Cinderfella

Chapter Three

Three days after moving in, it was time to start school. Monday still sucked in Ethan's opinion, but at least a new school offered a chance of change and a way to get away from home.

He woke up early to shower, brushed out his short cut hair, which he had paid to get the day before, and put on his best flannel and jeans. First impressions were all that mattered, right? He needed to look as manly as possible before word got out that he was different.

Marissa scoffed as Ethan got in the car. "I went out and bought you a brand new dress, why couldn't you wear that?"

Ethan looked out the window. "It didn't fit," he said.

Marissa huffed and dropped off Ariana and Corey. They said goodbye to their mother and brother and walked into the school, ready to make friends. They pulled out of the drop off area and drove five minutes to the high school.

The high school, a sad, short, pale yellow building was empty outside. Ethan got out, grabbing his old backpack and walking in, ignoring the way his mother sped off before he was walking up to the building.

Ethan pushed the door open and stepped inside. First thing he needed to do was contact the office about his name change, and get his schedule. He walked around for three minutes before approaching a group of boys.

"Excuse me," Ethan said, lowering his voice to sound more masculine. "I'm new here, could you point me to the office?"

The boys turned to him. Each had to be a head taller than him, with toned arms and large hands. One of them smiled and offered Ethan his hand.

"Of course! We're always excited to get new students. I'm Liam, by the way," he greeted.

Ethan took his hand. "I'm Ethan," he said.

Liam pointed down a hall Ethan hadn't been to yet. "It's at the end of the hall. Big glass door, you can't miss it. They'll get you your schedule, but I'd hurry. There's only ten minutes left until class starts."

Ethan thanked him and began walking to the office when Liam called after him. "Come to the basket ball game this Friday if you want something to do!"

Ethan turned around and waved. "I'll try," he promised.

Just as Liam had said, the office and its glass doors were impossible to miss. Ethan pushed the door open and was greeted by an overweight man and a punk styled woman.

"What can I do for you?" The overweight man asked.

Ethan stepped up to his desk. "I'm new here, and I wanted to see if I could make a quick change to something before I get my schedule."

The man waved him towards the computer. "Of course! I'm glad to have a new student with us! I'm principal Mills, and you are?"

Ethan swallowed nervously. "That's, actually what I wanted to talk to you about." He waited until principal Mills turned to look at him. "The records say my name is Mackenzie, but over the last year I came out as trans. I was hoping you might be willing to change my name to my preferred one so that I'm not picked on in class."

Principal Mills sighed. "Look, as much as I wish to help you be more comfortable, I can't change your name unless you legally changed it. If you have, I can do that now, but until then, I'm sorry, but you'll be Mackenzie Young in the records."

Ethan's shoulders slumped forward in disappointment. "It's fine," he said quietly. "Can I at least get my schedule?"

The punk woman stepped forward. "Now hang on," she said, setting a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Walter, you know how some of these kids can get when it comes to people who aren't straight. You've had Mikey in here several times with black eyes and damaged property because of their bullying." She turned to Ethan. "What's your name, dear?"

"Ethan."

"Ethan here is the first trans kid who's come through this school. If we don't do something now, things could quickly escalate and we might have another student commit suicide. We can't have that now, can we?"

Principal Mills looked up at Ethan. "I suppose it would be a shame to lose another promising student." He considered his options for a moment before clapping his hands together. "Very well, I'll go in and change the attendance record to say Ethan."

Ethan smiled wide. "Thank you so much sir! And thank you," he squinted to read her name tag. "Ms. Keller."

Ms. Keller smiled and squeezed his shoulders. "I would do anything for my kiddos."

Principal Mills printed out the schedule, which now read Ethan Young at the top. Ethan took the slip of paper and read over his classes as Mills pulled out a copy of the rule book, a map, and a calendar of events.

"I expect you to read over these in your free time," Mills told Ethan. "Now, get to class. The bell rings in one minute, and after that, you only have five minutes to get to class."

Ethan stepped out of the office to find Ms. Keller waiting by the door. She walked with Ethan, looking over his shoulder at his schedule.

"You have me first hour of the day," she told him, leading him to the class. "And I could use your help. One of my students, Mikey Anderson, gets picked on a lot by some of the older students, which makes it impossible for him to make friends with people in his grade. Would you mind sitting with him in class, just to help him build some confidence?"

Ethan nodded. "I'll totally help him. Just point him out to me."

Ms. Keller stopped Ethan and pointed to a lanky kid hunched over rushing towards a classroom. Long black hair hung damp in his face, and a dark gray turtle neck covered his neck and arms. He wore a torn pair of skinny jeans, and the skin that showed was dark tan.

"It would mean so much to him if he could make some friends," Ms. Keller sighed.

Ethan smiled. "He seems like the kind of guy I'd hang out with anyways."

•••••

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