Felix - the grand total

DONNIE AND I throw rocks at the pond walking home from school. Ever since Diana's mom took custody of the girls, I haven't been seeing them lately. I hope I see them again. I kinda miss them. I miss Maria and I miss how life used to be. Life changes like the vast ocean and her waves of glory and we, life on Earth, have to just live in it and deal with her aptitude whether we like it or not. Donnie rides his skateboard to and from school.

"You wanna go to the skatepark?" I ask pointing to a fenced-off area with ramps, roads, kids do tricks, stunts, and all of the above. We jog across the street and hop the fence. I go first, I throw my backpack and jacket over it as I climb and get across. Donnie does the same. When we're both across, he picks his skateboard up and rides off.

Hours pass and I text Gramma bus late as we jog home. When we get inside so exhausted from school. Gei's sitting on the couch beside me eating cereal watching a documentary.

"How was school?"

"Good," I say.

"Fine," Donnie says about to smoke a cigarette.

I gesture him to put it away. He does it in the nick of time.

"How was work, Gramma?" I ask.

"Good, honey. Did you babies get tea?" She says putting her oversized sweater on.

We get up to drink the tea that's been on the table probably since school.

"I drunk my tea because Imma good little woman," Gei chirps from behind us in the dining room.

"When you gettin' a job?" Donnie asks me.

"Uh, summer."

He nods.

"Hey uh--I can get you a job," I say as we go upstairs to my room.

"Nah," he plops on my bed. "I'm a dishwasher at Maria's thingy." He takes a puff on his cigarette. I wave it over here.

"Well, damn." I take a long relaxing drag off the cigarette as my insides cool down from all the tension inside of me.

"Sence you're trans, do you still have a period like a girl?" he asks drinking a soda.

"No, I grow just like a cis man would." I take the soda and drink some of it.

I can't believe that the universe is just science, nothing but science. Wow.