Cross School

22 - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life

On his first visit to VAX, Tyler had dressed like a girl, broken up with his fake boyfriend, won a cosplay contest against an entitled nerd, and most importantly, made a great new friend. Layla loved being around Tyler and Tyler loved being around Layla. Of course, it was only Taylor that Layla knew, not the boy behind the makeup and dress.

Ice cream signaled the end of their day together. After sharing a bowl of chocolate mint ice cream, Layla said her goodbyes, meeting back up with Jess and heading on a bus home. She exchanged numbers with Tyler of course, making promises to hang out again very soon. (Luckily, Alicia had Tyler change his contact details under Taylor's name, so he was saved from a possible disaster).

'You look satisfied with yourself,' Bella said, prodding her brother. They were sitting together on the bus ride back to the academy. 'You mind telling me how it went?'

'Wonderfully,' Tyler answered, the rose-tinted events of the day playing back in his head. 'I've never met someone who understands me like Layla. She likes all the things I like, yet, we have enough not in common that our conversations stay interesting. She's a one-of-a-kind girl.'

Bella smiled. 'I'm glad she likes you. The only problem is, she likes the female part, not Tyler.'

Tyler slumped back in his seat, sighing. 'I know.'

'If you want her to be yours, you'll have to find a way to either reveal your gender or meet up with her as Tyler and balance time with her through both versions of yourself.'

'That sounds like the plot of some movie or book. It's not exactly the most plausible solution to my situation.'

Bella shrugged. 'But one you may have to consider.' It didn't take long to arrive back at the academy. Tyler was glad to be back, mostly because the bus driver kept giving him dirty looks. The school gates opened on the swipe of Bella's Student Card. The gates were locked on weekends. You could only exit the grounds with a Student Card. None of the boys were given one, so they couldn't leave the grounds without assistance from another student or a teacher.

Unfortunately, the pleasant mood Tyler was in went sour the second he spotted Summer waiting near the front gates, looking as cute as she did in the morning. Summer beckoned Tyler over after Bella waved her goodbye and headed to one of the rec rooms.

'How'd it go?' Summer said, grinning like a psychopath.

'She likes me, but thanks to you, any possibility for a romantic relationship has jumped reluctantly out the window. Why'd you sell me out like that, man? I thought you were cooler than that.'

The smile faded from Summer's shining lips. 'There are rules to our punishment, Taylor. It's best of all of us abided by them. None of us are allowed to wear our male clothes anymore, especially not in public. I'll allow it in our dorm, but one of us has to enforce the rules.'

'I don't think that's it at all,' Tyler said. Summer looked a little more nervous now. 'I think you like dressing like a girl.'

'That's preposterous!' Summer spat. 'It's hell for me too!' Tyler knew his friend was lying. Before he embraced the identity of Taylor, Summer had gotten away with her façade of being just like the other boys. But now Tyler knew how Summer felt. To live life in the skin of someone better than the person you were yesterday. The skin of someone who has the freedom to express themselves without compromising who they really are.

'Hell?' Tyler said, raising an eyebrow. 'For you, I think heaven would be a better word. You're elated at the prospect of crossdressing. You used to cross dress in secret, didn't you? Your makeup skills alone belong to no ordinary teenage boy, and your sense of style and the way you fit naturally into your clothes can't fool me anymore. Spencer Harris is the mask. Summer is who you really are.'