The Greatest Lie Part 14

"Are you sure you don't mind holding hands with the now-notorious sex-change kid?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm proud to be walking with the prettiest-ever graduate of Uni High."

Well, it wasn't quite true, but I did feel vindicated for all of my high school tribulations by the presence of my new guardian. Seth carried himself with an imposing physical presence. His embracing me in public legitimized my transformation while serving to exonerate him from the much-gossiped-about crime against me that he had participated in. It was a win-win, and if he was willing to request forgiveness, I was prepared to forgive.

When got back to the Starbucks, I asked "Would you mind waiting here with me for my bus?"

"Absolutely not," he replied. "I'll give you a ride. Where are you going? How are you getting around?"

"I got a ride here from a friend, and my mom is letting me use her car because she's out of town for a few days, but I have to get to her place."

"I'm parked just down the block. Where's home?"

"It's way up Kenter north of Sunset, two buses away, but that's OK. You have to work."

"S'OK, I already switched shifts with somebody. Let's go."

Seth's aged Caravan was parked up a side street. It smelled of fast food and spilled coffee. "Hand-me-down from my sister," Seth explained apologetically. "I'm saving up for a new one, but Starbucks doesn't exactly make me rich."

"Don't worry, I'm used to poverty."

"Kenter Canyon isn't exactly the ghetto."

"Mom's money isn't my money. I'm on my own, and I've had a lot of expenses."

"You mean school?"

"I mean surgery."

"Are you OK?"

"Seth, you silly baby, I've had sex-change surgery."

He almost hit the Escalade in front of him.

"Wow, I thought it was just, like, those hormones changed the way you look. I mean, I've heard of sex changes but I never knew anybody who actually did it."