An Asexual's Guide to High School

Chapter 1

     Ash Franklin closed their locker and sighed in disgust. All across the hallway, there were teenagers acting like a herd of moose dry humping in heat. They walked across the field of hormones and Axe body spray to get to their next class, Art. "At least there'll be teachers there." Ash muttered to their best friend, Amanda. Amanda grinned, and adjusted her flowy, blousey top. Amanda has a very specific style that no one else can pull off. Like at the moment, she was wearing a flower grandma blouse and jeans. Ash leaned more on the goth side, with their choppy dyed red and black hair with their shredded black jeans and black shirt.

     Ash knew that sexual attraction was normal for teenager, but it was something that always seemed strange and unnatural, but they couldn't figure out why. They walked into their first class, American History. As Mr. Ray rambled on about Napolean and his many accomplishments, Ash disappeared in their thoughts. " What is so exciting about sex? It just seems disgusting and wrong. That's not normal, is it?". 

     "Mx. Franklin, can you pay attention?". Ash jumped, startled. "Yes, ma'am.", they mumbled, embarresed. As soon as class was over, they bolted out of the room, hoping to avoid the enivitable. "Heyyyy, he-she!" said the most popular person in the school, Ryan Tanner. " Hey, waste of breath", they responded. "Find a gender yet? Or is it hidden under he fat rolls? His entire crew burst out laughing, and Ash sighed. "The same fucking thing every day.", they thought. Since seventh grade, when they started using them/they and identifying as non-binary, he has been tormenting them relentlessly.

     They finally had enough. They wound their first back and hit Ryan square in the nose. He fell back into a desk, and all the onlookers gasped as he was holding his nose. "What the FUCK?!",  he said as his nose was gushing blood. "Motherfucker", he whispered as his eyes welded up with tears. "Oh my God", Ash said as they looked at the destruction around the room. All the desks were shoved to the side, and everyone was looking at them with a mix of fasination and terror. "Ok, everyone, move along! Nothing to see here!", Amanda said. Ash tried to hold in grateful tears for their best friend.

     "Everyone, what happened here?!", said Mr. Ray running into the room and seeing Ryan on the floor with blood all over him. "It was Ash! SHE punched him!", said Sharon, Ryan's girlfriend and their other tormentor. "You, to the principals office. NOW!", Mr. Ray yelled at Ash. They quickly left and walked down the hall. "This wasn't even my fault! He's been tormenting me for years, and I finally stood up for myself. I don't regret anything, even if they suspend me." The secretary kept sending me looks of contempt and disgust, like all the homophobic ass-holes in this hell hole.

     "Ash, the principal will see you now", said the secretary. They went into his office and sat down in the uncomfortable chair that seemed to be made of fingernails and splinters. "Ash, what is the reason for this visit?", said Principal Tarren. An average principal, rotund and bald, barely fitting into his sharply tailored blue suit. "Sir, Ryan was harassing me. He's been doing it for years now, and i thought it was time that i stood up for myself." "I see. Ash, this is unacceptable, to physically harm another student? We do not stand for that in this school." "But you'll accept him degrading me and torturing me based on my gender expression for years now?". Principal Tarren turned bright red and scoffed. "You don't have enough proof for us to punish him. For all we know, he is the victim here!". Ash suddenly got so angry that the only colors they could see were bright red.

     "Fine", they said as they grabbed their bag and bolted out of the room. "A week's suspension!", the Principal bellowed after them. All Ash could think about was that Ryan kept getting off with being the victim, and the one time they tried to stand up for themselves, they got in trouble. "I've had enough", they said to themselves. "I'm not going to deal with his, or anyone else's again". 

     As soon as they got home, they dropped their bag on the counter and yelled, "Mom? Ophelia? Are you home yet?" "Oh, hi sweetheart", said Ash's mom who just came into the kitchen. "Are you hungry?". Their Mom was a traditional, buzzing around the kitchen mother, but with eyeliner skills so sharp that Ash learned all their tricks of trade from her. "Not really.", Ash said as they slumped over the kitchen counter. "I'm too depressed to be hungry" "Okay, what happened at school?", said their mom, Betty. "EVERYTHING!", said Ash, trying their hardest to be dramatic. "Ryan kept calling me names, like usual, and i got sick of it. So I punched him". "Ash", said Betty, rubbing her eyes,"You know that's not excusable, right?" "I know that, Mom. I just got sick of it, and now I'm suspended for a week." "Sweetheart, really? This is not the greatest time." Ash nodded, feeling ashamed. Their father recently packed up, and moved away with his assistant. The family had no idea where he was, and Ophelia started to cause problems at school. 

     "I know, Mom, and I'll do better, I promise." "Good", their mother said. pulling them into a hug. Ash has always been a tad bit shorter than her Mom, and she was thankful for that because that meant that their mother gave the most comforting hugs. "What's going on here?", said Ash's thirteen year old sister, Ophelia. She reached into the fridge and grabbed an apple. "Don't act like you don't know what happened at school today, miss. You were caught in the bathroom smoking, right? Or was that some other girl I don't know about, huh?". Ophelia started to argue, then stopped. "I'm really, really sorry, Mom.". Betty sat down and put her head in her hands. "Guys, stop this, please. This family is going through some hard times right  now, and this is too much.

     The siblings looked over at each other, and made a silent promise. That no matter how hard things got, that they would always have each others back. "Mom, we promise that we'll stop.", Ophelia said while rubbing her Moms back. "Yeah, same", said Ash. They went up the stairs to their room, and sat down. They grabbed their journal, and started making a plan. "If the school won't stop Ryan and all the other people that treat me and others like dirt, I will", they thought. There, on the journal were hastily scrawled letters, "HOW TO DESTROY RYAN TANNER"