Maze High School had let out for the day, and Toni Myer and Adam Thomas were walking down an empty hallway discussing an upcoming event. “But Adam, it’s only one< day, and for a good cause.” She grabs Adam’s hand and tells him, “Let’s go in here where we can talk more about this.”

Toni drags Adam into an empty classroom before letting go of his hand and walking over to the teacher’s desk. She sets her backpack on the desk before turning around, placing her hands on the edge of the desk, and lightly jumping up and sitting herself on the edge of the desk. Adam was slower to walk over to the chair setting about ten feet away from the desk and under the chalkboard. He had intended to sit in the chair, but his thoughts prevented it from happening.

“But, Toni, you don’t understand. I’m already a target for several guys here in school. If they see me that day, what are they going to do to me? Or what about afterwards, the days after? Franklin already shoves me into the lockers whenever he walks by me. And Mark isn’t any better. I’ve complained, but it’s done no good.”

“Adam, when Principal Jordan makes the announcement on Monday, he’s also going to let everyone know that during that day, and in the days to follow, every teacher and security person will be standing in the hallways during class changes to watch for any bullying that takes place against the boys who participate. If they see any bullying, that student will receive a six-week suspension, and they won’t be allowed to make up any school work they’ve missed. He really means it, Adam. That day is really important to millions around the world. The sponsor is donating $10,000 for each boy who participates, and right now, 86 boys are participating. And ten thousand times eighty-six is what, Adam?”

“Eight hundred and sixty thousand dollars, Toni. Yeah, but…”

“And if you participate, Adam?”

“Eight hundred and seventy thousand dollars, Toni. But…”

Toni is aware of how some of the boys attending Maze High School have been treating Adam, and that he has complained to the staff and administration. Even so, nothing has changed; he is still bullied. But the amount of money to be donated to cancer research for each boy who participates is a lot of money.

“Adam, sweetheart, I know you’re scared, but think of the good all that money will do. It helped your Mom, didn’t it?”

When Toni mentioned his mom, Dorothy, and the implication of what she went through, Adam’s knees gave way, and he sat down hard in the chair. His mind went back to his nine-year-old self, the day his Dad told him that his Mom was in the hospital.

“Why is Mom in the hospital, Dad? When will she come home?”

“Kid, there’s some lady problems she has to take care of before she can come home. And when she does come home, she’ll have some other things she’ll have to do. So we have to help her any way we can, okay?”

As Adam examines the memory, he didn’t see it at the time, but there were tears in his Dad’s eyes. Tears, he fought hard to keep from falling.

That memory triggered another memory, a memory from a year ago when his Mom sat him down and told him the exact reason she was in the hospital four years earlier. Toni watched as tears dripped onto Adam’s pants. She hopped off the desk, walked over to Adam, knelt in front of him, and took his hands in hers. She could see his mouth moving as he formed the words he had to tell her.

With a shaking breath, he told her, “Mom sat me down last year and told me why she was in the hospital when I was nine.”

Toni squeezed his shaking hands but waited until he was ready to continue. She watched him take a shuddering breath before he continued.

“Mom had found lumps in each of her breasts, and made an appointment for a mammogram with her gynecologist. She made the appointment for when I was at school, so she and Dad could keep it from me; they didn’t want me to worry. Her gynecologist didn’t like what she saw, so she took a biopsy of each lump. Because of the size of the lumps and that they were localized, she had the lab put her tests at the front of the queue. They were that important. Mom got a call the next day, asking her and Dad to come to the gynecologist’s office. Mom said she cried for ten minutes when she was told the lumps were cancerous. And because of the size of the lumps, the best treatment was to have a double mastectomy. She said Dad tried to be strong, but his shirt was wet by the time they left the office. So, she let her gynecologist schedule the surgery, and Mom had her breasts removed.” Then he chuckled and said, “She told me never to tell Dad, as she showed me her new breasts; I couldn’t see any scars from the surgery. She said she waited until then to tell me because she thought I was old enough to understand and could deal with it better.”

Adam fell forward onto Toni’s shoulder and started crying. She wrapped her arms around him and held him until his crying stopped. He sat up and wiped his eyes with the back of each hand.

He tried to joke with, “Good thing I don’t wear mascara, or I’d probably look like a raccoon right now.”

Toni knew he was joking, but wasn’t going to let him get away with the quip. “You do know I CAN fix that missing aspect of your eyes? Right?”

She looked at Adam and tried to look serious, but it caused him to burst out laughing. “You wouldn’t dare? Would you?” He added, wondering how serious she was.

Toni couldn’t help it, as Adam looked at her. She burst out laughing, telling him, “No, I wouldn’t. But you might look cute if I did,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips. “Look, Adam. You’ve got a whole week before it happens. Talk to your mom, maybe ask her if you can buy some clothes, and see if you’d be comfortable doing it. If she agreed, then you have this weekend and next week to decide.”

As she looked into his eyes, she could see there was something more than just the fear of getting beaten up by the school bullies. “There’s something more, isn’t there?”

She watches Adam looking down at his hands lying in his lap, but says nothing more. She sees him purse his lips, a sure sign he’s thinking about what to say. Then, still looking at his hands, he says, “If I participate, I don’t want the girls to think I’m mocking them or trying to humiliate them. Some of the boys are bad enough, but to have all of the girls after me because of how I look? I couldn’t handle that, Toni.”

“And there was,” Toni thought to herself. He dropped the other shoe. “Adam, look at me, sweetheart.” When he hesitated, she reached up with her right hand and gently placed her fingers under his chin and pushed his head up.” Tears had again rolled down his cheeks, and she took a moment to wipe them off his cheeks. “I’m going to tell you something, and you better not repeat it. With the right clothes, makeup, and hairstyle, no one would ever see anyone but a lovely teenage girl. If you repeat what I just said, I’ll--I’ll--I’ll figure out something to make you regret it.” Despite herself, she started laughing. And so did Adam.

“Come on,” Toni said, standing up and taking Adam’s hands. “We’d better go before they lock us in for the night.” She knew they wouldn’t be locked in the school, but she wanted to watch Adam roll his eyes. And to cheer him up. Toni let go of Adam’s hands before walking to the teacher’s desk to get her backpack. Adam picked up his where he’d dropped it by the door. As he waited for her, he thought about everything she said and didn’t say. When Toni caught up with him, he took her hand, and they started walking down the hallway toward the front of the school. Once outside, they walked to the bike rack, situated across from the front office, so that Adam could get his bicycle. He often had to search the bike rack to locate his bike because of the number of students who rode bikes to school. But not today. Today, his bike was one of five bikes still in the rack. He unzipped his backpack, took out two bungee cords, zipped it closed, then used the bungee cords to secure his backpack to the rack on the back of his bike. After dialing in the combination to the combination lock holding the ends of the chain that chained his bike to the bike rack, he wrapped the chain around the seat post, secured it with the combination lock, then pulled his bike out of the rack with both hands; he moved his right hand to the middle of the handlebars so he could take Toni’s right hand in his left hand, and together they started walking home.

They talked about nothing special as they walked to the corner, waited until the traffic light changed, and the crosswalk sign showed “WALK.” As Toni listened, Adam told her what it was like at school, knowing that at any minute he could be shoved into the hall lockers or have whatever he was carrying knocked out of his hands. And the insistent laughter that followed. By the time they’d walked the two blocks to Toni’s street, Toni had learned how Adam had been feeling since the time she first met him in science class. And it hurt to have heard it all. As they turned left at the corner, she put her arm around his waist and leaned into him. She couldn’t let him see how wet her eyes were at the moment. At the fourth house on the left, Adam turned to face Toni, bent down, and lightly kissed her on the lips; neither one noticed Toni’s mom looking out the front window of their house and smiling. Adam watched as Toni walked up the sidewalk to the front door, waited until she was inside, before rolling the pedals backward until the left pedal was down. He placed his left foot on that pedal, put his weight on it, then pushed off with his right leg before swinging up and over the seat, finding the right pedal with ease. Then, pedaling slowly, he checked for cars before turning around and zipping off toward home. Three blocks on from where they turned for Toni’s house, he turned right and stopped at the fifth house on the right. A light blue house. He walked up the driveway and turned to his right toward the fence gate. After opening it and pushing his bike inside the backyard, he closed the gate and pulled out his key to the back door. It let him into the two-car garage and the door to the house. He unstrapped his backpack and set it on the garage floor. Walking his bike to the wall on his left, he lifted his bike and hung it on the hooks his Dad had installed to help make more room in the garage. He walked toward the door to the house, picked up his backpack on the way, opened the door, and walked into the house.

Normally, he bounced into the house and would yell, “MOM, I’M HOME,” even though Dorothy would be standing in the kitchen, a room just inside the house from the garage. Today, Dorothy was standing at the island mixing up a salad for dinner. She looked to her left as the door to the garage opened and Adam walked into the house. Her smile faded as she saw the look on his face, watched as he walked past the island and straight to the stairs leading to the second floor. She’d watched Adam for fourteen years and knew his every facial expression. When he did say hi to her or ask her what was for dinner, she knew she was right about the facial expression he was wearing right now. She set the spoon down she’d been using, wiped her hands on the towel on the island counter, then walked to the stairs and climbed them to the second floor. Adam’s bedroom was at the end of the hall, and Dorothy could see that the door was open. She quietly walked down the hall to his bedroom, stopping at the open door. As she looked into his bedroom, she could see her son sitting on his bed, elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands. She walked into the room, pulled the desk chair with her as she passed by his desk, and rolled it until it was in front of Adam. She sat down, waited a moment, then asked in a soft voice, “Want to talk about it?”

Adam sat up and looked into his Mom’s eyes, pursing his lips as he did so. After taking a deep breath, Adam said, “Toni has been at me to participate in an event at school that takes place a week from this coming Monday.” He was quiet again, again pursing his lips. And Dorothy remained silent.

He took another deep breath, shuddered, then began shaking. “Someone with lots of money is donating $10,000 to cancer research for every boy who attends school a week from this coming Monday dressed… dressed…,” Adam stopped speaking. Dorothy reached out and gently took her son’s trembling hands. And remained silent. Adam took a shaky breath, then finished his sentence with, “... as a girl. They have to spend the entire day at school dressed as a girl.”

Dorothy watched as tears slid down her son’s cheeks, but remained silent for a moment. Then she asked, “You’re scared to participate, aren’t you? Even though by participating you’d help get $10,00 donated to cancer research.” She watched him nod his head, and as more tears fell from Adam’s eyes, she gave him a moment before asking, “What are you scared about, Adam?”

Adam closed and opened his eyes before saying, “I’m already bullied by some of the guys at school. What’re they going to do to me when they see me dressed as a girl that day? Or after that day? I’m already shoved into the hall lockers. And if I carry anything in my arms, they’ll knock it out as they walk by me. But what will they do to me on that day or after that day? Toni said Principal Jordan will say, along with the announcement, that teachers, staff, and school security will be in the hallways on that day and every day after. If anyone is caught bullying any boy who is participating or has participated on that day, they’ll receive an automatic six-week suspension and won’t be allowed to make up any missed schoolwork. But Mom, the school has no authority outside of school. They know where I live and could wait for me as I head home.” Adam wasn’t exactly crying, but he was quiet, either.”

Dorothy had to tamp down her emotions really hard at the moment. She could feel her son’s pain down to her bones, but she couldn’t turn into the angry green mom and dish out what those boys deserved. She was quiet for a moment, then said, “Adam, if they attacked you outside of school, that would be considered assault and battery, something the police could deal with. And that would be worse for them. You said they’d receive a six-week suspension if they’re caught bullying any boy who participated, right?” She watched as he nodded his head. “Isn’t that a grading period, when the report cards come out?” He nodded his head again. “So if they receive a six-week suspension, and can’t make up any missed schoolwork, they’ll receive an ‘F’ for those six weeks, right?” Again, a head nod. “And how many of those boys play sports?” she asked.

She watched as Adam thought for a moment before saying, “I think they all do. Some football, some baseball, and some basketball.” Then, as she watched, Adam grasped why she was asking. He snorted, then said, “If they get suspended and receive an ‘F’ for that grading period, they will miss the grade requirement to play sports. They’ll be ineligible to play sports.”

Then she asked, “Do you think they’re that stupid?” And as she watched her son, he gave her that ‘what do you think’ look that caused her to laugh. “So they are that stupid. Probably stupid enough not even to consider how a six-week suspension will affect them.” She noticed his expression change, again, and knew what it meant. “Okay, spill it.”

Dorothy knew that every time Adam pursed his lips, he was trying to figure out how to tell her something. She saw his ‘I’ve made up my mind’ expression before he said, “Toni believes that with the right clothes, makeup, and hairstyle, no one would even believe they were seeing a boy. She thought I might ask you to buy me some clothes so I could take the weekend and next week, to see if I would make a good-looking girl. Mom, I wouldn’t participate if, when I was dressed as a girl, I looked like I was mocking or trying to humiliate the girls at school. That wouldn’t be right.”

Dorothy reached out and pulled Adam into a tight hug. “My sweet, sweet boy. You could never look like you’re trying to mock or humiliate anyone.” She pushed him back, then released him. “So, she thinks we should buy you some clothes to see how you’d look as a girl and let you see if you wanted to participate? Why not? I think it’s a great idea.” Dorothy laughed as she reached out with her right hand and gently lifted his chin until his mouth was closed. “You know, if you keep your mouth open like that, you might catch flies? Or something worse.” She laughed again, getting up from the chair and rolling it back to the desk. “Let me call Toni and see if she can come with us, and I’ll be right back.” When Dorothy returned, she’d freshened her makeup, brushed her hair, and had her purse slung over her left shoulder. “Well, come on, sport. We don’t want to keep Toni waiting.” Dorothy laughed again as she watched Adam’s jaw drop, and walked over to him. She took his left hand and pulled him up from his bed.

Adam still had his mouth open as his Mom pulled him off his bed. “But Mom, she only suggested it. I don’t think she was THAT serious about it.”

Dorothy laughed again, telling Adam, “Oh, ho, my young sprout. You didn’t hear her squeal over the phone when I told her what we were going to do. I even told her mom, who thought it was a wonderful idea. And a worthy cause. So, come on, sprout, let’s shake a leg. We can’t keep the love of your life waiting.” Dorothy laughed even harder when Adam turned a lovely shade of pink.

****~~~~````~~~~****

When they reached the mall, after getting out of Dorothy’s car, Toni took one of Adam’s hands, and Dorothy took the other, and they didn’t quite pull Adam along with them. He wasn’t exactly reluctant, but he wasn’t an enthusiastic participant, either. They made no side stops, but headed straight to James’s, a clothing store for men, women, teens, toddlers, and babies. Once inside the store, the girls headed straight to the teen girl section, where they met a saleswoman named Abigail.

“Hello, ladies, and young man. My name is Abigail, like it says on my name tag,” and she pointed to her name tag. Toni snorted. Adam tried not to laugh, but failed. And Dorothy smiled. “So, how can I help you today?”

“Well, we,” Dorothy began, but Adam cut her off by saying, “Um, no, Mom. If I’m going to do this, then I’m going to be the one to explain.” If Dorothy had been wearing a vest, she’d have popped every button off of it. Adam turned to Abigail and said, “Hi, Abigail. My name is Adam.” Pointing to Dorothy and Toni in turn, he said, “This is my Mom, Dorothy, and my girlfriend Toni.” He took a deep breath before saying, “We are having an event at Maze High School a week from this coming Monday, when a wealthy individual will donate $10,000 to cancer research for every boy who comes to school dressed as a girl. Toni thought it might be a good idea for me to see if I could become a nice-looking girl who didn’t look like she was mocking or trying to humiliate the girls at school.” He paused a moment before saying, “And Abagil, I’m really scared to do this.”

Abigail had initially put her right hand under her left upper arm, and her left hand over her mouth. Now, she was pulling her lips downward in an attempt to keep from smiling. She could see how scared he was by how much he was shaking, so she dropped her hands, put an arm around his shoulders, lowered her voice so only the three of them could her her voice, and said, “Adam, I’ve helped a lot of boys and men buy items for themselves; even though they claim it’s for their wife or girlfriend. You are the first young man to have been honest with me, and that takes a lot of courage.” As she hoped, Adam started to relax; even Dorothy and Toni saw it. “I’ll tell you something else. I’ve been with James’s for twenty-five years. And over that time, I have developed the ability to tell which boy or man would be a good-looking girl or woman when they are dressed in girls’ or women’s clothing. And you, my fine-looking young man, when we get through with you, no one will know a boy is standing next to them. You don’t look like you believe me. Looking at your mom and girlfriend, they agree with me.”

He looked at his Mom then at Toni, and saw they both were nodding their heads. He sighed, then said, “Well, we’re here, so we might as well do it.”

Adam didn’t see it, but all three women let out breaths they’d been holding. Hoping Adam would at least try and not panic and run out of the store.