The minute Lisa came into the high school bathroom, Zeke was hit with all kinds of emotions. There was some envy and admiration, because Zeke couldn't imagine how much guts it took for her to walk in through the boys' room door, but they were buried under a bigger dose of fear and anger. He didn't want to see this. There were several other guys in there, doing their thing, and one of them was Charlie, who could be trouble. And Mike wasn't much better. Zeke had been coming out of a stall, and he just stepped back inside and held still.
Lisa was wearing loose jeans and a big shirt that kind of hid everything. Zeke guessed it was because that way no one could tell if she had a flat chest or curves, and her hips could have been narrow or wide. Her hair was straight and sleek past her shoulders, and the shirt was a girly print, in an abstract pastel. But she was in the boys' bathroom, and they all knew who she was. Mike and Rick quit horsing around by the sinks and stared. Charlie was peeing at a urinal and he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her.
Rick said, “The girls' room is down the hall.”
Lisa sighed. “Look, I just need to pee. I'll use a stall. I'll be out of here in two minutes, okay?”
“Y'don't need a stall to pee,” Rick drawled. “Whip it out, honey. Let's see what kind of dick you have.”
“She doesn't have a dick,” Charlie said. “She cut it off so she could be a girl.”
Mike grabbed his crotch and squealed, “Ooh, that hurts.”
Lisa tried to edge past him and Mike grabbed her arm instead. “What're you doing in here with the real men? Changed your mind?”
“The staff bathroom has a water leak. They told me I had to use this one instead of the girls'.” There was a sharp flush of color across her cheeks.
Charlie grabbed his dick and waved it at her. “Here, faggot, you don't want your own prick, but you can have a taste of mine. You've got the mouth for it.”
Lisa looked as if she was ready to bolt for the door, except that Mike had her by the arm. Zeke steeled himself to say something, anything, even though he'd never once stood up to Charlie on his own behalf. Somehow the words sounded worse hurled at Lisa's wide brown eyes and pale face than when they were ground into his own cheek against a wall. He thought maybe, just maybe, this time he'd get up the guts. Then the door of the end stall slammed against the wall and Derek came out. He smacked Charlie's chest with the back of his hand and said, “She doesn't want your little dick, Charles. She'd need a microscope to find that thing.” He extracted Lisa's arm from Mike's hand and shoved her toward the nearest stall. “Go ahead. They won't bother you.”
As Lisa ducked inside and shut the door, Mike stared at Derek. “What the fuck, man? Why'd you take the freak's side.”
“Your brain is even smaller than Charlie's dick. Honest to God, guys, just give it a rest. Go be pricks to someone who can fight back, all right?”
“I don't like having that thing in here,” Charlie muttered. “Who does he think he is, anyway?”
“She thinks she's a girl,” Derek snapped. “And if you touch her, I'll tell your momma you beat up on a girl in school.”
“Christ. You are such a buzz-kill.” Charlie zipped up and pushed out past Derek without bothering to wash. Mike and Rick followed him.
Derek leaned against the wall, and caught Zeke's eyes in the mirror. “What about you? Are you gonna give her a hard time too?”
Zeke shook his head, and came cautiously out of the stall. “Nah. I'm fine with her.” He bent over the sink, letting the water run over his hands. One more thing to be jealous of. Where had Derek been when Charlie called him a faggot and dunked his head in the toilet bowl? But the jealousy was a shallow thing, over a well of fellow-feeling. Christ, he knew what that moment felt like, when they grabbed your arm and looked at you with that glaring disdain, deciding whether to spit or hit, or if you were lucky, just shove you and walk away. He knew how helpless it felt waiting to see how it would go down. He scrubbed his hands again.
Derek said loudly, “You about done in there, Lisa? I've got class on the third floor.”
Lisa muttered through the door, “Just go ahead. Thanks.”
“You're sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. See you around.”
The bathroom felt bigger and less safe with Derek gone. There was no sound from Lisa. Zeke ran the water some more in his sink, then turned on the next one full blast. He knew how hard it was to pee when you were standing in a stall wondering what kind of mayhem was waiting on the other side of that metal door. Maybe the water noise would help.
After a few minutes, Lisa came out and went to one of the running sinks. She gave him a sideways glance. “Thanks.”
“I didn't do anything.”
“If Derek left with you still here, then you must be on the right side.”
“I'm not on any side.” It popped out before Zeke could think. He'd survived this long by being flexible, being a clown if he had to, by laughing shit off and not taking sides. Everyone knew he was gay, but he didn't stand up to be counted by anyone. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he'd said it differently. Before he could tell Lisa he really was okay with her - more than okay - she gave him a twisted smile and hurried out. A group of guys pushed in right after, looking over their shoulders at her, and the moment to say anything was lost.