None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio Page A

couldn’t look at her, and stared straight ahead. The Chevy in front of us had a large, rusting dent in its rear fender.
    â€œKrissy,” Faith said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    â€œYour sister was there. I couldn’t say it in front of her.”
    â€œThat you’re . . . partly a man?”
    I flinched like I’d been slapped. “Is that what Vee told you?”
    â€œNo. Yes. I mean, that was kind of the take-home message.”
    â€œOh my God.” Stumbling, I tried to explain to her about how it was all just a chemical misunderstanding. “Dr. Cheng said that I was basically still a girl.”
    â€œOkay. I’m sure . . . I mean, I hope people believe you.”
    My heart stopped.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI mean, now that people know . . . you know how rumors spread, Krissy. We’ll have to do some damage control.”
    This time my heart didn’t stop. It exploded . “People? Plural? What people know?”
    As if in answer, my phone pinged. I looked down and saw an unfamiliar number, and out of habit I clicked it open. There was no message, just a picture. An old-style movie poster with my face Photoshopped onto the body of a pudgy figure with eighties clothes, and the words:

    It’s Kris—the Hermaphrodite!

    It was as if someone had grabbed me by my throat and twisted.
    No. No no no no.
    My lungs didn’t seem to work. I felt like I was underwater, could barely hear Faith ask me over and over again if I was all right. If I had been able to breathe, her question would’ve made me laugh, because I was pretty sure that things would never, ever, be all right again.
    When I showed Faith the tiny photo on my phone, she shook her head. “Why are people so small?”
    That wasn’t the right question. “Who told everyone?” Mywords came out in a gasp. I didn’t have enough air to scream. “Does Sam know?” I whispered.
    She looked away, biting the inside of her lip. Even she couldn’t sugarcoat this. I crushed my book bag into my chest as if I could squeeze out all the pain.
    Faith reached over to hug me, her face a mess of emotions. “Krissy, you will get through this. Sam’s crazy about you. You just have to explain the situation, like you did to me.”
    The last few minutes of the ride to school were a blur. After Faith got out of the car, I sat there for a few beats, reminding my lungs how they were supposed to work. Trying to tamp down the feeling that catastrophe was just around the corner.
    â€œI don’t know if I can do this,” I told her.
    Faith looked anxious but determined. “Come on. We’ll do it together.” She came around to open my door. I kept my gaze on the ground as I walked up to the front entrance, but out of the corner of my eye I could see flickers of movement as heads turned.
    The kids on the stairs moved aside to let us through. Just inside, a guy bumped into me with his shoulder, almost knocking my bag off.
    â€œWatch it, Kristopher!” he said, and laughed like he’d just said the funniest thing in the world.
    When Faith stopped at her locker, she turned hesitantly toward me.
    â€œKrissy,” she said as I walked past my own locker. “Krissy, just wait for me. We can go to homeroom together.” But I kept walking, past the library and to the other side of school. Toward Sam’s locker. I had to get to him, tell him my side of the story.
    He’d just opened his locker when I reached him. When I called his name and touched his arm he jerked away so hard he dropped his books. It was worse than a slap.
    â€œGet away from me,” he said, without even looking up.
    â€œSam,” I whispered, even though it hurt so hard to say his name that I wanted to scream. “Can we please talk?”
    â€œI’ve got nothing to say to you, you homo,” he said loudly, his eyes darting back and forth to people behind me. Bruce