"Where are we going?" Andy asked curiously.
"To Krause Children's Center. Its another RTC. I think you'll like it." His caseworker never really talked to him. She spoke with a monotonous tone that almost scared Andy.
"Oh, and its a lockdown facility. But you'll barely notice it." She said. He wasn't surprised. He had asked to be put in a lockdown facility. He didn't trust himself sometimes. As they arrived at his new destination he found himself unable to walk. No, not because of the four hour ride. But because of the building in front of him.
It was nothing special. But compared to the small hospital building he had spent the last two weeks in, this was almost like a mansion.
He walked inside and sat in the waiting room. A group of girls his age walked past and stared. He would have to be grouped in with the girls. He already knew that. In CPS they act as if looking at a member of the opposite sex can get you pregnant.
A tall woman came up to Andy and introduced herself as Ms. Tanya. She gave him a big water bottle and pointed him and his caseworker to the room the girls walked in. It was a cafeteria. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. Some gave looks of disapproval. Others waved and turned their attention to their food.
Andy still looked like a girl. CPS would never let him dress like a guy. Or cut his hair. He filled his water bottle with water and returned to the waiting room.
Ms. Tanya asked for his name. He pondered saying Andrew. But decided it wasn't worth the trouble. "Samantha.", he said quietly. She gave him a pink blanket with horses on it. And a pair of khaki pants.
"This way", said Ms. Tanya. He followed her into a room. It was empty. It had a bunch of chairs. She lead him down a hallway. "This is Ms. Christy" he waved at a woman in a plastic chair. She was talking to two girls. Andy sat on the ground with his new blanket.
He turned to the girl closest to him. "Hey. I'm sam" he said.
"My names Anissa!" She replied enthusiastically. "And this is Mya." She was so excited she introduced Mya herself. Andy couldn't help but laugh. They sat and talked for about ten minutes before he heard a door open and a stampede of girls come in.
"Horses!!"
Andy almost jumped out of his skin. A girl was looking at his blanket.
"That's Hannah." Whispered Anissa. "She likes horses."
Hannah asked for his name. As always he introduced himself as Samantha. Another woman called for all of the girls to come to the "day room" for a meeting. Her name, he later learned, was Ms. Ashley. She was getting on to the girls about disrespect.
Just as she was finishing her speach, a few girls walked through the door. One girl, a redhead, slowed as she saw andy. "Hi. I'm Hope" she said with a huge smile as she waved. Andy just smiled. This Hope girl was kind of weird.
Soon, it was time for dinner. They told me I couldn't go and that they would bring me a tray. Hope stayed behind. She was really pretty.
By the end of the day andy and hope had become friends. Even so, he didn't tell her he was trans.
