Chapter 4- Valeria

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From that day forth, I knew I would have to keep my trans-ness a secret. Hearing that it entailed bullying did not entice me to be out and proud in the slightest. Especially since my father, Rosendo Xavier Armando, was the paradigm of machismo gone wild. Definitely not a safe environment for a young trans girl.
But by my 10th birthday, I had had enough.
My father insisted he play a match of soccer with his boys, and I simply didn't want to be a part of it. Egging me endlessly about it, insisting I join the game, did nothing to relieve my beginning anger.
And so, outraged, in the heat of the moment, I yelled back, "I'm not even a boy, Papá! I'm a girl!" [I would have had a heart attack... Like, oof, that takes guts, girl.]
To which I can never forget, to this day, there has ever been such a silence. Never before had my loud, boisterous family been quieted so quickly with such few words. Teachers can only dream their classrooms would be as silent during lectures as my family was that day.
Having realized I had spilled my secret, at last, I ran, full sprint, as fast as my little legs would carry me into the house, full-on weeping, leaving my family behind.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know I'm not very good at writing, but I hope by writing this and other books, I will progress. Anyway, this was a sad one, but hang in there, guys. I promise it gets better for Val. Btw, the dad character was actually based on personal experience with my dad, the massive misogynist/transphobe/all-the-LGBT-people-phobe, & Rosendo will become more important later, especially to Val's character development. B/c as we know, when there are toxic people in your life, they can seriously affect you and your self esteem. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to comment, and I'll catch you guys later. Byeeeee :3

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