Trying to Accept

 It's been a week since Katie became Adrian, and most people accepted it. Though some had a harder time in doing so.

            "Ethan! Adrian! Time to go!" shouted Joseph (his dad) up the stairs.

            "Why are you encouraging that." asked Rachel, one of those that still hadn't come to terms with it.

            "Why aren't you?" he asked, making her turn away.

            "It's just a phase, that's all." bitterness radiating from her words, just as the boys came down. The saturday after the announcement, Adrian's dad decided, since he respected his son's decision, to take him to the store to buy new clothes, boys clothes. That, and a haircut. Going from well past his waist, to just below his eyes. "Get them to school, they're going to be late." said Rachel, avoiding Adrian's eyes.

 

            "Dad? Why's mom mad at me?" asked Adrian.

            "She's not mad. She's just trying to figure things out." he lied, trying to give some sort of peace to the downtrodden Adrian.

            "Oh" he replied, realizing that no one would actually tell him the truth.

            When they got to school, he went straight to his classroom and sat in his seat. His dad had talked to the principal who had, in turn, talked to the teachers, explaining what had happened and what would be done.

            "Hey Aid." called Nate, excited about Adrian's new clothes and hair, then noticing the expression his cousin was wearing. "What's wrong?" he asked.

            "It's nothing." he replied, trying to appear fine, but only confirming his cousins thoughts.

            "Yer mum still mad?" asked Nate, giving an all knowing look.

            "Yeah." he said, "But I don't know what to do." he added desperately. "I can't be Katie anymore, and that's the only thing she wants."

            "But you're still you, right? I mean, besides being a boy now." he asked.

            "Yeah, but-"

            "Then all we need to do is remind her that you're still you." he said matter-of-factly.

            "Yeah? How?" he asked, sounding skeptical.

 

            Their plan was  for Adrian to make a card explaining this to his mom. The card read:

 

                                    Dear mom,

I'm still me and I still love you.

Please try to understand that this

is just who I am.

         

          Love, Adrian

 

 

            He left it on the kitchen table for her to find, and when she did, when she read "Love, Adrian", any sign of acceptance in her face disappeared as she put it back and walked away.

            Adrian and Nate were hiding behind the couch where they saw everything. Adrian had started crying, thinking his mother would finally accept him, but those tears only turned to tears of disappointment as she left the room.

            "See? I told you it wouldn't work." said Adrian, sniffling and wiping his face with his sleeve.

            "Don't worry," said Nate, trying to be comforting, "we can trying something else." That was the last thing Adrian wanted to do. He'd had enough rejection from his mother this week to last a lifetime and he didn't want to feel worse.

            "Why bother? Just face it, my mom's never going to accept me as Adrian. She'd rather just have Katie back." he said, defeat and disappointment in his voice as he laid down on the couch, drifting off to sleep. When Nathan realized he was asleep, he left, walking the couple blocks to his house.

            After a few hours had passed, Rachel came back into the room, passing the card without a second glance. And when she entered the living room, she saw Adrian, with the same sleeping face he'd worn his whole life. The same face he'd had as Katie, and she realized, he really was the same as before. Realizing this, she turned around and walked to the counter where the letter still sat and picked it up, reading it over and over while she sat next to her sleeping child on the couch, slowly drifting to sleep herself.

            When Adrian woke up, he wasn't quite sure if he had, because sitting on the couch next to him was his mom, wearing a smile as she had done when he was Katie. She was holding his card, smiling, and sitting next to him on the couch. He thought this had to be a dream, a dream he never wanted to wake from. So he crawled over to his mother and curled up with her, falling back into a peaceful sleep.

Reviews

[Jonathan Biswell]

awwww :")

[closed..acct]

Such wonderful detail and imagery,
I love it, it kept me reading.
Nicely done.