the hunted / the chosen few
Aposiopesis
"Did something happen before class?" Tucker asked. "You were twenty minutes late."
Danny put his hands in his pockets. "Remember how I asked Paulina out to the school dance?"
Sam sighed. "I will never understand what you see in her. Was it Star or one of the lesser cronies?"
Danny rubbed his elbow gingerly. "Actually, this time it was Dash. He stuffed me into my locker."
"Yeesh, sorry. And you couldn't phase out?" Tucker asked.
"Principal Ishiyama was passing by when Dash was swinging the door shut. I couldn't just disappear with her watching me, so I had to walk her through the combination. Then she had to file a report on it, so I had to explain what happened again in her office." Danny perked up. "At least Dash got detention and I didn't."
"Serves him right," Tucker said. "He gets away with all sorts of stuff just because he's on the football team."
"I think the weirdest part of it was when he said…" Danny cleared his throat and did his best Dash impersonation. "'Fenton, you'd totally be in my top five chicks if you didn't dress like a dude and you had a better personality.'"
"So he wants to date your corpse," Sam deadpanned. "Classy."
Danny sighed. "If we ever find it, can I count on you two to let him down easy?"
"Hey, Earth to Fenton. Anyone there?" Sam waved her hand in front of Danny's eyes.
Danny blinked. He was holding a BBQ tempeh burger that he'd forgotten he was eating. "Huh, what? Sorry, I spaced out there."
"Do you want to play Doomed after school today?"
Tucker laughed. "You girls play Doomed?"
"Actually, yeah," Danny said. "Sam's the one who introduced me to the game. She's really good. Plus she knows all the cheat codes and easter eggs." I'm not a girl, though.
"Really?" Tucker asked. "What's your username, Sam?"
Sam crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly. "Chaos."
Tucker's jaw dropped. "You're the one who killed me last night!"
"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do." Sam checked her nails for chips in the polish. "I don't really keep track of newbies."
Tucker leaned over the table. "That's it. You and me. After school. Level 11."
Sam cackled. "Oh, I'll be there. You just try your best to make it that far, kay?"
Danny took another bite of his tempeh burger. It wasn't half bad, actually. Mouth full, he said, "Now this I gotta see."
When Danny got home, he heard a familiar grating voice coming from the kitchen. Dash. "But Jazz, she started it!"
Jazz sounded furious. "By what, asking someone out? Dash, I know my sister's a little different, but she deserves a peaceful scholastic experience just as much as you do!"
"It wasn't like I beat her up, I just —"
"Trapped her inside her own locker, which legally constitutes battery! I know that because Principal Ishiyama called our house yesterday to discuss pressing charges. Do you want to spend the rest of high school in juvenile hall, Dash?"
"No, Jazz, I'm sorry —" Dash stuttered.
Someone — probably Jazz — slammed their hands on the table. "I'm not the one to whom you should be apologizing! I'm not the one who got hurt!"
Dash didn't say anything.
Jazz cleared her throat. "Read pages 124-125 and answer the questions. Call me if it doesn't make sense. We'll pick up test review next week. Right now, I want you out of my house."
Danny went invisible until Dash had rushed out the door.
He knocked on the kitchen entryway and walked in. "Hey, Jazz?"
Jazz looked up. "Oh, hi. How long were you standing there?"
"A few minutes. Is it true what you said about pressing charges?"
"No," Jazz said matter-of-factly. "Amity Park School District wouldn't know a lawsuit if it hit them in the face."
"Good," Danny said. "I mean — I don't want to deal with a trial, if it's all the same to you."
Jazz smiled. "All I needed to do was scare Dash, so consider it settled out of court, little sister."
Danny sat down in the chair Dash had recently vacated. "Jazz, there's something else I need to talk to you about."
Jazz's expression softened. "Sure, you can talk to me about anything. What's up?"
Danny fidgeted with his fingers. "I'm — I'm, uh." He struggled to find the words. "You know Sam?"
Jazz nodded. "Trust me, whomever you love, I'm not going to judge —"
Danny waved his hands hurriedly. "No, no, we're not dating. It's just — she's, well, the way she talks about it is that she's a girl who everyone thought was a guy."
"Okay," Jazz said.
"And I'm pretty sure I'm the opposite — a guy who everyone thinks is a girl."
"Oh," Jazz said. "You're transgender."
Danny looked puzzled. "Trans what now?"
"Transgender," Jazz repeated. "That's what you're describing — someone who isn't the gender society decided they would be. Sam is a trans girl, and from what you're saying, it sounds like you're a trans boy."
Danny was trying not to cry. "There's a word for that?"
"Oh, come here," Jazz said, reaching over to hug him. "You're my sibling no matter what. Explaining to Mom and Dad might be a little awkward, but I'll help you out if you want me to. Is there a name you want me to call you?"
"Danny," he said. "I guess it's short for Daniel, but that just feels old."
Jazz laughed. "Okay, Danny. Should refer to you as Danny in public? Or around Mom and Dad?"
Danny drew a sharp breath. "I don't think I'm ready for either of those yet."
"That's okay."
"Thanks," Danny said into his sister's chest. "Seriously."
Jazz hugged him closer. "No problem, little brother."
