Now into the month of October, thanks to the lingering threat from Miss Pentecost and her department, Angelo still had to continue attending school as a boy.
In spite of this, his mannerisms were becoming noticeably more feminine. So much so that he was called in by the school counselor for a meeting. It was at the request of his science teacher who had wondered whether Angelo was facing what he termed "special feelings."
Angelo had also been teased openly for his effeminate behavior, not a lot, at first but as he began to act more and more feminine, there were a few that began to reject him.
"Eeeeewwwwwww, I can't be a lab partner with this creature. It's not a girl and it's obviously not a boy. What is it?" The words came from Sonja, a tall athletic blonde, who was assigned to share a lab desk with Angelo.
"I don't wanna either," echoed another girl, a friend of Sonja.
Except for Eric and the girls in the ballet class, Angelo still hadn't really made friends with any others in the school. To be sure, he felt he was being viewed with disdain by some students due to his questionable gender.
This particular day in science class, hearing the harsh words from the two girls, Angelo couldn't hold back the tears and they flowed openly before the entire class.
This brought a bit of guffaws and derisive laughter before it was silenced by the strong words of Mr. Kennedy. He was the science teacher, a muscular young man who also doubled as an assistant basketball coach.
He told Sonja that she had to share the desk with Angelo, or else face disciplinary action. "We treat all students alike here," he told the class. "No one will be singled out this way."
Sonja moved over to the seat next to Angelo, whispering so only he could hear, "You're weird, an unnatural freak. Don't expect us to become friends. I'll do what I have to pass this class, but just know that I don't like you now and that's not going to change later, sissy boy."
Angelo merely nodded, his face still wet with tears. Mr. Kennedy walked over and handed him a tissue to dry his eyes as he went right into the day's lesson.
After class, he told Angelo that he was sending him to see the counselor, a trained clinical psychologist.
The psychologist asked Angelo what was bothering him, and Angelo said other students were harassing him because he was different. "I don't feel like I'm sick in the head or anything, but that's how a few of the other students are treating me," he told the psychologist.
A few moments later, the meeting with the school psychologist was cut short. This occurred as soon as he realized Angelo was in the foster care system. He offered Angelo no explanation as to why only instructing him to head to his next class and saying he would call the child welfare agency to alert them to the situation in school.
That bothered Angelo because he knew that as soon as Miss Pentecost heard about his continued feminine behavior he would be taken from Mary Elizabeth.
For the rest of the school day, Angelo was unable to concentrate on his class work. He was sick to his stomach worrying about what he knew would happen to him now.
That afternoon, as Angelo got off the school bus, something down the street caught his eye. What he saw was a car in front of his foster mother's house. He immediately knew that it was Anna Simms car.
The first thought to cross his mind was once again, the desire to run away.
For a moment, Angelo stood there seriously considering it, but then quickly dismissed the idea. He knew that doing so again would possibly put him back into situations that he wasn't equipped to handle, and so he told himself that was simply not an option.
Angelo continued to stand there as the school bus turned a corner in the distance. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage before slowly, nervously heading towards the house.
As Angelo entered the front door. He could hear the hatred Miss Pentecost's grating voice coming from the kitchen and he dreaded what he was sure the immediate future held for him.
"Angelo, come here," Mary Elizabeth called out, hearing him in the living room.
The dark fear surrounding Angelo pressed even harder on him as he placed his book bag on the loveseat, and slowly headed towards the kitchen. He just knew they were there to send him to a place where he'd have to be a boy, and play sports and become strong and muscular, and give up on ever getting to be who he knew he was.
Angelo nervously stepped into the room to find Miss Pentecost sitting at the kitchen table, talking with his foster mother along with Miss Simms.
He was directed to the only vacant chair at the small table in the breakfast nook. The three were having tea, and Mary Elizabeth asked if he wanted some as well.
He nodded that he would, keeping his eyes looking downward and his shoulders narrowed, feeling like his body was shriveling up into insignificance before the women.
"Angelo, look at me," Miss Simms said firmly, "We're not here to hurt you."
"Yes, ma'am," he said, looking up at her before turning his gaze towards Miss Pentecost.
As he looked at the tall, scary social worker, something seemed different about her. Was it his imagination or did her eyes seem to take on a look that was more kindly then last time he had met her? He continued to study her and decided that it must just be wishful hoping on his part.
"We've reviewed your situation, Angelo," Anna Simms began. "You're a very special young person, and you may be surprised to hear this, but we're now ready to look at that."
Angelo turned his gaze back towards Anna, unsure where this was going.
"I got a phone call from your school counselor today. What he told us served to confirm what we had already been looking at with you and your case. We know you have feelings of being different. We understand that you believe in your heart that you would have rather been born female, and we've done some research."
Anna picked up her cup of tea and took a sip before continuing, "What we've found is that this does indeed genuinely happen to some boys. Not many, less than half of one percent of the population. But, for those very few, the feelings are real. We have talked about this at great length and what we have decided is that we will be sending you to see some specialists in the next month for evaluation. You will discuss your feelings with them and they will determine the best way to help you. Would you be willing to do that?"
"I-I guess so," Angelo nervously replied.
"You would have to promise to be open and honest with the specialists and tell them everything you feel and all of your thoughts. Would you do that?"
Angelo looked at Mary Elizabeth before answering. His foster mother gave him a comforting, supportive smile as she nodded, encouraging him to answer yes.
Angelo replied, "Yes ma'am, I would."
At this point, Miss Pentecost, who up until now had been sitting there silently, spoke up, "We've been looking into transgender situations since your case came up, and we realize that you might be the real deal if there really is such a thing. We won't know for sure until we hear back on the evaluation from the specialist. But, it would appear that Mrs. Dayton here hasn't really done anything wrong, per se."
Miss Pentecost stopped there and Anna spoke up to clarify "We aren't so sure that your tendency to like feminine things and to act feminine was forced upon you by suggestions from Mary Elizabeth. It seems this is a part of your own person, that this is all you. So, we don't believe that any of this is Mary Elizabeth's fault or that she forced any of this on you. Is that correct, Angela?"
Miss Pentecost nervously shifted her weight and looked away.
"I guess so," he responded. "She did try to force me to keep being a boy, thanks to you guys, but that's the only thing she tried to force on me. It's getting so terribly hard to do though, I feel so much like a girl."
"Well," Anna said, "We'll have to see just how deep your feelings are. That's why you must see our specialists."
"Now," Miss Pentecost explained, "Since none of this can be proven to be Mrs. Dayton's fault, we aren't going to break her heart and take you from her. But, until we are able to render a decision you'll have to still go to school as a boy and wear boy clothes."
"Well in public," Anna added as Miss Pentecost looked on with her facial expression turning to one of disapproval, "What you wear and how you act at home is between you and your foster mom."
A huge smile spread across Angelo's face and he grabbed Mary Elizabeth's hand.
"Just as long as you continue to be a boy, in public," Miss Pentecost added harshly.
Miss Simms said her goodbyes to Angelo and his foster mom. Then the two of them left with Miss Pentecost not saying another word.
When the foster care workers had pulled out of the driveway, Angelo looked at Mary Elizabeth, "She's not so bad, that Miss Pentecost."
Mary Elizabeth laughed, "Even she can see the girl in you, although I still don't think she likes it."