Trapped (egobang trans)

Chapter 2 - New Boy

< Danny's POV >

"Danielle! Danielle are you up yet?"

Danny frowned, rolling over and burying his face into his pillow. That wasn't his name.

Despite how appealing laying alone in bed all day was, he knew that he needed to get up. Throwing the covers to one side he climbed out, wearing a vest and some shorts. Looking in his full body mirror Danny grimaced. He hated having to look at this every morning. He looked horrible. Especially his chest. That was the worst part. Reaching up he touched them, applying pressure to see if somehow he could push them back into his body. They weren't that big anyway, but to him they looked huge. He didn't want them.

He groaned as it started to hurt and let his arms fall to his sides. He didn't want wide hips. He didn't want them to sway as he walked, but what could he do? He was trapped in this body, and not even his parents really understood.

Taking off the vest he threw it to one side, replacing it begrudgingly with a bra. His parents wouldn't let him have a binder, even if he asked them. He slipped on a large shirt, adjusting it for about 5 minutes before he was mildly okay with how it looked. Then came jeans, ripped of course. His parents had at least let him buy these from the men's section; he said that they were just better fitting. That wasn't a lie. They fit who he was better than any women's jeans could, but his parents would never understand that. He was glad they let him have this though.

"Danielle, hurry up! You don't want to be late on your first day?"

Oh, right, that was happening. New school. New people. New chances to be expelled.

Danny had moved schools more times than he cared to count. He wasn't exactly a troublemaker, but he had a short fuse when it came to his gender. He liked his hair long, though that only really made people misgender him more. He'd try to correct them, but it never stuck. Next thing he knew he'd be snapping at people, pushing them in the hallways and then he'd be in the head's office. Then he'd be picked up and driven home, confined to his room until the cycle repeated and he walked through the doors of a new school. He usually only lasted a term or two, sometimes less if it got too bad.

He sighed, making his way downstairs and picking up a biscuit to munch on the way. He didn't usually eat breakfast; it was just a waste of time.

Avi, his dad, waited by the door with his arms crossed. Debbie was out, so he had to drive Danny. He would be happy to walk, but his parents didn't trust him to actually go to school and not just skip.

"There you are. Ready to get going?" Avi said, though it wasn't much of a question.

Danny shrugged, taking a bite of his biscuit and walking past Avi as his answer. Avi followed with an exasperated sigh and the two of them got in the car.

"Did you sleep well, Danielle?" he asked, trying in vain to start a conversation with his detached daughter.

"I told you, it's Danny," Danny growled in response, looking out of the window.

"Right, right... Dani, did you sleep well?"

Danny didn't answer. He could hear in the way he said it that it still wasn't his name. It was just a shortening of Danielle, still a girl's name. He didn't understand. Neither of them did.

Most of the kids were already there when they got out. Danny frowned as he caught some of their eyes. The girls looked at him with smiles like he was one of them, and the boys admired his body from a distance where they didn't think he could see. He folded in on himself a little, wanting to disappear as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and hid behind his hair.

The reception was empty but for one boy sat alone on a couch. He was staring at the floor, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Danny smirked to himself; he knew the feeling.

He had shoulder length brown hair with a blonde streak. It fell at the sides of his rounded face, one side slightly tucked behind his ear in an oddly feminine gesture. He was wearing a pink sweater and light blue jeans. It wasn't the attire Danny would expect from a guy, but who was he to judge. Quickly losing interest Danny turned away, watching as Avi filled something out on the reception desk. He cringed as he saw the wrong name being filled in at the top.

Glancing back over at the boy he saw that he was looking up now. The two of them locked gazes for a moment and the boy hastily looked away, cheeks flushing red. Danny smiled slightly, amused. He walked over.

"Are you new too?" he asked.

The boy's head snapped up and he seemed to panic.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm just waiting for my timetable to be printed out..." he finally forced out.

Danny frowned; his voice was strange. It seemed to be high, but at some point cracked and wavered, going deeper. It was difficult to tell which tone was really his voice. He certainly had a soft look about him, so the higher one seemed quite fitting.

Danny shrugged to himself, dropping himself to sit beside him. He had nothing better to do. The boy seemed even more flustered by his presence and even moved away a little. Did he sit too close?

He thought about asking his name, but he didn't get a chance to decide before Avi came over and got his attention.

"Goodbye, Danielle, have a nice day," he said, giving a small, unsure smile.

"Yeah, see ya Avi," Danny replied, giving a dismissive wave as he once again used the wrong name.

Avi's smile dropped and he walked out. He looked a little disheartened and Danny felt bad for a moment. He and his parents didn't really talk much anymore. He knew that they loved him, and he loved them, but they didn't understand. They didn't see the real him - all they saw was Danielle.

At that point the receptionist walked over and handed something to the boy, "Here you go."

"Oh, uh, t-thanks."

Danny leaned over. He didn't quite catch the name at the top but he saw that it was a timetable.

"Where's mine?" he snapped, not meaning to be so harsh but unable to keep the frustration inside.

"Just printing off now," the receptionist told him, walking away again.

The boy stood up suddenly, rushing from the reception and out into the main halls. Danny stared after him, wondering if maybe he was the reason he left so quickly. Probably. He wasn't exactly the most approachable looking person, especially with how much he frowned.

Eventually he too was handed his timetable. It had a map, which was helpful. He thanked the receptionist, apologizing for snapping at her earlier. She looked surprised to hear it, but smiled and told him it was no problem. Though his original impression didn't suggest it he was actually a fairly polite person; his parents taught him manners from a young age. And even though he was frustrated with everything most days he tried not to make other people feel as bad as he did. Misgendering made that hard though.