Chapter Text
Natalia had gotten home early from work for once, and she was ready to collapse into her bed for a few minutes before she had to fix dinner. Maybe I could just order pizza tonight? she thought, as she opened the door to her apartment. And what she saw next entirely derailed whatever thoughts she had about dinner. Because her son was sitting on their couch wearing a dress and makeup, face turning bright red then deathly pale as he realized he had been seen. They both seemed to be frozen in place until Natalia calmly stepped into the room, shutting the door behind herself and asked, “Alex? What’s going on?”
He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. A few tears leaked out of his eyes and down his cheeks, leaving faint trails of mascara in their wake.
“Hey,” Natalia said, approaching him slowly. “It’s okay. I just want to know why.”
Rather than answer, since he still seemed to be unable to speak, he pulled out his phone and began to text. Seconds later, her phone chirped, alerting her to an incoming message. It read:
I feel like a girl inside, not a boy. Sorry you had to find out this way.
She looked up from her phone and said, “I don’t understand. I wish I did.”
Alex nodded, then ran off to his--her? Natalia wasn’t sure--bedroom, not reappearing until dinner time, this time wearing neutral clothing and having washed off the makeup, though Natalia could still see traces of the mascara. They didn’t speak again that night, and when Natalia woke up in the morning, she was alone in the apartment, but she had a text in her inbox that said:
Could you call me Elena, please? I love you.
Natalia didn’t know how to respond. Alex (Elena?) had already left for school, slipping out early before Natalia got up for work.