Becoming A High School Girl - Chapter 4

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We joined the rest of the girls for class. It wasn't too bad. The biggest thing to get used to was running. Even with a sports bra on, I was always aware of my boobs. It would take some time to get used to the sensation.

The PE coach held me after class. Her name was Coach Chambers, and she was also the coach for several of the teams. She asked me if I was interested in going out for the cross-country team, as they still had some openings. I told her that I would think about it. I felt it was a little unfair to compete against girls. I had been on the cross-country team at my old school. She smiled and said that the girls on her team could outrun most boys in the area. I told her I would let her know on Monday.

By the time I got back to the locker room to shower and change, everyone else was gone. There was a note on my locker. It read, "We Know Your SECRET! Drop Out! You Cheating Bitch!"

I read it several times before deciding what to do. I changed and took the note to Ms. Bell's office. I was really pissed off, and the longer I waited, the angrier I became. She opened her door and seemed surprised to see me there.

"Well, that didn't take long. I just called the coach's office to send you over here," she explained. "We have a problem that we need to address."

I handed her the note. "I think I know what it is."

She read it and then placed it on her desk. "Please sit down, Erika. You're right. These are related problems. Every few years, we get someone to like you that people think is really a girl. I have received several phone calls this afternoon from some angry parents. They want proof that you are really a male."

"What do I have to do? Do they all want to look at my dick?" I angrily replied.

She held back a smile. "That won't be necessary. But I can understand your anger. I believe you, and we need to shut this rumor down right now. I have arranged for you to get complete physical tomorrow morning. The doctor will, of course, confirm that you a male, and we will present this to the parents and the other contestants Monday afternoon after school. I have already contacted your Mom, and she will be there. Now, what do you want to do about this note? If it was up to me, I would disqualify every one of them."

"I guess nothing for now. This should be a moot point after the meeting," I replied.

"You are more understanding than I would be. I'll show this to Mrs. Lee and let her decide. There have been similar notes left for other contestants, and they look like they were written by the same person," she explained. "Don't worry, Erika."

I tried to believe her, but something told me that this was going to get worse before it got better. She gave me the info on my appointment in the morning.

Cat walked home with me, and I told her what had happened. "I guess you did too good a job!"

"Do you still want to go to the game tonight?" she asked.

"Absolutely. One of my teachers back in San Diego had a sign on his desk that said 'Illegitimi Non-Carborundum.' Roughly translated from Latin, it means 'Don't let the bastards get you down," I explained.

"Cool, I'll have to remember that one. Do you know what this one means? 'Stultus est Sicut status fact," asked Cat.

"I have no idea," I answered, stunned that Cat knew Latin phrases.

"It's from a movie, did you ever see Forrest Gump? It means 'Stupid is as stupid does.' I looked it up the internet," laughed Cat.

I laughed too. "I appreciate you trying to cheer me up."

"Hey, no problem, girlfriend," replied Cat.

The game started at 7:00, and Cat said that we should leave by 6:00. Laura was driving to the game, and she was stopping to give us a lift.

Mom wasn't as understanding. As I know nothing about my father, I must assume that I get my temper from her. She was also a bit worried about me going to the game. I told her that I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of scaring me away.

"You know that it's kind of ironic that you were so worried about being harassed for dressing like a girl, and the biggest jerks are those who think that you are pretending to be a boy," she stated. "Just be careful tonight."

One of the great things about going to the game was that I could wear jeans. Okay, they were girl jeans, but at least I was out of a skirt for a few hours. I wore a Central High t-shirt that I had bought at the school store. It was in our school colors, gray with red lettering. It was still warm enough at night to wear sandals. I also brought my camera.

"Well, if it isn't Miss School Spirit!" quipped Cat.

"Rah-rah!" I answered with a smile

On the way to the game, Cat told Laura what had happened. I made it clear that I wasn't looking for trouble, but I appreciated their support. Laura asked if I knew the names of the contestants in my PE class. I was able to remember only a couple of names. But I was better at describing them. "The one who seemed the most hostile was called Jan by the others."

"Is she tall, black hair, skinny, and surly?" asked Laura.

"That sounds about right. You know her?" I asked

"Yes, that's Jason Martin. He's a jerk, and he comes from an entire family of jerks. His Mom threatened to sue the school when Jason's sister didn't make the cheerleading squad two years ago. The school didn't give in, but they did give her a second try-out. She was awful and didn't make the squad. Jason is almost as spoiled. He lost in the class elections last year and demanded that we count the vote a second time. Be careful of him. He's like the rest of his family, a bunch of sore losers," explained Laura.

We arrived at the game and went to "The Pit." It was a lot of fun. I didn't see Jan or any of the others from PE. I did see Caroline, and she waved hi to me.

The team ran out on the field, led by our mascot, Willi the Wolfhound. Now Willi isn't a student in a costume; he's an actual 3-year-old Irish Wolfhound. The school used to be "The Wolves." But twenty years ago, the coach brought his pet wolfhound to the games, and they won the championship. In honor of his wolfhound, we became the Central High Wolfhounds. Every year since then, we've had a dog at our games and school events. I was amazed at how friendly Willi was. For such a huge dog, he acted like a puppy.

The game was over by the end of the first quarter. Alex threw for two touchdowns, and the defense returned a fumble for another. By halftime, we had scored three more times, and the coach took most of the starters out of the game.

The atmosphere in "The Pit" was as fun as Laura had said it would be. Cat and Laura introduced me to everyone. Apparently, the crowd in the pit either hadn't heard the rumor about me or didn't care.

The second half was just as much of a blowout. Our second team continued to score, and the defense kept the shutout. The final score was 56 to 0, and it really wasn't that close. As the game ended, Cat took me down to the field so I could meet Willi the Wolfhound. I also wanted to take his photo. She also wanted to congratulate Alex on his great half of football. The crowd was pretty happy, as we'd won our opening game. There were parties to go to, and everyone was in a great mood.

Well, that isn't exactly true. The Martins were there, and they were far from happy. I never saw them as they walked towards us. I turned around when I heard Jason say. "There's the cheating bitch, Mom."

I turned around to see Jason standing five feet away. He was now dressed in male clothes. "You showed them that note, you bitch, and you got me kicked out of the competition just for telling the truth. If you were a boy, I'd slug you," he screamed.

Everyone turned around and looked at the growing disturbance. I saw a tall, slightly overweight woman push past him. She had on too much makeup and was dressed like she was trying to look twenty years younger. She was glaring at me.

"I am going to expose you, girly. Look, everyone! Can't you see that she's not a boy? She's trying to steal the scholarship from my son," she yelled.

My back was against the fence, and I began to look for a way out of there. I could see Laura running towards us with the principal, Mrs. Lee.

Suddenly, Mrs. Martin slammed against me and pushed me against the fence. I dropped my purse and camera. She violently grabbed me by my t-shirt and tore it off. As she did, my bra and fake breasts came off.

It then became total chaos. It was obvious to everyone that I was really a guy. Mrs. Martin started yelling at Jason, and he was screaming at me. I fell to the ground and tried to cover myself up. Jason began to towards me, yelling that he was going to kill me when I saw someone in a football uniform jump over the fence and tackle him. The crowd held back Mrs. Martin until the security guards arrived.

Cat was by quickly by my side. "Are you okay?"

I was trembling and nodded. Without even thinking about it, I was covering up my chest.

Mrs. Lee came over and helped me up. She told Cat to escort me to the school. Laura gave me a sweatshirt to cover up with. I could hear Mrs. Martin screaming the whole way back to the school.

As we approached the school, we were met by Ms. Bell, who took us to the front office. Laura ran up and joined us. Ms. B got me a replacement shirt, and I got dressed. Luckily, Cat had scooped up my breast pads. I couldn't put them back on as Mrs. Martin had torn off my bra. I was still shaking a little. I was angry and scared. I was desperately trying not to cry. This feeling of being a helpless victim was one that I never wanted to experience again.

Sensing my emotional state, Ms. B put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay to cry, Erika. No one here would hold it against you."

I felt Cat hand me a box of tissues. I looked up at her and initially started to laugh, but it turned into tears. She sat down next to me and gave me a long hug.

"Everything will be okay, Erika. They are taking statements out there, and everyone says that you did nothing to provoke them. Many of them are other parents who are sick and tired of her constant complaining," explained Laura. "By the way, I have your purse and camera. It looks like it's okay."

"Who tackled Jason?" I asked, wiping my eyes.

"That was the starting safety, Mike Jackson. You met him at the pizza place a few weeks ago. He's Alex's best friend," answered Cat.

I tried to remember him. Then it came to me. He was an African- American guy who always hung around Alex.

"Remind me to thank him the next time we meet," I stated as I began to regain my composure.

"Sure thing, Erika. You won't have to wait long. Alex and Mike and around six other players are waiting outside to escort us home," announced Cat. "I told you how they were protective of the contestants,"

"I agree with Cat; you need to go home. Besides, there will be other parties to go to," concurred Laura.

Just then, Mrs. Lee walked in. "How are you doing, Erika?"

"Much better, thank you," I answered.

Mrs. Lee nodded. "I have a pretty good idea of what happened out there. Everyone agrees that you did nothing wrong. Jason will be suspended for fighting and violating school conduct rules. I am seriously considering expelling him. The police are debating assault charges against Mrs. Martin. I've had it with both of them. I've told the police that she is officially banned from all school events and that I would fully support their decision to arrest her. I will not tolerate any parent who assaults one of our students."

"Will anything happen to Mike? He was only trying to stop a fight." I asked, concerned that he might get suspended too.

"No, I appreciate that he was only trying to protect you and, from what I heard, it was his best tackle of the evening," she answered with a smile. "I think you should go home now, Erika. This incident will do nothing to hurt your status in the competition. I hope that you don't drop out."

"No way! I want this more than ever now," I replied. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Lee. I want to thank all of you."

As Cat had said, Alex and Mike and several other players were outside waiting for us. I immediately went up to Mike and hugged him. It just felt like the right thing to do. He returned it, and I could feel his strong arms wrap around me.

I smiled at Mike. "I really appreciate you coming to my rescue tonight."

"No problem, I really enjoyed it. I never liked that asshole. So, are you okay?" Mike asked.

"Yes, thanks to you," I answered. "I want to thank all of you for your concern."

They drove us back to my house. I felt so safe and secure knowing that they were there to protect me. I also felt a little strange, needing protecting.

Naturally, Mom was both concerned and upset at what had happened. Terri came over, and, along with Cat, we sat up a while drinking tea. Mom was seriously considering suing the Martins. Terri told her that she would get a lot of support as most people in the area had had at least one run-in with them over the years. I was just glad it was over. I said good night and walked up to my bedroom.

I had just finished changing into my PJs when there was a knock on my door. It was Cat.

"May I come in, Erika?" she asked.

"Sure, what's up?" I asked, opening the door.

Cat walked in and sat down next to me on my bed. "You know, the way you reacted to everything that happened was very interesting."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I think you know what I'm talking about. The way you covered yourself up, the emotional response in the office, and how you thanked Mike. They weren't exactly masculine. And they seemed more like instinctive responses, not thought-out reactions," stated Cat.

I just nodded slowly. She was right. I had been replaying my reaction to the attack back in mind, over and over.

"I think it's pretty cool, actually. Whether you like it or not, you are starting to act like a girl," smiled Cat.

I didn't initially respond. She was right. I kept playing through my reactions to the attack. While I wasn't the toughest guy back in San Diego, I never would have just let someone attack me back then. I was also a little bothered by the hug I'd given Mike. I didn't think it was just a reaction.

"May I ask you a personal question? Do you feel different since you've become Erika, and if so, do you want to stay this way?" she asked.

"Something is going on, but I don't fully understand it yet. I really can't answer your question." I answered honestly.

Cat hugged me. "Well, no matter what happens, I will be your friend."

It took me a long time to fall asleep that night. I thought about everything that had happened in the past few weeks and began to replay my reactions back. I found that I was trying to convince myself that my reactions were just part of my drive to win the scholarship. I fell asleep, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

Saturday morning, Mom and I arrived at the clinic and went in for the physical. I was a bit sore from the attack. Mom told me to be sure to say to the doctor.

The nurse led me into the examination room. She took my height and weight. Then she took my blood pressure along with a blood sample. She handed me a dressing gown and told me to get undressed, and the doctor would be in shortly. I did not have to wait more than a few minutes. It was a bit surprising to see a woman walk in.

"Hello Erika, I'm Dr. Franklin," she announced as she read the paperwork on her clipboard. "I see that I need to give it a complete physical. Your principal at Central High called and told me the reason. Now, shall we begin?"

She was very thorough and examined me thoroughly. She noted the bruises that were on both my back and chest and stated that there didn't appear to be any real damage, but if it got worse, to come back in. She also confirmed that I was a guy.

"Erika, I will see you Monday at your school. I think this issue will quickly fade away. But I must admit that you do pass very nicely," she smiled.

She talked to my mother for a few minutes. I guess she was easing her fears that I was really hurt from last night.

On the way home, we stopped at the police station. They had called and asked me to come in to make a statement. A young policeman met us at the front desk and took us to one of their offices. His name was Tom Bell, and I wondered if he was related to Ms. Bell back at Central High.

Officer Bell was pretty cool. He told me that they had enough evidence to convict Mrs. Martin of assault, even without my statement. He told us they even had a videotape of the event.

"I know it may be a bit traumatic, but do you want to see it?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," I answered.

The tape was taken from the stands, and, as he said, it caught Mrs. Martin's attack on me. I was amazed by the ferocity of the tackle of Jason by Mike Jackson.

"Yeah, that was a "decelerate," all right. He sure can hit someone. Reminds me of my days playing linebacker for the Wolfhounds," reminisced the officer.

"You attended Central High?" I asked.

"I graduated there three years ago," he announced proudly. "I was hired by the force six months ago. They're letting me finish my degree at night."

"Were you on the team when they beat up those guys from Red Hill?" I asked.

He smiled. "I cannot confirm or deny that I was. But I am pleased that the story is still being told. I admire what you and the others are doing. And I know how difficult it is. You have enough to deal with in your lives without dealing with jerks. I also have a deep hatred for bullies."

"Are you related to Ms. Bell, the counselor?" I asked.

"She's my aunt," he answered.

"She's pretty cool," I replied.

He beamed a huge smile. "I like her too. I will get back to you if we need anything else. If Mrs. Martin is smart, she will plead guilty and try to plea bargain. Call us if she gives you any trouble at all."

He led us out and thanked us again for coming in. My opinion of this town was much better this morning. I almost felt guilty for the way I had thought about it.