Well, the day of reckoning is here.

As I sit in the front row with several other students receiving their bar mitzvahs, I saw several of my other friends there. (Of course, Milton couldn't come, but what else is new?) Jem's sitting a few seats away from me with the girls who will receive their bat mitzvahs, so that's a relief.

The ceremony began and I had to recite my final story. It was the story of the Good Samaritan who helped a man beaten up by robbers. I could see why that story applied to me so well, as I was willing to help Claire and Milton with their problems without any regard for myself.

But that's not all there is, isn't it?

Anyway, Jem's final speech consisted of the woman who convinced herself that if she touched Jesus's cloak, she would be healed. Now you and I both know that Jemima Anne Hamilton isn't much of a faithful person, but I would assume that she needed some help. She had lived in an imaginary world where I was her twin sister and we lived the same lives. Since dad separated us when we were children, she was unhappy and took most of her anger out on me. FYI, I didn't ask to be born a boy, you know! Janine Maria Antonia Hamilton doesn't exist, and she will never exist. I'm Jed Hamilton, and she'd better get used to it if she knows what's good for her.

And that's the sad thing about it.

After the ceremony was over, the after party began in the basement of mom's church. (Well, she's not Jewish, in case you wanted to know.) She also makes us attend church every Sunday, and there's nothing I did that the gossipy old women at the church don't know about.

Such as my stunt regarding Claire and the twins. But that's for later, when I can explain myself without sounding judgmental.

As the guests ate their dinner, Clayton said to me, "I hear Milton's heading home tomorrow."

"I've noticed," I said. "But what I don't get is why Barbara has to be like that."

"Be like what?" said Clayton.

"She always has to be the cruel one," I said. "She's always yelling at Milton and pushing him down. For God's sake, Jem doesn't scream at me or push me down at every opportunity, and she's always mad at me."

"I've noticed," said Clayton. "Then again, your sister's pissed because you decided to become a boy. As if you could decide to be a girl in the first place. You're a boy, for crying out loud, not an substitute girl!"

"Yeah," said Rayden Mitchell, who also came to the ceremony. "I heard about some girl who was murdered by a man pretending to be a high school girl several years ago."

"OK, that's straight-up freaky," said a girl. "Why would he do that?"

"It's because the Internet isn't regulated," I said.

"What are you talking about?" said Rayden.

"For instance, anyone could go online and claim to be something they're not. That's how kids are being kidnapped and murdered nowadays," I said. "The internet is full of monsters that use all sorts of tricks to lure unsuspecting children into traps where they cannot escape."

"Not just children, but adults can be tricked as well," said Rayden. "I heard that a woman living in Detroit was kidnapped while she and her family were on vacation in Florida. No one has seen her since, not even her husband."

"And what does that have to do with what we're talking about?" said Clayton.

"Rumor has it that she was talking to some people on the Internet who weren't good," said Rayden. "In fact, those people took advantage of her because she had a disabled child."

"Now you know what happens when nobody bothers to regulate what goes on the Internet?" I said. "People end up being victims of other people's sick fantasies. This needs to be stopped right now or else another person will die or disappear."

OK, I know I can't be talking about how bad things are on the Internet, especially on a day like this. Yet, something like that happened to a man in the next neighborhood who went to meet what he thought was a woman, but it was another man. The man's body was found in a dried up creek a few days later and the man he met was arrested for murder.

You see? People do stupid things online and get upset when they're called out on their stupidity. Murder is often the reaction these people have. But let's leave that for later, shall we?

But I did know that now that I'm considered an adult, things would be different from what I had before. Not all of it was good.

Which means I'll have to decide between going to Hollowpond High School or Oakwood High School, as dad wants me to go to Hollowpond and mom wants me to go to Oakwood. (Neither of them want me to go to Lochland High School, as they want Jem to go to Lochland and keep us separated.)

Anyway, with my education hanging in the balance, I needed to make a decision about where I'm going to go quickly. Jem already says that she wants to attend Lighthouse Christian Academy instead of Lochland High, as she's not setting foot near Hollowpond. But mom reminds her that the school costs money to attend, money that our family doesn't have right now. Jem says that if Reginald hadn't come into the picture when he did, we wouldn't have this problem.

Reginald yelled at her and they argued, with Jem saying that he had no right to take away her educational future just because his mom didn't want him around. Plus, who knew where his dad was, anyway? I frowned as I watched the rant, begging God not to let my family fall apart due to Jem's misplaced anger at the wrong person.

Look, Jem, you have to have some faith! Everyone in the Bible had to rely on their faith, so why can't you?

When we got home from the ceremony, it's still the Sabbath, meaning that we're not allowed to use any electronics until Sunday morning. Yet I had to deal with several messages from both Claire and Milton, who had called while I was at the synagogue. Milton tells me that a therapist went to see Barbara and the prognosis he gave her wasn't exactly good. I hope it's not what I think it is; a trip to a mental hospital isn't good for a teenage girl, regardless of whether she deserves it.

As for Claire, she called to tell me that her guardians are upset with the school for not doing anything to protect her, but what did you expect? If you're a parent and you choose not to participate in your child's education, that child could easily fall victim to someone's evil schemes and not be able to escape. Claire says that in all her years of moving from school to school, she had seen smart disabled children fall victim to brutal acts of bullying. Those children were eventually taken out of school and away from their families. (I'm glad Claire escaped that fate.)

Yet still, I can't call her until Sunday morning and who knows when I could see Milton, so I decided to go to bed. Yet, I had one more nasty surprise, which came courtesy of Jem.

My room, which was filled with everything male oriented, was turned into a hailstorm of chaos. My dresses I planned to get rid of were strewn all over the floor while my other clothes were in the trash can. My skateboards were painted PINK. Plus, toys, dolls, and stuffed animals were everywhere. To top it all off, there was a message on my bed, saying "You may think you're a boy, but you will never escape from me! It's time for you to go back to being a girl and shut up!"

Well, that's that. Jem is clearly pissed at me because I wanted to become my own person instead of being a part of a matched set. She's going to pay for that one way or another. But I'm not giving up my true identity, not as long as God still exists and rules this earth.

With a sigh, I cleaned my skateboards, put away my clothes, put my dresses in the garage to be given to the Salvation Army, and put all the toys back into my closet. With that done, I then went to bed, hoping that by tomorrow, it would all go away.

But mom found out what Jem had done to my room. In fact, she and dad spoke to me for an hour, telling me that they had made a terrible mistake in giving her everything she wanted. (Well, to tell you the truth, Jem was born first, with me being born seven minutes after her. The nurse soon found out that I was a boy, which shocked my parents, who expected another daughter. I don't know how Jem could have found that out, but she screamed and cried if I didn't wear the same thing she was wearing. Or playing with the same toys she played with. She didn't care that I was her younger BROTHER, not her twin SISTER.

Well, I'm getting real sick of talking about Jem and her attitude towards her brother. I'm a boy, not a girl. There's no excuse for this!

As I was saying, mom and dad told me they were sorry for spoiling Jem and all but destroying my identity. Dad told me that as a man, I now had to take on more responsibilities, which meant helping out at the family store and my Uncle Damien's restaurant. Jem, however, got the more difficult task of working in the family bakery, as she was the oldest child. (I'm sure she'll be happy about that.)

But let's not go there.

I know Jem's going to have the temper tantrum of the century, but she needs to get over it. I'm not a girl, I'm a boy, and it's time for her to accept it. No amount of yelling, screaming, and threats is going to change what I really am.

A boy.

Let the fun begin.