“Sweetheart, you couldn’t drag me from this building. I just had to take care of something real quick, but there’s no way I’d miss your special day.”
Rather than the illicit hookup I’d texted to Kess, I was surrounded by kids and their adults in the cafeteria of an alternative high school for their spring graduation.
Marjorie had hidden her gender from her parents, but then one of her bullies from her old high school took a picture of her wearing a skirt and put it out on social media, basically outing her to her entire community. Her parents kicked her out, but her great-uncle and his husband invited her to stay with them.
That was another similarity Marjorie and I shared. After my parents had put me out for kissing a boy, it was my cousin Woody who checked in on me and made sure I wasn’t homeless. As much as I jokingly blamed him and Em for my current predicament, I was genuinely thrilled when they fell in love.
Even with the support of her uncles, Marjorie’s path hadn’t been an easy one. She’d struggled in her classes after being kicked out, which is what led to her attending the after-school group. We helped her find an alternative high school that was a much better fit. Not only was she able to take several ofher classes online, but they also had a cosmetology track that enabled her to graduate with a certificate and a job.
The ceremony had been short and meaningful, and when the administrator called out Marjorie’s name, her uncles and I wept. Texas wasn’t a great place to be trans right now, but so many educators, especially in alternative spaces, had stepped up and proven to be secret badass warriors. They helped these vulnerable kids find their place in the world, and it gave me hope.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you to your friend’s party?” I asked, torn between my responsibility as a mentor and my loyalty to Kess.
She gave me major stank face. “Sorry, no old people allowed.”
Her uncles laughed while my mouth dropped open.
“I’m in my prime, I’ll have you know. You would be lucky to have me at a party. In fact, I’m missing my friends housewarming party for this.”
“Oh. Ahousewarmingparty,” she snarked. “That’s not old at all.”
“I’m not sure who’s teaching you all this sass, young lady, but I am not the one.”
We stared at each other for a second, then broke into snorts and giggles. I had been her mentor in more ways than one.
Pulling her in for another hug, I said, “Go, have fun at youryouthfulhouse party.”
Marjorie sniffed. “Thank you for coming to watch me graduate.”
“Of course, sweetheart. And don’t think for a second that you’re rid of me now.”
“Oh nooo,” she cracked. “Whatever will I dooo?”
“Brat.”
“I learned from the best.”
The four of us hugged one last time, then parted as she joined her friends. I smiled as I walked out to my truck. She’d been one of the first kids I’d mentored in the youth group, and as hard as it was sometimes to work with these kids, days like this made it all worth it.
As I approached my truck, one of the fathers from the ceremony intercepted me.
“Hey,” he said with the kind of up down look I’d grown very familiar with.
Nervous, I sent him my best smile. “Hey, yourself.”
“What are you doing tonight? Can I buy you a drink somewhere?”
I held up my phone. “If I don’t get to my friend’s housewarming party, he will never forgive me.”
“Mind if I get your number, then?”
“Sure, sweetie.”
I gave him my throwaway Google number, then we got into our separate vehicles. I watched him leave as I put on my seat belt and then lowered my forehead to the steering wheel.
He was hot, but he clearly only wanted one thing.
Blech.
