Jamie (A Novel) by L. D. Lapinski

Author:L. D. Lapinski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: little bee books
Published: 2024-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Jamie Rambeau’s

Guide to Words

LGBTQ

LGBTQ is an acronym—every letter stands for something:

L-Lesbian

G–Gay

B–Bisexual

T–Transgender

Q–Queer/Questioning

Sometimes there’s a + after it as well because there are so many identities it would be a super long acronym if we tried to squash them all in. Non-binary people come under the T for transgender, because we don’t identify with the gender we were assigned when we were born.

10

We walked through town feeling half like villains and half like secret agents. I had the folded-up non-binary flag in my backpack and some printouts about Non-Binary People’s Day. Daisy had a backpack full of face paint (“In case we need to make a statement!”), and Ash had a lot of worries. He had worked himself up before we even got out of the train station.

“What if they throw us out?” he squeaked, holding his backpack so tight he looked in danger of absorbing it. “What if we get in trouble?”

“We can’t get in trouble for asking a question,” I said. “I don’t think. Besides, it’s a public building. Anyone’s allowed in, aren’t they?”

Daisy nodded. “I think so. It’ll be fine, Ash. Relax.”

Ash did not relax, and instead pulled his hood up and burrowed down into the neck of his clothes, to the point where he looked like a disembodied pair of eyes floating in the dark.

We had to walk from the station into the middle of town to get to the Council House. Ash has been nervous about crowds his whole life, so he made us take the long way to avoid the busy shopping center. By the time we got to the town square, where the Council House building was, Daisy was cross, my feet were complaining, and I needed the bathroom.

This was a problem.

Public bathrooms are my nemeses. I’ve almost wet myself on multiple occasions because I’ve tried to hold it in rather than pick which one to use. Small coffee shops are usually the best places because they tend to have one bathroom for everyone to share, but they often expect you to buy something. I don’t like using accessible bathrooms because I’m not disabled and I might be in there when someone who actually needs to use the space wants to. Then there’s the problem of finding a bathroom at all—the council closed down the public ones in the center during the pandemic lockdown and never reopened them, so if you get caught out you’ve got to make a decision fast, or else end up sneaking into the cat café and hoping no one spots you slinking around the walls to get to the bathroom.

“Go in McDonald’s,” Daisy suggested. “It’s busy in there, no one will notice you’ve not bought anything. Though if you’re buying, I wouldn’t mind some fries.”

“They have separate men’s and women’s bathroom in there,” I whined. “What if someone stops me?”

Daisy took her pink baseball cap off and plonked it on my head. “There you go. Ta-da. Now you’re a girl.”

“Wow,” I said, adjusting the hat. “Master of disguise, you are.

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