Name: Joey Tundra
Age: 13
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Sexuality: Straight
Dysphoria sucks.
Every time I take a shower, a wave of anguish and panic washes over me. I shudder as I see my feminine body, hear my high voice and accidentally get called by my dead name or "she" by people I know. Of course... there are the d-bags who use female pronouns on me on purpose. They think that even though I identify as a boy, or in the future may have a low voice, masculine body type and maybe even a flat chest, that if I was born with a bush and not a stick, I was a girl. People are a-holes like that.
I came out to my parents a year ago. My mom started to cry, and I could certainly see where she's coming from. She didn't want to lose her little girl. My dad was hesitant but realized that if he didn't accept me, life for me would become hell. I asked if I could go by Joey, which was easy for my parents to remember. When I still went by my dead name, my nickname was Jo. So adding an "ee" to the "Jo" would be easy. My mom soon grew to embrace who I was, because she was a huge LGBTQ+ supporter. My dad is a lighthearted guy, so he started making jokes to "prepare" me for manhood. He always gave me very amusing man-to-man talks. My mom googled stuff about transgender people so she could understand more about me, which I appreciated very, very much. On my birthday, my parents gave me something that I could never thank them enough for. When I opened the box, I covered my mouth and began to cry with joy. There, right in front of me, was a chest binder. And even better... my parents promised that they will support me in taking hormone blockers, T, and having the surgeries. I could never thank them enough. I was their only child, and they didn't want me to feel uncomfortable any longer. My mom always corrected strangers when they referred to me as "she". If they kept doing it on purpose, she would get a little defensive... especially when my family did it. Seriously, is there any reason why LGBTQ+ is wrong that is NOT related to religion? Bro.
I got a little tense when Alex brought Megan to our table. She was one of the popular kids, so I thought that she would think that we were weird. Surprisingly, though, she knew a lot about the queer community.
"How do you know so much if none of your friends are queer?" I asked her while walking back to class from lunch.
"Blame it all on Instagram. On my secret account, I am very gay," She said in a proud tone. I started laughing, and she laughed, too. Samuel and Alex were walking beside us.
"What's the gayest thing you've ever seen? I mean like gay in a good way," asked Samuel, using "gay" as an umbrella term for LGBTQ+.
Alex jumped in front of us, "Boy, do I have a story to tell!" they said, "so, like, one time this kid was in a restaurant and he was like, 'Mom, I hafta tell you something... I'm gay' and the mom almost spits out her drink. And then she was like, 'I was going to tell you I was lesbian! You were going to meet my girlfriend today,' and I assumed she was a single mom. Then the girlfriend came in and the son told her he was gay and they all laughed. It was amazing," We all laughed at Alex's story, because, as they said before, it was amazing.
"Ooh! I got one," Megan said, "Two words: Tree Bros,"
"Yes!" Samuel squealed, pointing at Megan. At this moment, I saw Alex turning away, smiling warmly to themselves. Their short hair didn't hide the slight tint of pink of their cheeks.
"Bro, do you have a crush on someone?" I asked teasingly, but quietly so no one else would hear.
"Uh..... maybe.... uhhhhhh... yeah..." Alex said, covering their face with their hands.
"Megan?" I asked. They nodded.
As I got back to class, math to be more specific, I realized there was a sub in the room. Uh oh. I realized that the sub would take attendance, and my name would be my dead name. The sub read the names, and everybody said they were here. And then she got to my name.
"Johanna Tundra?" The sub called.
I knew I should correct him, "Here. Oh, and it's Joey. I'm a boy," I heard a couple of groans and snickers from my peers, and my face turned a bright red. I was panicking, and I was on the verge of tears.
"You're no boy!" A girl declared loudly as she stood up. The room was silent. My heart dropped into my stomach, and my stomach twisted. My face was all white now. The pause seemed to last for hours.
But then she said something that shocked me.
"You're a MAN!" She said, strong and proud. Although some of the class rolled their eyes, the allies in the room started to cheer and clap. A warm feeling filled my chest. I started to tear up a little bit. The sub smiled. I looked behind me at the girl and she smiled and winked at me, signaling that she has my back. The sub continued on with the lesson.
When class got out, I went to thank the girl for her kindness. I found her at her locker. She looked pleasantly surprised to see me. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin.
"Hey. uh... thanks... I really needed that," I said, truly grateful for what she said.
"Oh, it's no problem. It's a shame that this school doesn't have a GSA, dammit," She remarked, "I just came here last week. It's been really lonely, but I love giving people happiness, even if I barely know them. It feels good,"
"Hey, what did you say your name was again?" I asked,
She laughed, "I didn't. Lucy. Lucy Halloway,"
"I'm Joey. Joey Tundra," The bell rang, and the student-filled hallway started to get less crowded as the clusters of peers got sucked into the classrooms. "Welp," I said, "Gotta get to class. See you around," and I walked away, and saw Lucy do the same.
After school ended for the day, I went to talk to Alex, my right-hand person.
"Sooooo," they said, "do you like her? I mean, like like?"
"No! She was just super nice,"
"She said she was new and had no friends,"
"Oh, then it would be cool if she sat with us. She sounds like a nice person," just then, Megan ran past us to her mom's car, all while yelling, "Bye, guys! See you tomorrow!" I saw Alex blush.
"I see where you're coming from, she's pretty cute," I say, although I DO NOT have a crush on Megan.
"Stupid Pan-Scan, agh! Why are you so pan, Alex?" Alex said to themselves.
"Hey, maybe you have a shot. Bi means attracted to two or more genders, not just two," I said to Alex.
"But what if she's not into non-binary people! Ugh!" Alex worried,
"Hey, think about what the SQUIP says," I said, referencing Be More Chill, as I knew they liked the book and the musical.
"To be more chill?" They respond,
"Affirmative. Now, do fifty pushups!" I jokingly said, imitating the SQUIP.
"No way! I need Mountain Dew Red!" Alex said, laughing hysterically. I saw my bus pull up and kids flooding inside. I said bye to Alex and hopped on.
Lucy was right, it is a shame this school doesn't have a GSA.
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Author's note:
Hellooooo, it's ReereeDoggo. Sorry if these chapters are so short, or if my writing isn't the best. I'm only 13 and suffer from A LOT of writer's block. If you have any requests for plot, comment them! I'd love to see your suggestions.
Fun Fact: Megan is actually based on me. I picture her looking like me, and she's bi, like me. I was never part of the popular kids tho XD. And also for some reason, I imagine Joey to look like Sam Collins the YouTuber. Pretty much all of the characters I imagine to look like people I know or celebrities.
Okay, I'm out
Byeeeeeeeee!
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