I spend all night studying for my trig test, only to get minimal progress on understanding the material. I go to the track early in the morning. I go to my gym locker to change after I take a shower, to find that I forgot to bring my uniform socks. All I brought were my white and orange running socks. As soon as I walk out of the gym, I get yelled at, and written a citation. I find Izzie, and tell her. "There's a rule on socks?" She asks. "You see, these socks are strictly for running, but Clayton requires a different sock all together for walking." I tell her. "It's literally just because we have to wear these stupid skirts. If boys wear gym socks, you can't see them, because they're under their pants." Izzie's right. That is stupid. "We should say something." She says. "Oh, I don't know. I don't want to make a fuss." I say. Saying something about the dress code could just get me in even more trouble then I'm already in.
Later in the day, Izzie meets me at my locker. She walks up to me with a paper in her hand, smiling. "Sign my petition?" She asks. "Abolish Clayton Dress Code." I say, as I read her paper. "I know you don't want to make a big deal out of it, but I don't think we have a choice. I mentioned it at the GSA meeting, and these dress codes are really upsetting to people. It hasn't been changed in literally 100 years!" She exclaims. I don't want to get in trouble, but I know that this is important to her. "It's ridiculous. Just because I have a vulva, I have to wear a small skirt." She says. "Is that the wording in the dress code?" I joke. She smiles. "Will you just sign it, please?" I take the paper from her, and sign it. I know I would feel bad if I didn't. After I sign it, I hand it back to her and speak. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to study for my history exam, while I cram some lunch into my face, and then I have to finish a reading project. Maybe later I'll do some bicep curls while delivering a litter of puppies." I joke. I have so much to do all the time, it's really stressful. "I'm not busy at all." I say, and she laughs. I kiss her, before I leave.
After school, at track practice, I'm stretching when I hear Izzie slam her bag down next to me, and sit down. "What's up, dude?" I ask, noticing her anger. "Those assholes denied my petition. I got over 500 signatures, and they just said no." She angrily puts her shoes on. "Wow." She nods. "What can I do to help?" I ask. "Well, I was talking to some of the GSA kids about it, and we could plan a protest." She looks at me. "It could be big." She says. I nod. "Okay. I'm in." "Really?" She asks, surprised. "Yeah. This is important." I tell her. "Okay, thank you." She smiles brightly, as she scoots close to me. I feel the butterflies in my stomach intensify. "Oh, hey guys. Practice got cancelled, we're just gonna sit around and gossip all day. That sounds fun right?" The coach asks sarcastically. Izzie and I laugh, and get up to run. "2 laps!" the coach yells. Izzie and I race, like always.
After practice, the coach sits down to talk to me. "I heard about the protest that's being planned. I"m not saying that you shouldn't fight for what you think is important, but I don't want you to get suspended, and not be able to go to UCLA because of it." I nod, knowing it's a bad idea. "Just, don't be stupid, Casey." With that, she walks away. I need to tell Izzie that I don't want to do it anymore. It's too risky.
The next day, Sam tells me he's having a fundraiser, because he wants to go to Antarctica and needs money. I ask Izzie if she wants to go, and we meet at Sam's apartment. When she arrives, she's smiling widely. "You look happy." "Yeah, I just got back from the GSA meeting and it was so cool. I've never done anything like this. Plan a protest? It's so awesome." I give her a fake smile. I know I told her I'd do it, but I started thinking about UCLA, and what Coach Crowley said. This protest could mess everything up for me if I get suspended. "I love that, but…" I trail off, looking down. "What?" She asks, noticing my discomfort. I don't say anything for a second, knowing she's gonna be mad at me. "Would you be really mad at me If I didn't do it?" I ask, looking her in the eyes. "What?" She asks again. "I'm just worried. I've been working so hard, and I don't want to get in trouble. I just don't want to risk everything." I tell her. She looks at the floor, then up at me. "Okay. That's fine." I can tell that she's lying. I'm about to say something, when Sam starts his presentation. I don't listen to it, and instead think about Izzie. I know this is really, really important to her, and it would boost her confidence if I was there too. Why would we get suspended, if we're just stating what we feel is right? Maybe I should just do it, for her. It will show her how much I lov-like her.
I tell her that I'm in, and she instantly smiles, and kisses me. "Thank you." She says. We walk into the school, dressed in guys' outfits. I wear a tie with the Clayton white shirt, and pants instead of a skirt. I also wear a hat, which is definitely against the dress code. Izzie wears the boys blazer and ties her white shirt in a knot at the bottom, with pants. She's right, it is better this way. The people behind us are also wearing mis-matched clothes. There's at least 10 people besides us. Izzie and I walk in front of everyone, and head through the main hall. Everyone looks at us, some even take pictures. I can feel Izzie's confidence radiating beside me. We walk side by side, smiling and looking at everyone. She grabs my hand, and we walk confidently together. She smiles widely at me, before we break apart at the end of the hall, signaling the end of the protest. I'm glad I did it.