Blueberry Inflation Literature Collection: Volume III

Izzy's Blue Valentine

"-and with all of that, we should be making profit for the rest of the fiscal year."

"Thank you, Izzy. And with that, we're just about done for the day. Thank you for the presentation, and I'll see all of you in the office tomorrow."

With that, Izzy signed off of Zoom, closing her laptop and letting out a big sigh as she rubbed her face. Aside from the presentation, which had gone well, today had been an uneventful work day. There had been the usual files to organize, memos to write and read; ultimately, there was nothing to differentiate today from any other day. Now that the work day was done, though, Izzy could feel a sense of dread coming back.

Today was Valentine's Day, a day that Izzy had never particularly liked, and she was grateful for being able to Zoom into to work today, as she was in no mood to leave the house.

"Izzy, snap out of it. Stick to the plan," she muttered to herself. Recognizing that this was going to be a tough day, she had her whole evening planned out. She was making herself a modest dinner, then it was stay in movie night with as much snack food as she could eat. But, first things first, she went to her bedroom to get out of her work outfit.

Izzy replaced her button up shirt with a white t-shirt and a gray hoodie, which she paired with a gray pair of sweatpants that she was already wearing. She turned to a mirror she had in her room, partially unzipping the hoodie to reveal the shirt. As she did, that feeling of dread came on again.

Izzy had never had much success in the realm of dating, and no day reminded her more of that than today. She never considered herself unattractive (although her unkempt black hair and casual wardrobe weren't doing her any favors), but results indicated otherwise, as she failed to get many matches on her dating apps. While she had a large circle of friends (who were no doubt enjoying themselves tonight, she thought), things never got intimate with any of them, and her self confidence kept her from asking any friendly advice about her romantic life. By this point, she figured that that type of relationship just wasn't in the cards for somebody like her.

"Besides," she thought to herself, "dating is hard when you're transgender."

This was true. Even though she had been on hormone therapy for years, and she had gone through all of the necessary surgeries, this fact had been weighing down hard on Izzy, especially leading up to today. She wanted to be fully honest with any potential romantic partner, and she knew first hand how intolerant people could be once the truth came out. This kept her from pursuing anything regarding romance, and no matter how much she wanted to get back into the dating world, this mental barrier always worked against her. It was hard for her to either commit to it or just give up, and the mental pain of that dilemma was particularly painful today.

Izzy left her room, still in a rotten mood, heading to her kitchen to start making dinner, when she suddenly heard a knock on her door.

"That's weird," she thought. "Who would be heading here, of all days?"

As Izzy looked through her window, she saw the answer. Her best friend Ash was standing outside, holding a couple of bags in their hands. Relaxed, but still confused, Izzy walked over and opened the door.

"Surprise!" Ash yelled as the door opened.

"What are you doing here, Ash?" Izzy asked. "Don't you and Tony have something planned for tonight?"

"Yeah, so about that, mind if I come in? I'll explain everything."

"Oh, sure," Izzy said, moving out of the doorway.

Ash headed inside, taking off their coat as they did so. Ever since they had met, Ash had prided themselves in mixing styles together, and Izzy could see that today was no exception. Their hair had been trimmed into a pixie cut, keeping mostly black with some purple streaks. Their clothing was very similar, with the top being black with a purple stripe along the waist, almost like a belt. Ash was wearing a pair of jeans and red sneakers to complete the ensemble, with some bright red lipstick and rainbow nail polish to add some more color.