The "+" Club

Home Sweet Home

"Welcome home, Sam."

I was curious to know what they meant by that. Were they a part of some secret society? A secret club or cult perhaps? My only hope was that they weren't in a gang. I finally realized I was staring at them awkwardly, so I thought saying something would ease the tension a bit.

"Um... What did you mean by 'Welcome home' ?"

The oldest kid, Jamal, seemed to be the leader, so he explained what was happening. "You're free to be yourself here; you don't have to hide your true self from us. That's what we meant. Sit down, and I'll tell you more."

"O-okay..." I picked up a chair a took it took a corner of the large room.

"No. Not over there. You need to sit in the circle with everyone else." Until I could figure out who these kids were, I wanted to avoid any conflict, so I did what was asked of me. "Thank you. Before we start, do you want a cookie?"

"Sure. Thanks." I let him start talking before I began to nibble on the cookie.

"My name is Jamal, and I'm the leader of The Plus Club. We meet up everyday, right after school, but sometimes we skip a bit of eight period. The Plus Club is a group that accepts anyone who is accepting of us. Most of us are part of the LGBTQA+ community. We have some rules, but you only need to worry about a few. Rule number one: there is no Plus Club. Rule two: what happens in this room stays in this room, so no pushing people out of the closet. And since you're a new member, we'll go around the room, state our names, our pronouns, our letter, and something about ourselves. If Q or T is your letter, or you're on the + side, you might need to specify. I'll go first, and you already know my name, so.... My pronouns are he/him. I put the G in LGBTQA+,and even though I seem like a tough guy, I will bake my buns off in a contest-- pun intended. Now it's your turn."

Even though I was aware that they knew my secret, I still felt the need to lie. "Um. Okay... My name is Sam. I guess my pronouns are she/her-"

"No lying. Lying gets you suspended. We know your secret; we read your journal, so we already know."

"Fine, my pronouns are he/him and they/them. I put the G and the T in LGBTQA+, and I like 'weird' music and creepypastas."

"Hi, Sam. I'm Dakota. My pronouns are he/she and they/them. I put the T and Q in LGBTQA+. I'm genderfluid, and I like collecting crystal spiders." I could tell she liked spiders from looking at her. She was wearing ripped skinny jeans and a black shirt with white spider webs on it. Her hair was black and red. She had several piercings, two in her bottom lip, and two in each eyebrow.

"I'm Jack. My pronouns are he/him. I put the B in LGBTQA+, and I like to throw glitter and dance around as it falls." He just looked like a more masculine version of Dakota, but he was smiling.

"My name is Sarah, and I put the L and the T in LGBTQA+. My pronouns are she/her, they/them. I like to knit." I could tell she liked to knit or knew someone who liked to knit, because nobody else would wear a sweater that thick, with sleeves so long they made them look adorable.

"Well," Jamal said, "I think everyone else is either sick or busy setting up for the parade."

"What parade? Can I come?"

"We're having a pride parade after school. It starts at four o'clock, so don't be late."

"Wait... I can come to the parade?"

"Of course. The Plus Club was founded because we all wanted to be included, so we're not gonna be hypocrites about it. But since you're still in the closet, it might be a good idea to wear a mask. "

I showed up to the parade a few minutes early to find everyone else, since it was my first pride parade. When I got there, I saw a few protestors. They wanted to stop the parade, but they knew that they would get run over if they stayed in the street. They moved to the sidewalk, but kept protesting uselessly.

The parade went smoothly, and no one was hurt or attacked like I thought they would be. When I got home, my mom asked where I had been. I had completely forgotten to tell her about the parade.

"So..." My mother started. "Where have you been?"

"I went to a parade..." I tried to stay calm, but it seemed like I was lying.

"Really? Why would anyone even want to go to a pride parade? I don't get it. Is it just to show pride or what?"

"It's about a little more than just showing pride." I decided to continue up to my room before she started asking questions that I didn't fully know the answer to.

As I flopped face first onto my bed, I muttered "I'm a boy." I was almost asleep when I turned around to see two brats in the doorway. " What do you two want?"

"Why are you wearing a rainbow cape?" They both asked the question simultaneously, which was a bit disturbing.

"None of your business."

"Are you gay."

"No." Yes

"Are you a lesbo or something?"

"First of all, no. Second of all, don't say that. Now get out of my room." I threw a book at them to make sure they left. That night, I had a disturbing nightmare. Everyone at school found out that I was trans, then they wrapped me up in a transgender pride flag until I suffocated. After that, I found myself in another nightmare. I was using the male restroom at Walmart when a crowd of cis guys came in and pummeled me. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell anyone my secret...