No Ordinary Exchange

what friends are for

WARNING: Misgendering; occurs three or four times in the second half of the chapter. If you are sensitive to such, please proceed with caution.

1. In 2019, the American Medical Association described violence against the trans community as an "epidemic" that disproportionately impacts trans individuals of color, especially trans women of color. More than 1/3 of Black trans individuals who have interacted with police departments report harassment. In 2019, at least 26 trans or gender noncomforming Americans were killed violently; 91% were Black trans women. As of June 2020, 12 trans or gender noncomforming Americans were killed violently. 1 in 5 trans people are refused medical care. 78% of trans students (K-12) experience harassment. More than 50% of trans male teens have reported attempting suicide. Of the 1.6 million homeless youth in the U.S., 20-40% are transgender. We cannot allow this to continue. To be better allies, we must LISTEN to trans people. We must use our privilege as cisgender individuals to UPLIFT trans voices. Even on a small scale, we must normalize introducing ourselves with our pronouns. And that is only the beginning. (Condensed from @ soyouwanttotalkabout on Instagram.)

Bonjour vous-autres! Mon nom c'est "faerialchemist," et mon pronoms sont elle/sa. So, my pronouns are she/her. I don't think my attempt at French there was extraordinarily accurate, but it was worth a shot, lol. If you're comfortable with it, feel free to leave your pronouns at the beginning of your comment if you choose to leave one!

This chapter is on the shorter side, but you'll meet a few more characters in the gang of friends I've created, whom I hope you'll love as much as I do. Next week... shit gets real. Can't wait for you guys to read both this chapter and the next! I hope you enjoy!

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Callum had been busy doing research on the Xadian exchange program when his phone started buzzing on his desk, startling him enough that he jerked backwards in his seat before leaning forward to actually read the caller ID.

He frowned. Why was Claudia calling him?

Wait. He wasn't supposed to pick her up from rehearsal today, was he? No - it was Monday. Soren was able to get her. But she was calling him. That meant it had to be important, since she hated talking on the phone as much as he did.

"What's up?" he asked after picking up.

"First, I'm sorry for interrupting your day out of the blue," Claudia began, "but could you come to Seton Hall and jumpstart our car? My dad is at work and I don't want to interrupt the rest of rehearsal. Everyone else who was dismissed has already left, so right now we're just kind of stuck."

"Sure," Callum said, closing his laptop. Seton Hall was less than ten minutes away from his dorm by car. "You want me to come now?" He glanced at the clock on the wall of his bedroom. "Also, I thought your rehearsal ended at five." At that moment, it was only a few minutes after four.

"Uh... Today we just did a cold read," Claudia explained, "so Ms. Secrest let everyone out early except Dominic and Hazel. Er, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I think they're doing some character workshopping stuff."

"Oh, okay. Cool." She sounded like she was holding something back, but Callum didn't feel the need to read too deeply into it. If it ended up being important, she'd tell him. He stood up from his desk, grabbing his keys. "I'll be there in about ten, fifteen minutes tops."

"Thank you so much, Callum! You're literally the best."

He laughed. "I know, but I appreciate the reminder."

True to his word, he arrived only a few minutes after leaving his dorm. During the drive, his thoughts were primarily occupied by the Xadian exchange program, as they had been nearly 24/7 since his dad first introduced the prospect to him. He'd done some preliminary research over the weekend into what the application would entail. Pretty standard stuff, if he was honest. An essay about why he was applying, a copy of his transcript, two teacher recommendations, a copy of his passport, and basic information, like his age, grade, all that jazz.