PRIDE SERIES: The Closet Is My Home

1

Thump

"Ow," I groaned to myself.

I fell off the bed, again. All because of my reoccurring nightmare. If my parents knew I was gay, they'd hate me. In my dream, my dad, mom, and I were sitting at the dinner table. My mom asked about my crush. I began, and said, "Well, he's quite strange." I stopped and realized what I said. My mom threw her plate at me, and yelled. She continued throwing random things, and when she threw the chair at me, I fell off my bed. I always fall when that part of my dream happens.

I shook my head and stood up. I ran to my closet. I practically live here. The closet is my home, and always will be. I'll never be able to come out, and even if I did, I would get kicked out of my house. I grabbed my flannel and some jeans and put them on. I walked into the living room. I checked my phone. I'm an admin of an LGBT account in Instagram. There are five other admins, and only two of them have posted a picture of their face. The two that have are a lesbian named Skye and a bisexual named Charlie. They both go to my school. I've never talked to either of them before, except once. They were looking for admins, so I joined. Two of the other three admins go by a code name, so that they don't get outed. They are Tiger and Moon. Moon is a male-to-female transgender. Tiger is gay. Then, there's Kenneth. He's female-to-male transgender. I'm honestly curious what Moon's and Kenneth's dead names are... But it's rude to ask. Well, I'm curious about what Moon's chosen name is too.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. As I looked in the mirror, I saw my messy, short, wavy hair. My eyes were a shade of light blue. Freckles spanned across my face. I grabbed my backpack after I was done.

"Why are you wearing that? Why not a t-shirt and shorts?" My brother asked.

"I don't know. I just don't have any and I don't like wearing them anyways," I answered. I pulled my sleeve down a little, and I rushed outside.

I started walking to the closet park. I had a text.

Mom: Don't forget to do laundry

Me: Okay

While I was staring at my phone, I bumped into a boy. My phone flew out of my hand, and in a desperate attempt to catch it, I lost my balance and fell.

"Crap, I'm so sorry," a young boy apologized. He stood up, swept dirt off of himself, then held out a hand to help me up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. That was my fault."

"No, I was day dreaming," he said.

"Oh, I was texting," I explained.

The young boy must've been ten or eleven, and must've not hit puberty yet. He had a high voice, and a round face. He had blonde hair and shining gray-green eyes.

"So, what's your name?" I ask.

"Um," he paused for a minute. "Kenley."

"Wait, isn't that a girl name? I asked.

"Um, yeah. I am a girl. Can't you tell?" She said doubtfully.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized. I stopped and looked at her. She didn't seemed bothered by it at all. Actually, she seemed happy.

"It's okay."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," she laughed. "Go ahead."

"Are you a lesbian?"

"No," she replied.

"Are you trans?" I asked. Kenley paused.

"Are you gay?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. Don't tell anyone though," I said. Why did I tell a stranger my sexuality? I've only told one other person that I personally know...