Avery
The cold tile floor was digging into my ass. Shifting uncomfortably, I straightened my back against the wall, trying to work my way out of my habitual slouch. I never ate in the lunch room, which was a good choice, considering the fact that I had no one to sit with, no one to tolerate me... Although sometimes I regretted it, if only for the better seating. The hallway outside the lunch room wasn't much better, since I was directly in the sights of the post-lunch stampede, but I always left a few minutes early anyway.
The cafeteria doors slammed open, and someone fell through, cursing at the top of their lungs. I shrunk back against the wall; No one ever left the safety of the lunch room. The person slammed the door behind them, straightened up, and looked around. It was a girl. She looked a bit older than me (maybe a junior?) and was wearing black jeans with so many holes in them they could almost be fishnets. Scuffed black converse peaked out from under her ragged jeans, and an XL black tshirt with the words 'YES HOMO' written across the front in rainbow letters hung past her waist. There was lasagna smeared down the front of her shirt, ironically turning the pride message into a more offensive one, now reading: 'YES HO'. She made eye contact with me, and then smiled grimly and made her way over, plopping down next to me. I noticed, as the strange girl got closer, that she had drawn all over her hands, crude images of unicorns with what looked like chainsaws for horns. When I didn't say anything, the girl looked down at her shirt and said, "The bastards from the football team again. Tripped me while I was taking my lunch back to my table. Called me a fag while I was down, too. As if I wasn't aware of it already, considering that's the only name they address me as.' The girl grinned and looked back up at me. 'It's alright though, cuz I made a new friend out of it.'
I was taken aback. 'You mean me?'
The girl snorted. 'No, I mean the pasta smeared across my boobs. OF COURSE I mean you. I'm Charlie. Your name's Avery, right?'
Surprised, I sat up and turned to look the strange girl directly in the eyes. 'H- how do you know me? I've barely seen you in the halls, let alone talked to you...'
Smirking, Charlie said, 'I saw you lurking outside the GSA meeting. You looked like you wanted to come in, but you didn't know how to find the door handle. One of the other sophomores in our little gay club knew your name.' She went quiet for a few seconds before continuing, in a jokingly Australian accent, 'Now, usually two different species lurk out GSA meetings. The first one likes to shout homophobic slurs through the window, watching its prey from afar. This animal can be classified as a common bigot. The second type, much quieter and more shy, thinks they belong with the GSA pack but doesn't know how to express their homosexual intentions, and can be classified as... 'Closeted'.' Dropping the tour guide facade, Charlie continued, 'I think you might be one of the latter... You don't seem like a person to participate in homophobe assholery. And, judging by your expression when I said the word closeted, you're practically in narnia.'
I had no idea how to respond. I'd seen this girl maybe once or twice in my entire life, and yet Charlie already seemed to know everything about me... Even my most guarded secret. 'You... Might be right...' I thought for a second before continuing: 'The only reason I'm stuck in narnia, though, is because my parents put a lock on the door.'
Charlie looked up at her, seemingly surprised. 'Huh. I didn't take you for someone raised in a church-every-Sunday type of family.'
Avery glared at her. 'My family isn't religious at all. You don't need to be religious to be hateful.'
Charlie shrugged, then nodded. 'Good point. Sorry, just... A lot of the people who've told me to go to hell I've found to spend their weekends in church.'
I leaned back against the wall before asking, 'So are your parents good with your...' She gestured at Charlie's shirt.
Charlie laughed. 'Oh honey, my parents don't believe me. They think that because I'm pansexual, I don't know what I'm talking about. They refuse to admit that there's a gender category labeled nonbinary, they think I don't know that you can find girls pretty and not want to date them, and they're holding out for the chance I'll find *a nice boy to settle down with*... Or, at least, pick a side. Well, that's what my dad thinks, anyway. Luckily, I don't have to deal with him much- my parents are divorced, and he lives out of state. My mom doesn't care who I marry as long as she gets grandkids- no matter who they're from.' She shrugged as she continued, 'And I swing more towards girls anyway.'
The lunch bell rang, interrupting their discussion. Charlie jumped up, brushed herself off, and offered her hand to me to help me stand up. Taking it, I opened my mouth to say the one sentence that I had struggled to utter for the last six month, thinking maybe it'd be easier to tell a stranger than someone I already knew all too well...
'Charlie... I'm...'
I couldn't do it. Charlie stood there, looking expectant. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 'I'm... Im ace. Asexual. And you're the first person I told.' Laughing, I opened my eyes. 'I told someone I've talked to for fifteen minutes my darkest secret.'
Charlie took my hand as people started to leave the lunchroom. 'Don't worry about it. It can be hard to say.' She started to walk away, then turned back, shouting over the roar of thousands of teenagers leaving the only enjoyable period of the day. 'I won't tell anyone...' Charlie grinned before adding, 'See you tomorrow. Same place.'
