Archie was an only child. Both of his parents were only children. His grandparents wanted a granddaughter. His grandparents had amassed a decent-sized fortune over the years. And Archie knew that there was little chance of him ever getting any of it. When his grandparents said they wanted to give him part of their fortune, he couldn’t believe it. Then he found out what they wanted him to do for it. He couldn’t believe it. They wanted him to go through all of high school as a girl. He had two months to think about it before he had to resister for his freshman year. Archie already knew that his family would be moving during the summer, so no one at the new school would know him anyway. Archie knew that if he decided to attend school as a girl, he would have to live as a girl for the entire four years. If he let his guard down for one second, someone would find out that he was a guy. His grandparents said that if anyone found out that he was a guy during the four years of high school, he wouldn’t get any money, not even a penny.
Archie was torn by the choice that lay in front of him. Option one, attend high school as a guy, maybe even make the baseball team. Option two, attend high school as a girl for four years and receive one million dollars. Archie was glad he had two months to think about it. On the one hand, he wasn’t sure if he could make it through four years living as a girl. On the other hand, he always did want to take ballet. This was going to be a hard decision to make.
As summer was winding down, Archie saw something in a store that made his choice so much easier. He saw a bedroom set that he adored. He had always wanted to have a set of sheets and a comforter that had the Disney princesses on it, but he never could because his friends wouldn’t understand. If he could live as a girl he could have a set of sheets that had the Disney princesses on it. When he got home, he gave his answer to his parents. He would live as a girl for all of high school.
Archie’s parents decided to have a yard sale the week before they moved. The plan was to sell as many of Archie’s clothes as possible. The more they sold in the yard sale the less they had to take with them. Archie’s mother brought him a pair of pink overalls that he would wear the day they moved. As for the rest of the clothes Archie would need, they would buy those in the town they were moving to.
Everything was set. All the necessary arrangements had been made. The day of the move finally came. Archie helped his parents load the moving van. Archie and his parents got into their van and started off down the road. Just as they were leaving the town that they had called home for ten years, Archie said, “I have been thinking. How am I going to hide the fact that I am a boy? What happens when I change for the gym the first time? How will I go to the bathroom and not get caught?”
Archie’s mother said, “Honey, you just have to be extra careful. Just remember to always sit down when you go to the bathroom, even if you just have to pee. Girls can’t pee standing up.”
Archie said, “That’s all the advice you are going to give me? Girls pee sitting down. I already knew that. You’re a lot of help.”
Archie’s mother smiled. She said, “Honey, we still have a month before you have to start school. We can work on the way you talk and act during that time.”
Archie said, “What’s wrong with how I talk or act?” His mother replied, “You act like a boy. You need to act like a girl if people are going to believe you are a girl. You sound like a boy as well. Which is why we need to work on how you talk. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that matters.”
