"Your fucking kidding me right?!?!!"

 I said while staring down my dad in the dark living room I had yet to even fully glance at,while he began typing into his phone the number on the slip of paper. "Wait, wait don't call its fine I'll just wear the binder. I think I have dry shampoo that might work for now! Dad please..." I pleaded while he held up a finger, mouthed the words "It's dialing", and waited for a reply on the other line.  Finally I heard the line pick up and had given up hope of escaping my soon to be fate. I decided to walk up the stairway and find the bathroom. While in the distance I could hear my father on the phone... "Hey! Tim, this is Arni. Yea the one who bought the purple Victorian. Good to talk to you too, well you see we moved in today and- yeah! Oh? Well that's good to know although I wish they would have called me instead of bothering my neighbors... yeah, well we need water over here and I was wondering if I could send my son over with maybe some jugs or something to get some from you?". I stood at the top of the staircase and looked down at my dad, he had a lazy smile on his face and was scratching at his neck and beard trying to keep track of the conversation. I huffed and went to turn and start walking when my mom startled me by leaving a room with fresh sheets in hand. "Oh there you are! Here." She said as she opened up my arms and placed the set of sheets in them. "The movers didn't put up the bed frames but they put your mattress on the floor and I brought in the pillows from the car so if you put on the sheets you should be set for the night". I couldn't lie the fact that atkeast my mattress had made it here already was comforting, but right now I had more on my mind. "That's great mom, thanks". I said smiling at her as best I could and adjusted the sheets in my arms. "Hey, while I have you here where's the bathroom? I've been holding it since our last gas station". I hadn't actually, and I didn't even have the slightest urge to go to the bathroom, but I wanted to see a mirror and take a second to breathe. "Just down the hall there at the very end hun. But you should've told us to stop! Holding it like that will ruin your bladder Jamie". She scolded me for about another minute on how if I didn't want diapers in my 40s I shouldn't hold my bladder. After that I tossed the sheets through my rooms doorway silently hoping they landed on my mattress by some miracle, and made my way to the door at the end of the hall. 

The door to the bathroom luckily worked fine with no handle malfunctions to be experienced. Inside the bathroom was a light blue tiled floor, white walls with blue tiling running up the wall about halfway, a clawfoot tub with a shower head on the wall to the left of the room , a small vanity-sink in the middle, and a toilet behind its own door to the right of the room. I closed the door and rushed over to the vanity and looked at myself. I'm about 5'7, with short but grown out purple hair, piercings trailing up my ears and on my tongue sits a pill piercing. I'm not so much chubby as I am pudgy, thighs and a stomach make up the fat of my body, "more of a dad bod than a grease-ball" as my grandma would say. I wore blue straight leg jeans, mismatched checkered socks of green and pink, and a neon green hoodie with a smiley face. I tried my best not to let the look on my face get to me and took deep breathes, I looked into my eyes which I found to be my most calming feature with the  multiple colors of brown-based hazel. " 1....in....2........out...." I breathed in and out until I felt steady again and shook my head at the thought of what I knew I was about to do. And sure enough there came the knock on the door behind me..."Hey kiddo! So Tim says he's got some buckets that we can fill with warm water from their tub, his kid will help you bring it over. And don't worry I just told him we needed it for cleaning up abit." I smiled into the mirror abit at the fact that dad had covered for me but instantly flipped my smile when I realized I would be talking to someone "around my age" while dragging buckets of water to the house.... "okay I'll be right out to go then dad!" I said with a deep sigh, and as soon as his footsteps disappeared I opened the door and bolted for the front entry-way where my shoes were. "Be careful on your way! It's abit dark, do you have your phone?!?!" My mom cautioned from the living room where she was sweeping and getting ready to lay our rug for a place to sit. "Yea my phones on 87% and don't worry I'll be careful" I said as I tugged on my hightops and re-tied the laces I had loosened by just tugging them off not to long ago. And with my shoes on and my phone in my pocket I got up and walked out the door stepping into the cool night air.

The driveway to our house was gravel and our front yard consisted of an empty flower-bed ,pine trees scattered around, and lining the driveway to a certain point. It wasn't a super long driveway and once I reached the sidewalk infront of the house the street lights were a comfort. My phone buzzed in my pocket and startled me for a second before I pulled it out and read a message from my dad reading "it's house 104 should be a red house with plants hanging on the porch. Sorry I spaced it earlier :P". I briefly laughed and turned off the screen shoving it back into my pocket. '104....104' I would have to remember that so I wasn't frantically checking my phone Or walking up to the wrong houses. The walk was short but it was pleasant, it was quiet and the little noise was the sound of crickets, besides maybe a dog bark or two that is... when I finally reached the house I rang the doorknob and waited for a split second before a tall middle aged man with fiery red hair answered. He must've been atleast 6'5 and seemed very...hearty. A large smile and a firm handshake. Which I had found out when he grabbed my hand and nearly pulled it out of socket, while saying how glad he was that we moved into that house instead of letting it sit for years. He continued to chat one-sided before a cookbook hit the back of his head and a shorter woman with noticibly blue eyes contrasting her curly brown hair walked up. "AYE, I am so sorry lovely. He just gets a bit excited with new people, much like a puppy this one". She said warmly and let her smile practically talk for her when she was done with her words. "I'm no puppy!" The man said sounding almost like a whine, as the woman winked at me and grabbed my hand that the man had just let go of.

 "Come in ,come in! We are excited to meet you. The water is being filled up by our son right now and it should be brought down soon. He's got two done already, just waiting for a third". The woman said while leading me to a couch In front of a fireplace blazing and warm with a sharp contrast to the cold I had just felt from the walk over. "You shouldn't have done that, I could have helped when I got here. I feel bad that he's done all the hard work so far..." I said in what I thought may have sounded slightly too pouty and I drew back with embarrassment. " Ah it's good for him, plus he offered. Figuring you've probably had a rough day and are tired as it is". The man said standing just infront of the fire and then moving to the recliner just next to it. "Yes, yes, it's fine he is big and strong. You however are small! You should come over here and let me feed you properly!" The woman said through laughs and a cheerful grin while I sat back and blushed a slight bit. 'Small?' I thought, I hadn't been called that in a long time... I had been called things like hippo, or fatty, or fatso, for the past 3 years so I wasn't used to it and could feel my cheeks heat slightly after she said it.

 I was lost in thought while listening to the two people in front of me slightly bicker, until I heard footsteps to my left from the staircase and the sound of sloshing water. "Mom, Dad, your gonna make him think we're nuts will you stop it!". I looked over to see yet another giant! This kid must have gotten his height and hair from his dad, while he got his eyes and curls from his mom. He looked almost like a painting to me or someone I had drawn, kind of lanky and skinny, but not too much so for his height. He had red hair that came down in curls to his shoulders and was kept half up in a bun. His eyes were crystal clear blue with his right containing a freckle under the pupil. I must have zoned out again because suddenly there he was holding out his hand for me to shake. "It's very nice to meet you.....uhm. sorry can I ask for a name?" He asked almost shyly and recoiled his hand a slight bit before I grabbed it giving it one good shake and letting go saying. "Jamie, nice to meet you. May I ask you for yours?". Smiling he gave a reply of "The names Andy, so shall we get to walking these over to your house then Jamie?". A smile on his lips as he helped me stand up from the couch and said to his parents that we would be on our way. 

To be honest I was confused looking at him, while I struggled to carry one bucket he proudly carried two with little to no issues aside from his hair in his face. "Your pretty strong aren't you?" I asked raising an eyebrow slightly as we walked down the sidewalk back under the streetlights I had enjoyed earlier. "Ah, yeah.... I do shot-put. It builds up alittle arm strength I guess." He said shrugging and slightly panicking that he may have spilled water on his Grey sweatpants. "Ah i see, that makes sense." I said slightly laughing as he looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow. "So...are you trans?" He asked with his voice slightly cracking and looking away. I couldn't tell if he was being curious and shy or judgemental and trying to play it off so I chose to stay with the middle ground. "Oh man, what gave me away?" I said slightly snickering and hoping for something positive. "Well it was the trans pride bracelet but you don't have on a binder that I can tell so I wasn't sure...". Shocked by the honest response I had a pause before taking my next step and answering him. "Ah... yea, that makes sense. We'll I am, and I hope that's not an issue". After saying this he stopped and looked at me almost sad and shocked. He looked kind of like he would cry if I said something more so I just stood there aswell until he spoke up. "Why would that be an issue? Oh God, don't tell me that's been an issue for you before..." at this point in the conversation my eyes went wide. "Well I guess you could say that, I wasn't very well-liked because of it in my old town and well... well now I'm here so..." . After saying this I once again felt embarrassed for over-sharing and started walking again . "Oh... I fucking hate people that are jerks like that. Well it's not an issue to me and you have a friend just a bit away if you need one." He said while catching up to me and smiling. It was nice, I felt safe with someone I had just met maybe 5 minutes ago... I wasn't worried, or nagging myself about ways to get out of the situation. It was about another 5 minutes worth of a walk to my house and we talked some more before he finally asked as we reached my porch. "So...will you be going to Sunny-Dale? Or will you be homeschooling or something?". "No ill be going to Sunny-Dale, I start tomorrow" I said with a smile plastered on my face. "Nice, well then I'll save you a spot at table 10 in the cafeteria. Hopefully we have the same lunch period, I'll see you tomorrow". He said this while setting the buckets on our porch and walking back down the stairs waving back at me as my dad grabbed the buckets and walked them inside.

I boiled some of the water in batches in a kettle and washed my binder. If I could put it in the washing machine it would have been easier because all that took was filling the back with water and pressing start. But instead I was mixing portions of warm and cold water to make sure I didn't effectively boil my hands, and began washing away at the fabric.