation I found myself in. She leaned back against the couch, quirking an eyebrow and waiting for me to stop giggling. I sighed.
Fine! But I'm gonna be as vague as possible. The reason I went along with my stupid pn was to see how my mom would react to JJ possibly being trans, without having to directly involve him in any way. And I still wasn't going to drag him into this.
"So, I met a trans person recently," I started. "And I wanted to know how my parents would react to me if I told them I was trans myself, okay? That's the truth."
"That's it?" She said.
"Yup. That's it." I repeated.
"So, what? You just wanted the experience?"
Yikes...
"What!? No!"
"Mhmm. So, you did it because...?"
"..."
"Maya."
"Uh. Yeah. I just wanted to know how they would react. Like, for the experience."
"So now you did do it for the experience?"
"Yes?"
Gigi cupped her chin in her hand and looked to the ceiling. She looked deep in thought until she came to some sort of understanding. Her eyes snapped to me with renewed vigor. I suddenly found something very interesting outside the window.
"Maya."
I sighed.
"Yes?"
"Can you look at me, please?" She asked me.
I reluctantly tore myself away from all that nothing happening outside and turned to face Gigi once again. She had tched onto something important, her expression told me so.
...
Y'know, I used to love those games where you had to stockpile you evidence and use it to get someone to confess the truth to a crime they did. And I always thought that those criminals were sooo stupid. Like, just don't say anything that could incriminate you, duh. I'dunno. Just a random thought I suddenly had.
"Since you seem to know a decent amount about trans people, I think you know how serious and dangerous it can be to try and come out to your parents, right? Like, it can be really scary and life changing, right?"
I didn't know where she was going with this exactly, but I nodded my affirmation anyway.
"Mhmm. So this is just my loose thoughts on the matter, but I imagine that this person you recently met isn't some random person? Like, they might be pretty important to you?" She asked.
"What? No. Why would you even think that?" I tried to respond with an indifferent smile. "Just a random person."
"Well, for one thing, you don't py pranks like this on your parents. Ever. Brianna has never told me about any of these goofy skits ever coming from you. Especially for something so serious. It's not like you."
"Hey. The prank was totally stupid. I admit it," I said, holding my hands up defensively. "Believe me, I know. People have been telling me how dumb it was. But we all do goofy things sometimes."
"that's true. But like I said, this is you we're talking about." Aunt Gigi said.
"And What I do know about you, is that you can't help but poke your nose in other people's business. We're the same like that. So I would know." She smiled slightly.
"And for someone like you to do something as extreme as what you tried to do today, it must have been for someone close to you. Someone you really care about... Maya." She sighed in exasperation.
"Hmm?" I whipped around to face her again.
"You really have to stop doing that. It's not helping your case."
"Hunh? Do what?" I asked, confused.
"Maya. You look out the window every time I press you on something."
What. I don't...
I began to shake my head, denying the accusation. That couldn't possibly be true.
"If I was doing that, I'm only doing it because this is a really, really, awkward conversation to be having. It's embarrassing."
"And why is it embarrassing for you? Like you said, you're not trans, right?"
"No! I'm not!" I noticed that I was nearly yelling now. "I think I said that already." I told her, giving a feeble smile as I tried getting control of the volume of my voice.
"Okay," She began again. "So, can you see how absolutely silly it was for you to try a 'prank' that could have put you in harms way? Even if you think your parents aren't those kind of people?"
Oh. My god.
"Yes. I get it. It was dumb. Like I said, everyone has been telling me that since it happened." I said, rolling my eyes. I was starting to get tired of hearing it.
"So why didn't you think about it more before you tried it? You had to have some idea of how bad this could have gone-"
"I know!" I exploded, shooting up from my spot on the couch. "But if it was going to go wrong, then wouldn't it be better if it was me?! I mean, who cares what happens to me! I'm not the one that's trans here! If they had a problem with me being trans, then what hope would-"
I jammed my mouth shut, cutting my wild rambling short.
Wow. I almost blurted it out. Again.
I turned away from Gigi, not wanting to meet her scowling gaze.
"Maya."
This time, her voice was very stern. Very no-nonsense like.
"Do I need to get you a therapist? Because I know a few people."
Wha-
When I looked over my shoulder at my aunt, she had a stony, serious expression on her face. It melted away to worry when she saw my face clearly.
"It's okay. You're going to be fine." Gigi carefully grabbed my hand and pulled me back down next to her. "And it's okay that you're not trans. It's also okay if you were. Denise and I are on your side, and we always will be. We would accept you or anyone else for who they are regardless of their circumstance, understand?"
I nodded. The way she handled my little prank. Compared to mom, it was night and day. And how she tried to get mom to understand. To expin it to her...
"I... Understand." I finally nodded, staring down at my hands in my p.
"Good! that's good." Aunt Gigi slid closer to me and pulled mu into a sudden hug. I rexed into the warmth and released another sigh. She rubbed my back for a moment, and finally, she let me go.
"Now, would it be okay if I asked about this person you recently met?"
"Huh?" I looked up to her, still leaning into her side. She stared back, patiently waiting for an answer. Or a rejection. I felt that she would accept either. I gently unwrapped her arm from me and scooted away from her to get some distance.
"One second..."
Mymy: hey
Mymy: you there?
Jules: yup yup
Jules: you okay?
Mymy: ye
Mymy: sorry for goin quiet
Mymy: my aunt was on my case bcuz of my goofy pn
Jules: ah
Jules: i see
Mymy: turns out shes totally cool
Mymy: i wanted to tell her abt u
Mymy: but only if ur okay with it
...
...
Jules is typing...
"One second..." I said again, smiling nervously to my aunt. My phone rapidly rang off in my hands a moment ter. I was surprised to see that Julia had sent me a full-body selfie of her in the mirror.
Jules: absolutely
Jules: the more allies the better
Jules: show her how good i look!
"This is my friend Julia. I met her a couple of days ago." I handed my phone off to Gigi. She smiled as she looked over the picture.
"I like her," she said, handing the phone back to me. "The girl's got style."
Aunt Gigi was only complimenting Julia, but it had me feeling proud for some reason.
"I know right! She's pretty good." I said through a cheesy grin. My aunt then directed her smile towards me.
"Maya."
"Yes?"
Gigi leaned closer, directing a radiant smile towards me.
"Thank you for trusting me with this."
"Hm? No problem?"
Gigi spped my knee as she stood up from the couch.
"Now. Ready to go home?"
I let out a deep, freeing breath.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
She nodded.
"Denise!" She suddenly yelled, startling me. "We're heading out!"
Miss Denise peeked through a crack in the door of my aunts bedroom. "Ya'll finished?" She asked.
"Yup! We're heading out." Gigi grabbed her keys from the table, then walked over to Miss Denise, pced a hand on her shoulder and kissed her on the lips???
"I'll be back in a bit." She said casually with a smirk.
My mouth went agape in shock. My eyes quickly zipped between the two; Miss Denise just as shocked as me and Gigi looking on as if it wasn't a big deal.
"C'mon Maya. Let's go." And just like that, she moved on. She was out the front door, leaving the two of us behind. Denise buried her face in her hands, clearly embarrassed, then wished me goodnight and closed the door to their bedroom.
Left alone in the living room, I rushed out the front door to Gigi's bright red sports car parked in the driveway. Gigi was sitting in the driver's seat, already buckled up and ready to go. I got buckled in myself and we were off.
I thought the entire ride home would be awkward as hell, But the silence sted for only a few moments.
"Denise is my girlfriend. Going on five years now." She said.
"I figured." I said, nodding. The silence resumed.
"I'm going to ask her to marry me." She suddenly stated.
Oh. Wow.
"Congratutions! That's great!" I shouted, the excitement filling my chest.
"Hey now. She hasn't had a chance to give me an answer yet!" She ughed. "But thank you. I appreciate it. You're the first person I've told, you know?"
"Really?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. Well, JJ knows Denise is my girlfriend. I told him earlier today, in fact. He doesn't know I pn to propose though. I was pnning to tell your mom today too." I groaned internally.
"I see." I said pinly. Gigi gave me a little sideways gnce but didn't question me further and continued focusing on the road. We pulled up to a red light as I remembered what she told me a few minutes ago.
It's okay that you're not trans. It's also okay it you were.
I didn't even have a chance to think on it, but isn't this exactly what JJ needs right now?
"I'm pretty sure," I said all of a sudden. "That JJ is a trans girl."
"Hmm. That... Expins a lot." She hummed.
HenshinTetsuya