The Ugly Duckling

Chapter Two: The Locker Room

Felix finds himself standing in front of the two doors that lead to the girls' and boys' locker rooms. After some internal strife, he resolves himself to enter the boys' locker room. After all, he is physically a boy now. He slowly makes his way down the stairs. When he enters the room where all of the other guys are changing, he shyly makes his way over to an empty locker. At first, no one seems to pay him any mind. Just when he thinks he might be in the clear, he hears a condescending voice. "What are you doing in the boys' locker room?" These are the words that Felix is most afraid to hear. He turns to face Luke Walker. Luke is a tall boy with curly brown hair. His grey eyes are piercing as he looks at Felix with a scowl. As one of the starting members of the school basketball team, Luke possesses a sense of entitlement like no other. Caught off guard, Felix can only stand there dumbly. Thinking that Felix doesn't hear him, Luke repeats his question. At this, Felix snaps out of his daze and takes a deep breath before attempting to confidently state that he belongs here. Luke simply scoffs and starts to belittle him. He makes disgusting remarks about the pink scars on Felix's chest. They are thinner and less swollen than from right after the surgery. Yet, Felix finds himself subconsciously wrapping his arms around his chest as if to hide the scars from Luke's prying eyes. Why shouldn't he be here? Isn't he physically a boy now? Any words that Felix wants to use to retaliate get stuck in his throat. Luke's outbreak draws the attention of the others in the room. Suddenly, Felix just wants to crawl into a hole. Why can't they leave him alone? He senses everyone's ridicule from their stares. Just when he thinks he can't take it anymore; he hears the sexiest voice ever ringing through the room. Who would possess such a voice other than Chase Fortescue? Chase stands there facing Luke and the surrounding group with a set of perfectly chiseled abs. Felix doesn't register a thing that he says, but whatever it is seems to get Luke off his back. The boys quickly finish changing and head up to the gym. Soon, class is over and Felix finds himself back in the locker room. He swiftly grabs his clothes from his locker and makes his way over to one of the stalls. While he changes in the stall, he thinks to himself that maybe things are better off this way.

That night when he gets home, Felix stares at himself in the mirror. The scars on his chest look more prominent than he remembers. With a shiver, he quickly covers himself. He no longer wants to see them.