Lies, Deceptions, And Misunderstandings

29. Drop Out of School?

"Miss Carissa? Are we going to see Craig today," Taylor asked, walking into the kitchen the morning following Craig's accident.

Carissa personally didn't care nearly as much as she should have about what was happening to Craig and definitely didn't want to spend her time staring at him in a coma, but she knew she had to ensure she built Taylor's trust and confidence, so she replied, "Yes, of course, sweetheart. But first, have a seat. I wanna talk to you before Kaylee gets up."

Taylor took a seat at the table as Carissa began. "With your situation, it must be terrifying to think about going back to school as a girl. The boy's are probably going to beat you up and treat you terrible, the girls are going to laugh and shun you. Everyone is going to turn against you and make your life miserable. So, I've been thinking about it. How would you feel if you didn't have to go back to your school where everyone knew you previously as a boy, but could instead start anew with kids that never knew you as anything other than the girl you are now?"

Taylor thought for a moment. "You mean drop out of school?"

"No silly. You'll still be in school."

"Wait, it's still school taking classes the way Kaylee does? But not regular school."

"Yes, exactly. It's homeschool, except I don't teach her myself. It's mostly self-paced, online self-learing, but Kaylee goes down the street, three times a week, where she and two other kids, a brother and sister are guided and taught by their mom, who used to be a teacher at a private school. There's another neighborhood girl that goes there, too. I think it'll be much easier on you. What do you say?"

Taylor didn't even have to think about it. He already knew, if he had to keep this up it would be much easier to pretend to be a girl in a small group of strangers than having to attend a school where he already knew he would be picked on by kids that knew him previously.

He quickly came to the conclusion this was the best solution. In his mind, it was perfect. That way when this is all over, he can go back to his school and no one will know anything.

He believed it really was the perfect solution.

"Can I, really?"

"Of course you can. I'll sort it all out today, then we can go see Craig."

"Thank you, thank you, Miss Carissa," Taylor told her before giving her a big hug.

After breakfast, Carissa made several phone calls, filled out paperwork online, and wrote an email to the administrator of the homeschool organization about Taylor's delicate situation, as she believed she knew it.

When she was finally done, she let Taylor know he would not be starting school until he could begin homeschooling with Kaylee.

"That's great, Taylor," Kaylee squealed in delight as she walked into the room and overheard the plan.

Kaylee wrapped Taylor up in a quick, tight hug. "It's going to be awesome. You'll see."

"Can we go see Craig now," Taylor asked.

A frown formed on Carissa's face and she paused.  A moment later a smile returned and she replied, "Yes, Taylor, and afterwards we can head to the mall and shop for you some new outfits to wear on the days you attend group classes. I think some skirts with leggings and a few pretty dresses would be appropriate. Don't you agree, Taylor?"

"No fair. I wanna go shopping, too, mom." Kaylee pouted.

"You do?" Carissa was still surprised at the positive feminine influence Taylor was having on her normally tomboyish child. "You, you're up for shopping?  I'm so happy to hear that, I'm almost tempted to keep you home, but no I can't. You can't go with us today. You've got class and you're going to be late if you don't hurry up. Go brush your teeth, and hair, and get your shoes on. We'll drop you off on our way to the hospital."

"Oh wow," Taylor exclaimed
"That's so cool. It's almost ten o'clock and you're just now going to class? I'm gonna like not having to start classes at eight any more. I'm used to having to be at the bus stop by six forty-five every morning."

Once Kaylee was ready, they dropped her off, up the street at the Francis home, and then drove to the hospital.

Carissa took Taylor to see Craig, but they didn't stay long. As soon as they entered the room, Taylor began to cry seeing his brother still hooked to all the machines and unresponsive.

He asked Carissa how much longer it would be before his brother was better and could come home.

Carissa told him the doctor's didn't know and quickly rushed Taylor back to the car.

On the drive over to the mall Carissa attempted to cheer Taylor up and take his mind off of his brother by asking him what kind of clothes he wanted to look for.

It worked to distract him a little, but he really didn't know what to tell her as he didn't sit around thinking about wanting girls clothes.

"I bet you've dreamed about your life as a girl, a lot. When you think about it, what type of style do you see yourself wearing? From what I've seen so far, I bet you imagine everything being as girly as possible; short skirts, pretty dresses, heels, hose, sparkly nails, expensive jewelry, long beautiful hair . . . Am I right?"

Taylor shrugged and hesitated before trying to answer.

Carissa, however, didn't wait for him to answer and continued, "Today, I'm going to show you all the different styles of clothes you can choose from as a girl and how shopping is so much more fun as a girl. If you're a good girl and cooperate, then I might show you that all the types of girly jeans and other pants you can also be just as girly in and not look like a boy. What do you say? Sound like fun?"

"Yeah, I guess," he told her with a shrug, but then realized he was gonna have to at least pretend to be a little enthused, so he added, "I mean, yeah, can't wait."

Just as they pulled into a parking spot at the mall, Carissa's phone rang.

When the call was over, she informed Taylor that everything had been taken care of and the homeschool enrollment was complete. The organization had received Taylor's previous school records and enrolled him as a girl.

"This calls for a celebration." Carissa announced as they headed into the mall. "In addition to your new school clothes, I think we should look for a special dress and maybe a pair of little heels you can wear to dinner tonight."