None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

deep breath.
    â€œI need to tell you something,” I said. “You know how I’ve never gotten my period?”
    â€œYeah.” Faith had always been the one telling me how lucky I was that I didn’t have to deal with tampons. “It’s because of all the training you do, right?”
    â€œRemember when I went to Vee’s OB? It . . . it turns out I don’t have a uterus.”
    â€œOh, honey.” She put her brush down and reached for my hand. “Does that mean you can’t have kids? How did this happen?”
    I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes, and I was just about to spill the part about my chromosomes and testicles and my stupid syndrome, when her sister poked her head in. “We’re leaving in five, Faith. Mom needs to pick up some fruit for the meet and greet. Can you do my hair now?” She waved a bag of hair ties and bobby pins, oblivious to the horror on her sister’s face. And the shame on mine.
    â€œI’d better go,” I said, blinking as Angie sprawled on Faith’s bed.
    â€œKrissy . . .” Faith reached out after me. “Give me a call if you need me, will you?”
    I shook my head. “No cell phone.”
    â€œThen . . . email?”
    â€œInternet’s cut off, too. But maybe my dad will let me use it just once. If I need it.”
    Back at home, I asked Aunt Carla if Vee had stopped by, but of course she hadn’t. She wasn’t an early bird. Her dad had probably flaked out and forgotten to tell her I’d dropped in yesterday. If Vee hadn’t even rehashed the night with Faith, it almost certainly meant that she wasn’t going to talk about it with anyone.
    Vee didn’t tend to let things percolate—not like me. She either made a big deal out of something, or dismissed it to clear her bandwidth. I imagined Vee thinking of the randomness of my Y chromosome, asking herself, “WTF?” and forgetting about it.
    That night, as I got ready for bed, I realized that, all in all, it had been pretty peaceful spending the weekend without my cell and internet. I did wonder whether Sam had called, or if Maggie had emailed again, but I’d know soon enough.
    Just one more night, and I’d be back in the game.

CHAPTER 13
    My dad didn’t give me my cell phone back on Monday until I literally walked out the door. As I reached for it, he gave it a warning shake. “Don’t let it happen again,” he said, the crack in his voice almost too small to be noticeable. I paused to give him a hug, even though I could see Faith’s car waiting at the curb.
    I thumbed on my phone as I cut across our lawn, and saw my seven missed calls and ten text messages at the same time I registered there was only one person waiting in the car.
    â€œWhere’s Vee?” I said, opening the shotgun door for the first time in months.
    â€œShe’s hitching a ride with Bruce today,” Faith said. “She needed to get there early to put up some posters.” She wasn’t smiling. Faith always smiled, even at 6:50 on a Monday morning. She put the car into gear and started driving, sneaking apeek over at me after a few seconds. “So, uh, I guess you never got in touch with her?”
    â€œNo . . . but it looks like she called me,” I said. Twice, it seemed. “Why, did you two talk?”
    â€œYeah,” Faith said. I felt a little jolt in my chest, a shot of adrenaline like the feeling I got when the starter would tell runners to get on their marks. Just like at the beginning of a race, though, Faith made me wait for the gun to go off. As I held my breath, she kept her eyes on the road, pacing herself a perfect two car lengths behind the Chevy in front of us.
    â€œSo,” I said finally, “what’d you two talk about?”
    â€œWell . . . after church I called her because I was so sad about your news. And she filled me in on some of the details you left out.”
    I