The rest of the day passed by normally, aside from some extra interactions between Dial and some kids from other classrooms that came to see her. Still, things were more relaxed during the second half of the day and, before anybody could notice, classes were over and it was time to get back home. Even at the gates of the school, children were still talking about the big news of the day. Not that Dial cared that much. She knew it was a matter of time before the whole school and all ACDC Town would learn about her transition. And actually, that might make things easier: although she did a lot of social transitioning in Den City, she decided to leave her own town for the last, knowing people would learn about her sooner or later.

Just like always, the group waited from Yai’s limousine to arrive and take her away, while Dex decided to rush back home before his favorite show began. In the end, just like in the old times, only Mayl and Dial began walking home together.

There was something nostalgic about that moment. It had been so long since both of them took their usual route back home. The previous month felt so strange for Mayl, but also lonely. Every day, she missed having her friend by her side and couldn’t stop thinking about why Dial wasn’t there back then. In other situation, she would be enjoying that moment, but deep inside she was nervous.

Right before leaving their classroom, while Dial was talking to Ms. Mari about the homework she sent through the Net, Mayl and Yai talked in the corridor. At that moment, Mayl made a resolution:

“I’m… I’m gonna do it! I’ll tell Dial what I feel! No more waiting!”.

It was easier said than done though. Mayl was trying to gather all her courage, but knew it wouldn’t be so easy to begin the conversation with a confession. Instead, she looked at Dial. The girl was right there, looking as cute as when she first came into the classroom, but at that moment, she was looking vacantly into the street and yawned.

“Dial, are you ok?”, asked Mayl, fearing her friend wasn’t feeling good.

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry!”, answered Dial with a smile. “I’m just so tired. I thought the day would never end! I was so nervous”.

Of course she had to be tired. Coming out, her discourse, all the interactions she had with literally everybody in the school. When you piled all those things up, it made sense she would be tired. Although Mayl wanted to confess, she cared more about Dial’s well-being, so she thought on an idea that would work for those two things.

“Why don’t we go to the park? We can sit down on a bench and rest”.

At that time, the park would be empty, since all children would go back home and do their homework. Dial could rest in there, but also, they would have space and intimacy to talk about… whatever would happen. Dial thought some fresh air would be nice, so she accepted Mayl’s idea and went together to the park. It had been so long since she last saw the squirrel slide and the swings she played with so many times along with her friends. Once in there, Mayl went to the vending machine and bought two cans of juice, offering one to Dial, who waited for her on the bench. She tried to refuse, feeling bad for being treated, but Mayl insisted. Not that she needed to insist a lot, her friend accepting the can shyly.

The weather was nice. The sun was shining, but the shades of the trees and the light breeze felt soothing. At that place, it felt time had stopped and the world was showing its beauty to the two girls. Dial took a sip of her juice and said:

“This sure feels nice! A nice end of a good day”.

“Yeah, I get it”, answered Mayl. “I’m glad everything ended up well”.

“Me too. It was nice that everybody accepted me. Honestly, I was really worried, especially about you”, said Dial. “I wanted to tell you before, but didn’t know how…”.

“Hey, don’t worry. I know how important this is for you. Of course you were worried”, added Mayl with a smile. “I would never do anything bad to you. I’m so happy for you”.

Dial calmed down after hearing Mayl’s words. She had always been a good friend, but before, even though they were close friends, their bond wasn’t as strong. But at that moment, she felt closer to Mayl than ever. For a moment, both of them remained silent, staring at the blue sky, until…

“Listen, I…”

“Ya know…”

Mayl and Dial looked at each other, surprised at the coincidence, and began giggling. It was just something silly, but both of them were nervous at saying anything. That moment helped them relax.

“Please, go ahead”, said Dial.

“No, please! I can wait”, answered Mayl.

She didn’t know if that was just an excuse to delay the most important decision in her life or just a sign of kindness towards her friend. Still, Mayl wanted to talk more. She liked talking to Dial in a way they barely did before. However, it seemed like her friend had something really important to say, because she let her head back and took a deep breath.

“Mayl, I… For all these months, I learned a lot about myself”, explained Dial. “Who I am, what I like and what I don’t… Things that I pushed inside myself for so long. I finally let them out and… it feels so great! I feel so liberated”.

Mayl could see it clearly. The change from ‘Lan’ to Dial was like night and day. Before her transition, she would look disheartened, and still, it felt like she was pushing herself to be cheerful, trying not to worry everybody else. But now, she was so radiant to Mayl’s eyes.

“That’s great”, simply said Mayl.

“Yeah. It sure is”, continued Dial. “And this last month was very helpful too. I kept learning more about myself, but also, I learned about other’s emotions”.

“Other’s… emotions?”, asked Mayl in confusion.

Those words were strange for Mayl. She tried to understand Dial, but she didn’t know what she was trying to say. Dial looked at her friend. It was obvious she didn’t know. Or was she trying to hide it? No, Mayl’s eyes were full of pure curiosity. Dial began fidgeting. She needed to be more clear, but she was nervous.

“Ok… Guess there’s no other way to say it”, said Dial. Then, she took another deep breath and said: “Mayl… I know you liked me all this time”.

That took Mayl by surprise. Or more like, she felt something inside her, like punching her stomach. She was trying to be brave. If she hadn’t lazed around, she would have gathered that courage and said it out loud. Instead, now her head was full of lots of questions. How long did she know? Was it something she just found out? And most importantly… what did Dial actually feel? Her heart was beating fast, but the girl felt powerless at that moment. Now that her chance was taken away, she could only wait for Dial, who was silent… and sad.

“I’m so sorry for being so oblivious all this time”, apologized Dial with sad tone while looking down. “You probably waited a long time for me”.

Hearing her friend apologizing so honestly, Mayl left aside all her worries, even if it was for a moment. Whatever the final answer would be, it was clear that Dial cared about Mayl’s feelings. But again, it was unfair. Mayl remembered all those ‘hints’ she used. She wasn’t very open about her love. And still, her friend felt bad for not noticing before.

“It’s… it’s ok, really”, said Mayl with sad tone. “It’s not your fault. I never told you what I actually felt, just… I expected you to notice”.

“I actually noticed”, confessed Dial, making Mayl look at her in surprise. “But honestly? I couldn’t believe it. Something told me it couldn’t be possible. I mean, I didn’t like myself. I hated being that way. Why would you like me? And you know, all those TV shows with girls doing those kind of things… I convinced myself it was a ‘girl thing’, that you would never like me”.

“Dial, please, don’t blame yourself!”, exclaimed Mayl. “I could have told you sooner!”.

“Maybe, but I still had that problem”, said Dial. “I never stopped to think about myself and my emotions. There was no way I could understand your feelings until I learned about mine. In the end, it’s my fault as well. I’m sorry”.

Mayl was confused. What she expected to be a moving conversation with a happy ending ended up being something strange. She no longer knew what to say. So many ideas crossed her mind: hugging Dial, crying, running away, apologizing… and still, her body was just frozen.

“But there’s more”.

While Mayl was still trying to process the situation in her mind, Dial said that. Mayl was not ready, but she was sure of one thing: her friend deserved to say whatever she needed to. She wanted to hear everything.

“As I said, I learned a lot about my feelings. I noticed yours… and understood mine. Truth is…”

Mayl couldn’t take away her eyes from Dial, who was still looking down. But then, she felt something. Her left hand. It was resting on the bench, but suddenly, there was something caressing it. It felt soft and delicate. It was trying to hold her hand. “A hand”, she thought, but that couldn’t be, right? She looked down. She needed to confirm it… and there it was. Dial’s hand was holding her own hand.

“I… I like you, Mayl”.