Page 57 of Precise Justice

“Yeah, like I said, Sherry’s bitter but not negative to everyone. I think she just likes to let everyone realize it’s okay to be, I don’t know…”

“Really pissed off about what was done to them,” Robbie said.

“Are you?” Stephanie asked the question she had wanted to ask Robbie for a long time.

“Dyke patrol,” Stephanie whispered.

The two girls transgendering to boys that Robbie had problems with entered the study. Only this time, and ever since Robbie broke the nose of one of them, they walked away from Robbie’s table.

“Am I what?” Robbie asked. “Bitter and angry. Sometimes, than other times, I guess I accept it.”

While she said this, she was looking at Debra Gillian, their study hall teacher/monitor. Ms. Gillian was walking toward them and heard what Robbie said.

Gillian stopped at their table, looked at Robbie and asked, “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure, I guess,” Robbie said.

“I don’t mean to embarrass you, but Robbie, you may be the prettiest trans girl on the planet. And, the bell’s about to ring so, get some schoolwork out,” Gillian said. Two seconds later, the three o’clock bell did ring.

TWENTY-THREE

Stephanie, Robbie’s study hall mate, parked in the lot of the library in Edina. Robbie was in the passenger seat not moving a muscle. Stephanie was not even sure if Robbie was breathing. Robbie just sat staring out the windshield at the big white building.

“We’re here,” Stephanie said.

Robbie blinked two or three times as if coming out of a trance. She turned her head toward Stephanie but did not say anything.

“What’s wrong?” Stephanie asked.

“Oh, um, nothing, I guess. I’m just a little nervous,” Robbie answered.

“They’re really nice and I told you, at least several of them have the same anxiety you do. Come on, let’s go. We have a reserved meeting room.”

“They didn’t put up a big sign like; Trans queers meeting downstairs or something?”

Stephanie heartily laughed for ten to fifteen seconds, took a breath and said, “No, they don’t put up a sign. Now, come on.”

“Hey, everyone, this is Robbie, the girl I told you about,” Stephanie announced when they entered the room.

There were roughly fifteen chairs set up in a circle like a group therapy session. Ten of the chairs were occupied. They were in a private meeting room on the first floor of the Southdale Library.

The meeting was an informal get together of trans girls, some of whom were older and having serious regrets. Others had no regrets. The meeting was to begin at 6:00P.M.or around that time. Stephanie and Robbie were a few minutes early. They would also be the last to arrive.

Stephanie took Robbie to a side table. She filled out stick-on name tags for each of them then joined the circle.

“No last names here,” Stephanie told Robbie.

“Yeah, you told me,” Robbie replied.

Stephanie looked around at the group and noticed how quiet they were.

“Why is everyone so glum? Did something happen?” Stephanie asked.

“Holly was raped,” Amanda told her.

Amanda was the unofficial group leader. She was the oldest, twenty-five, and the organizer.

“No! Oh, shit. When, where, how, what happened?” were the words that spilled out of Stephanie’s mouth.