A Lesson for Lester . . . and Me

Chapter 9: lessons

Quite a few years have passed, and here I am sitting with my friend, Leslie, waiting to go into the first of our final high school exams. Yeah, that's right, friend. I can't get rid of the bitch, and I tell her that - she just laughs and says that I'm her best friend, and this is despite the fact, that these days, she is quite a popular girl with most of the other kids.

I still shake my head about what happened back then.

Shortly after he turned fourteen, Lester had fronted his parents with the demand that he be allowed to transition from a boy to a girl. Of course, his old man hit the roof and threatened to send him off to Brickford post-haste.

Lester countered his threat with plenty of his own: 'I'll report you for child abuse', 'I'll contact all our relatives', 'I'll come into your work dressed as a girl', 'I'll tell the Brickford people I'm transgender,' and so on.

And he won out.

Leslie was in the transition program and at school as a declared trans girl before she was fifteen. She had the gender reassignment surgery when she was only sixteen. Shit, I couldn't believe what was happening at the time.

There were occasions when I thought that I had created a monster, and other times when I thought that I had (unintentionally I admit) done someone a lot of good.

All through the process, Leslie had sought my help and guidance with all the girl stuff like make-up, hairstyles, dress sense, etc. Damn, I really didn't want any more involvement, but I felt trapped because I knew that I was responsible for triggering the whole bloody business.

I suppose I should be honest and say that after a while, it was more a case of Leslie and I helping each other through the years of our adolescent development. Another thing was that we both loved shopping. We would go shopping together at least two or three times a week, even if we didn't want to buy anything.

Currently, Leslie and I each have boyfriends, though neither of us is overly keen. We've decided that after we complete our exams and all the graduation hullabaloo is over, we will try our luck at the local nightclubs and discos. I mean, all bullshit aside, we are a couple of pretty decent-looking chicks, so I reckon we'll do okay.

You know, perhaps Leslie is my best friend, I can't think of anybody else.

There are many lessons to be learnt in life, and I reckon that you would have to say that Leslie and I have both learned some big ones already.