The Strange One

8 - School Newspaper

(Jackson's POV)

So this was her plan. I'm in the hallway, behind a crowd who's staring at the school newspaper, framed on the wall. The crowd is so densely packed that I can't see the paper from this far away. All I can make out is a picture of myself from yesterday, when I was wearing the boy's uniform. I don't care if this outs me to the entire school as long as it doesn't bring about bullies or any other negative attention. The bone I have to pick is the fact that the newspaper club was taking pictures of me without my permission.

This could also have been some way for Teruhashi to sabotage my relationship with Saiki. I don't actually like Saiki, I'm more interested in Hairo than him. But, most of all, I do everything for the goddess who watches over me. So, I try to push through the crowd to read the article. 

"There she is!" Someone in the middle of the crowd says. "The crossdresser!"

I stop in my tracks. So that's what this article is about. That's what the club is telling them. I start to back away, only to be blocked off by some other people. This isn't what they were supposed to get out of that. Now, people are making fun of me. It does hurt a lot. I cover my ears and screw my eyes shut. I shouldn't have done that yesterday. I should've just worn the girl's uniform as I usually do. I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry. I just need to use the bathroom.

Before tears could even start brimming in my eyes, a beacon of hope shines brightly. From the back of the crowd, Hairo shouts: "Hey, don't make fun of her!"

I lift my head and whisper, "Hairo..."

"Even if she is a crossdresser, she's just expressing herself the way she wants to," he continues. I don't like that he's constantly calling me 'she' with this speech about how I'm just expressing myself, but it's the best I can get. "She felt comfortable and trusted all of you enough to dress the way she wants to in front of you and this is how you treat her? Y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. Now, let her out, we have to get to class." He takes my hand and helps me up. Looking into his eyes, I feel a sudden burst of confidence. "Are you alright, Jacqueline?"

"Jackson..." I mutter, only loud enough for him to hear. "My name's Jackson."

"Ah," he says. "Still, are you alright? It must be pretty hard to have so many people bullying you at once."

"I'm used to it," I say, taking my hand back and shoving it into my pocket. "I'll see you in class, Hairo."

"Wha-"

I start walking towards the stairs and head up to the roof. I don't intend on skipping class, but I just need some fresh air. I take a deep breath and rub my eyes. They start to itch, so I end up rubbing them for quite a while. I feel a presence appear behind me all of a sudden. I turn around to see that Saiki has teleported up here. I don't know where he came from, but it has to have been somewhere secluded of he was fine teleporting here.

Getting a good look at his face, I realize that he looks pretty upset. I haven't known him long and his face is usually deadpan, but his vibe seems way more lonely than usual. It's almost as if he has a large amount of coffee jelly, but no one to share it with. He just seems sad.

"Are you okay, Saiki?" I ask him.

"What do you mean am I okay?" He responds. "You're the one cutting it close. Come on, we have to get to class."

"Saiki," I say, placing my hand on his shoulder, "what do you want right now?"

"To get to class."

"You know what, let's talk about this later," I say. "I'm just gonna cut class and hang out up here today. I'll see you at lunch."

"See you then," Saiki says, then leaves.