The Hero Nobody Asked For

Chapter 1: Invisible

It was a cloudy Monday morning on February 3rd, 2020 at 5:30am. The sun was just rising although the only way one could tell was from a few dim rays of pink light in the horizon. The only thing that made this time of day feel like morning were the drops of dew all over the grass. That being said, all the teenagers in the county started to get ready at 6:30am for the morning bus. Although some, like Fern, chose to stay in bed a little while longer.

Fern stared at the ceiling with a mix of dread and tiredness on their face, debating if they should get the school day over with or just skip it entirely. On one hand, their dad would punish them in an insufferable manner if they skipped, but on the other hand, they won't have to deal with the inhumane roller coaster that is the public school system. They planned on thinking it over for a few more minutes, but a loud "HURRY UP AND GET DRESSED ALREADY!" from Fern's dad proved motivation enough to finally take a hasty shower before getting ready for school. After they finished getting ready, neither Fern, nor their dad, said goodbye to each other as the quiet adolescent trudged onto the bus that would take them to their daily impending agony. They then put in their earbuds and looked out the window. They knew that those were the only 5 minutes of peace they had before the hell that they called a school day began.

In home room, Fern only had a few seconds to prepare for the first bit of stress that today offered: attendance. "Felicity Oswald!" The teacher announced, expecting an answer. Fern scowled at the name. Despite telling him time and time again, the home room teacher (and every other member of staff, for that matter) still used Fern's dead name. "Felicity Oswald? Felicity Jenny Oswald, are you here?" The teacher repeated before looking over at Fern's desk. "Ms. Oswald, how many God given times do we have to go over this nonsense? When I call your REAL name, you say 'here'!-"

"That isn't my name, Sir." Fern interrupted sternly, yet politely. The teacher growled. "Yes it is, Felicity! It's on the attendance sheet, therefore it is your name! No exceptions!" He huffed, frustrated that Fern didn't just comply like everyone else.
"Sir, with all due respect, I told the staff to call me Fern months ago and the guidance councilor already talked about this to every-"
"You know what? Go to the principal's office! Now! I'm not going to tolerate this Tom-foolery today! You seriously need to obtain respect for your teachers , Ms. Oswald!" The home room teacher spat before pointing vigorously at the door.

Fern sighed and gathered their things before walking out the door. For a moment, they looked back at the home room teacher and scowled. 'Your transphobia is the reason why I lost hope for humanity.' They thought as they started to walk down the empty, almost forsaken halls. They made another pointless and companionless trip down the halls, down a flight of stairs, and all the way across the courtyard before finally going to the front office. The receptionist, Ms. Kinder, looked at Fern with pity in her eyes. Though she vaguely understood Fern, she was more than willing to listen to their struggles, but she could never persuade the troubled teen to trust her or open up to her. She gave a pitiful grin toward Fern as she took the teen to the principal's office.

Principal Moss was just as cross as the home room teacher, but she wasn't nearly as explosive. She stared Fern down as the teen took a seat. "You know the drill, Ms. Oswald." She said roughly. Fern sighed and picked up the old, dusty landline that was miraculously still functional and dialed their father's number.