The Walking

Chapter ten

I was walking down fifth street with Jenny as we talked about where we were going. I told her it was surprise, but I had an idea she knew where we were going. We came up to a tan, two story house with a flower garden on each side of the porch. I took in a deep breath and exhaled everything I'd been holding in. I smoothly made my way up to the porch and knocked on the door. The tears were already spilling from my eyes as a lady answered. Her eyes brightened up once she made eye contact. She leaned in to see me better.

"Toby?" she whispered. I nodded as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"This is Jenny, my friend from Pennsylvania. She's originally from Alabama." I said and she waved. The lady waved back.

"Oh, who am I? Come in, come in." she said still whispering.

"He'll be so happy you came here." she said yelling for a boy. 

"I'm coming!" he yelled. I twisted my hat backwards so he had a good look at my face. He came down and made eye contact with me. Tears spilled from his eyes as did mine.

"T-Toby?" he asked. I nodded.

"Hi, Chris." I said. He ran into my arms and we fell to the floor crying. I felt my body shaking and that's when I opened my eyes. Jenny was hovering over me shaking my arm.

"J-Jenny?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, it's me. I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes, you were crying." she said. I raised my hand to my cheek and it was wet from my tears. I let out a groan and wiped my face.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Eight in the morning. We're leaving for church in an hour." she said shutting the bedroom door leaving me and my thoughts. I stood up from my bed and took a shower. I slipped into a plain, with t-shirt, blue jeans hooked onto a pare of suspenders, and boots. I slipped my arms into a black blazer and toped off the outfit with a black suited hat. I went downstairs and sat at the kitchen table.

"Wow, you clean up real nice." her mom said. We ate Sunday morning breakfast that consisted of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and whatever you wanted to drink. We helped with the dishes and stored them away in the cupboards. I looked at my phone to see eight-fifty, so Jenny and I started for the door. Jenny's mom drove with her dad in the passenger seat. Jenny was behind her mom, I was in the middle, and Jenny's grandma was behind the passenger. We pulled into the church parking lot and walked up to it. To the right of the steps was a small flower garden with purple flowers growing from it. We walked in and took our seats in the middle row towards the left of the building. The walls were white and just like every normal church, it had a large, painted window of Jesus. A cross hung near the stage and a man walked up to the podium. 

"Good morning, everyone." he said. "Welcome to Sunday church." he added. I looked over at Jenny and could see her smiling. Everyone knows I don't go to church, I'd like to keep my sins thank you. But, I was with Jenny so I wasn't going to do anything. I felt really awkward sitting there, but I was patient enough to listen to the man speak. He spoke rather quickly to the point where I couldn't understand what he was saying, in all honesty it sounded like Shakespeare. The time went fast for me and soon enough it was noon, the time of when church would normally get out. We headed back to the house to have lunch. We warmed up what was left over from the cookout. Mine was steak, chips, pasta salad, and macaroni salad. Jenny's grandma offered me a beer and I took it. We finished eating and the adults did the dishes while Jenny and I debated on what to do. There was a knock on the door and we both got up to answer it.

"Hey, guys." Kenzie and Mike said. Jenny and I said our greetings. I seen three other boys walk up the sidewalk. It was Adam, Chucky, and Jackson. 

"We wanted to know if you guys would want to go to the beach with us." Mike said. Jenny yelled to her parents and they said we could go. Jenny nodded her head and welcomed them in. We ran up to change into our swimming clothes and started the journey to the beach. Jenny and Kenzie lead the way, Mike and I occupied the middle, and Adam, Chucky, and Jackson backed us up. The girls talked about school and whatever they could think of, Mike and I talked about video games and cars, while the guys talked about cars and girls they would want to date. It was a mix of voices from all three groups. Soon the three guys tagged along into mine and Mikes conversation talking about what kind of car they would want to drive. Chucky couldn't keep his eyes off of me and I knew he had a question on his mind. 

"Chucky, if you have something to say, say it." I said. He hung his head down. 

"I'm just curious." he said.

"About?" I asked wanting him to go on. 

"You're a girl right?" he asked. I nodded. Jenny must've heard him because she than spoke up.

"Chucky, I wouldn't go there." she warned.

"No, it's OK. I want to know what he has to say." I said.

"It's just, since you're a girl how do you manage to be a guy?" he asked. 

"OK, story time." I said and the story is this. When my mom found out she was pregnant, she told my dad who was happy about it. They were trying to pick names for me and the first boy name they came up with was Toby. They couldn't think of a girl name so they just left it alone. The ultrasounds came and they all said I was a boy, but when the day came where I was born, I came out as a girl. They didn't have a girl name, so they named me the first name they had written down. They named me Toby Leviathan McQueen. I spent most of my childhood on my aunts farm, so I had to dress like a boy. I never wore girl clothes. Most of my friends are guys so I have an influence on what it's like. To have a body like one, I workout everyday, keep a steady diet, and bind my chest. 

"Oh, that sounds..." Chucky started to say but trailed off. 

"Confusing? A lot? Yeah, I know." I said looking down. 

"It's amazing how well you've been able to keep up with it." he said. I nodded. We arrived at the beach and it was kind of empty, like no one wanted to be there today. We found the perfect spot for us and threw our towels down. We ran into the water and goofed around. Chucky got caught in a tidal wave a couple of times as the rest of us kept our distance from them. We flung and splashed water at each other like little kids at a water park. We didn't want it to end, but sadly it did. Adam was looking at the sky with a worried expression. I walked over to him and smiled.

"What's wrong?" I asked. 

"I don't like the sky." he said pointing. I looked up and he was right, the sky didn't look to good. 

"Do you think we should go?" I asked. He nodded and we gathered everyone up. We dried off and started walking home. Lighting flashed in the distance and Kenzie yelped. I've learned that she's scared of thunderstorms ever since one took out her house when she was five. They've rebuilt it since, but she claims it doesn't feel like the same house she grew up in. A roar of thunder came over us and she hid behind Mike.

"You'll be fine, Kenzie. Man up." he said. She did, she stood up straight, mustered up a brave face, and walked with confidence. We stopped at Mike's house first.

"Thanks for the fun day, guys." he said walking up his driveway. We yelled goodbye and dropped of Kenzie.

"Bye, guys." she said and ran into her house. We shook our heads and laughed. Jenny and I were next to leave.

"Bye, guys. It was fun, see ya." Jenny said walking up the drive way. I waved and followed her. Something came to mind and I turned around.

"Hey, Chucky!!!" I yelled.

"Yeah!!!" he yelled back.

"Have you got a rubber?" I asked.

"Have I got a rubber?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Toby, look at me. I'm all rubber." he said.

"Oh, yeah. Wait, I thought you were plastic." I said.

"Toby..." he said but stopped right there. I covered my face with my towel and walked into the house. It started raining as soon as I shut the door and it made me laugh when I seen the three boys run up the road to their houses. Jenny and I showered and decided to take a nap.