She remembered the day she was born. Not the day she came out of her mother's womb, but the day she started living.

It was hot. The sun was bright. There were no clouds in the sky. She could feel the heat coming off the black street as she walked to the local swimming pool. She was scared. She hoped she knew what she was doing.

She wore a loose pink sundress. It had thin straps that showed off her shoulders. She was 14 years old, but she still had not hit puberty. Thank God for small things.

Her matching blue and rose flip-flops slapped the sidewalk as she walked on. She passed a store window and glanced at it. She saw herself, and she looked good.

Under her dress, she wore a one-piece swimsuit. She had sewn in padding from an old bra her sister, Lily, threw away. Her boobs were not big, but one could tell they were there. She also used some of Lily's make up. It was that stuff women put on their eyelashes to make them dark and long. She borrowed her lipstick too. She heard Lily telling her friend that this lipstick stayed on forever. She could eat and drink and it never came off. It was perfect for today.

Her hair was in tiny, stylish plaits. Its caramel color stood out against silver, opal, and ebony beads at the end of each strand. She was pretty.

She kept walking. As she went, her steps played a beat, "I... am... hot... .... I... am... hot... ..." She grinned to herself. She was hot in more ways than one.

Sweat dripped from her forehead. It was almost 100 degrees. Plus, she was nervous.

Would there be a lot of people there? Would they know her? Would they make fun of her?

"Maybe I should just go home.

But no! I waited too long for today. I planned this day for months. I was ready. I had this," Frankie debated silently.

She saw the ticket booth ahead. Her best friend, Allison, was waiting for her. As she got to the gate, Allison looked at her. For a few seconds, she did not seem to know who Frankie was. Then, a big smile took over her entire face.

"You look totally different and totally amazing!" She made a hand motion telling Frankie to turn in a circle. She did. Frankie's dress flowed with her spin tickling her legs. She felt like a movie star.

Glad that Allison liked how she looked, Frankie took a deep breath and said, "Ready or not, here I come." The friends hooked arms and went to pay. Allison went first. She got her bracelet, and entered the gate. Now it was Frankie's turn. Frankie knew the kid taking the money. He was Lily's age, and Frankie had seen him at the high school basketball games. He was on the team. He was a popular guy. She had even talked to him once when Lily went on a double date with him and his cousin. They waited in the kitchen until Lily came downstairs. Frankie served them drinks. They were cool. They treated her good.

Would he know who she was? Would he remember?

Her hand shook when she handed him the five dollar bill. He paid no attention. His name tag said Jeremy. Jeremy took Frankie's money, and gave her a bracelet and her change.

"Use this money to buy water. It's hot as hell out there today," he said with a grin on his freckled face.

She nodded shyly and took her money. She went through the gate to meet Allison.

"Mountain number one, crossed," Frankie said with relief.

Allison leaned close to Frankie's ear. She whispered, "Don't make mountains out of molehills."

Frankie looked at her with one raised eyebrow. "You are joking, right?"

"Not at all," Allison answered. "All will be well. You will see."

Allison and Frankie scanned the deck area. The place was packed! Little kids ran through the grassy area in the rear. Their screams were loud and happy. They heard a song by Juice WRLD playing from the left side. The scent of French fries hung in the thick air mixed with chlorine and tanning oil. Frankie's stomach rumbled.

There were teenagers everywhere. Some were tanning. Some were swimming. Some were looking around, and Frankie knew what they were looking for. The girls were looking for guys; the guys were looking for girls. Would they see her?

Allison hit Frankie's arm with her elbow. "Come on! I see an empty spot!"

"Where?" Frankie asked, looking around.

"Back by the snack shack," she pointed as she dragged Frankie toward it.

OMG! The snack shack was all the way on the other side. They would have to pass almost everyone. But places to sit were slim pickings. Frankie followed Allison.

They stepped over legs. They stepped on beach towels. Allison kicked a kid's arm float and it went flying. "Sorry!" she sang. She kept moving.

They moved around blankets. They hopped over pool bags full of suntan oil and bottles of water. And they passed people. There were so, so many people. No one spoke to them.

Was this a good sign? A bad sign? Frankie was not sure.

After what seemed like hours, the girls made it to the empty spot. 

They now knew why that spot was open. Someone had spilled a slushy. What a mess!

"Do not fear, Allison is here!" Frankie's BFF said. She looked at the young boy nearby. "May I borrow your buckets?"

The kid, around 10 years old, nodded. Allison scooped up the buckets and went to the changing rooms. She left Frankie there alone.

Frankie looked at the boy. The boy looked at her. They did not say a word.  They both stared. 

The boy did not move. He did not blink. Then, Frankie figured it out-- A staring contest! "This kid was toast!" Frankie said to herself.

All of a sudden, the boy started to laugh out of control. He rocked back. He slapped the ground. He rolled over and back and forth. 

"Oh, damn," Frankie said under her breath. "This little kid is on to me."

He sat up with tears rolling down his face. He was trying to stop laughing. He squinted into the bright sun toward Frankie. "You should have seen your face," he blurted. "You looked so serious."

Frankie let out a breath. She did not even know she was holding it. She raised her eyebrows at the boy.

"Your face looked so stupid..." he gasped between giggles, "...but you are not bad at staring, for a girl."  Then, he grabbed an iPad from under a towel, rolled on his stomach, and ignored her.

"He ignored me! Who would ever be happy to be ignored? Me! That's who!" Frankie thought with relief.

She was taking this as a point. One point from Jeremy at the gate, and one point from blond brat boy. Oh, how she loved that little brat right now.

Just then, Allison returned. She had two pails full of water. She moved Frankie to the side with her leg. She slowly poured the water onto the spilled slushy. She scraped the sticky mess to the side. Repeat.

Before long, the space was clean enough to put down their towels. Allison put the buckets back by Brat Boy. The girls set up their place.

Allison grabbed the hem of her cover-up. She pulled it over her head. She took off her flip-flops. She put the flip-flops and cover-up in her bag. "Your turn," she said so only Frankie could hear.

Frankie sat not moving. She shook her head slowly. "I can't," She replied.

"Yes, you can," Allison softly cheered Frankie on. She was such a cheerleader. Frankie looked at Allison sideways as she said in a hushed voice, "Teammmm Fraaankie!"  Only she could whisper and sound loud at the same time. Those cheerleading faces she made! Those fake happy faces - Eyebrows raised. Eyes wide. Mouth open. Frankie tried to change the topic by making a cheerleader face back at her. It did not work.

"Move it," Allia ordered. "You will look dumb sitting here with your dress still on."

She was right. Frankie did not want to stand out. She wanted to blend in. She took off her flip-flops. Step one, check.

She looked around. She could see no one watching them. In her head, Frankie counted, "1... 2... 3." In one swift move, she took off her dress. She froze. She listened. She looked around. Nothing happened.

"Wipe that scared look off your face," Allison said. "Let's lie down and get some sun."

Frankie turned on to her belly, and Allison laid back.   They turned their heads to face each other. They were about 18 inches apart, and they could talk. "We chose a great suit for you," Allison pointed out. "That light blue looks perfect with your brown skin. And those polka dots are so sweet!"

Frankie had to admit, that suit was bad! The neckline was high enough to hide the padding she put in there. The back was cut low for lots of  rear sun tanning. And the skirt. It was cute. Plus, it covered all the right places. That was the best part. Frankie loved this skirt.

"I love yours too," Frankie told Allison honestly. Allison was wearing a bikini. It was solid red with a ruffle across the top. It had straps she could take off when she tanned. Her long, wheat-colored hair was usually pulled up in a messy bun and today was no different. The red suit made her violet eyes pop.  

"Both of us are killing it today," she declared. The sun bathing beauties shut their eyes. Everything was perfect. 

Frankie was starting to relax. The sun was hot on her skin. There was a light breeze blowing. It felt good.

She was feeling comfy. Her mind started to wander. School would be starting in less than a month. Allison and Frankie would be freshman. They were the low ones on the totem pole now. It was scary and exciting at the same time. There would be new teachers, new students, new activities, and best of all, new starts. 

Later, Frankie opened her eyes. In front of her about two feet away, she saw legs. There were a lot of legs. She looked up. The legs were connected to girls. They were girls from their middle school. They were not just any girls. They were the mean girls.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked the ring leader, Becca.

Allison's head jerked up. Both Allison and Frankie scrambled to sit. The blood ran from Frankie's face. Her stomach felt sick. Her mouth was dry.

"Go away! Don't you have a first grader to torture?" Allison came to Frankie's defense. After all, they weren't standing there to bully Allison. They were there for Frankie.

"Allison, I see you are hanging out with freaks now. Are you thinking of joining the circus?" Becca sneered. She and her squad stood in a line; all four girls with their hands on their hips. Becca's three goons were giggling. They thought Becca was so funny. 

Frankie knew this might happen. She thought she could handle it. She wanted to run away. 

"You are just jealous because she is hotter than any of you," Allison shot back.

"I will admit, he doesn't look too bad, but what is under that skirt?" Becca kept on. She was not a girl who backed down from a fight. Neither was Allison.

"I hear that everyone knows what's under yours," Allison said sweetly.

Becca raised her slushy cup. She was going to throw it at Frankie and Allison. Before she got a chance, they heard a guy's voice off to the right.

"Is there a problem here?" It was Jeremy from the gate. 
 
Becca lowered the cup. Her angry look was gone  so fast. She looked at Jeremy. Her face was now sweet. She batted her eyes. "Of course not," dripped her sappy voice.

"That's good," Jeremy said. "I hate it when I have to ban people from the pool."

Becca led her goon squad away. She stomped her feet. She was mad.

Then, Jeremy turned to Frankie and Allison. "Frankie, I just finished my shift. I was coming back from the staff room. I am glad I walked by. That girl, Becca, is the manager's sister. Reports are that they have been bullying people all summer! This is the first time that I have caught them."

Frankie stood there shocked. Her mouth hung open. Why did Jeremy stand up for her? And the biggest thing: how did he know her name?

Allison broke through my silence. "Thanks, dude. I was about to punch her."

"No problem," Jeremy said. "Do you ladies want a ride home?"

Frankie looked at Allison. Allison looked at Frankie. They shrugged. "That would be awesome!" Allison answered for both of them.

They quickly grabbed their things. They threw on their covers.  They followed Jeremy out of the fenced pool to the parking lot. He stopped at a silver Ford Ranger. The pick-up truck had two jump seats behind the front bench. They both climbed in the back seat. Allison teased, "We will sit back here in case we need to kill you."

Jeremy laughed. "That's fine with me."
 
He started the truck. He turned down the loud radio. "So, my name is Jeremy. I am friends with Frankie's sister."

"Glad to meet you. You seem to know Frankie. I am Allison," Allison said with pep. That cheerleader came out constantly. Peppy, peppy, peppy! So peppy! Thank God for cheerleaders. Frankie was not feeling peppy.

"How do you know my name?" Frankie blurted out. That was the first thing Frankie had said since before Becca showed up.

"That's a long story," Jeremy cringed. "If you want, we can go somewhere and talk. Do you know any place we can go?"

Frankie nodded her head. "Make a left at the light."

They drove for a while. Frankie barked out directions. Soon, they were at the back field of Frankie's grandparents' farm.

Jeremy drove down the overgrown path. He parked. The teens all got out of the truck. Allison and Frankie sat on the tailgate. Jeremy stood in front of them.

"So, you wanted to know how I know your name." Jeremy paced. He was nervous.

"Yes, I do. Nobody calls me 'Frankie' except Allison and Lily." she stared at him. She was worried.

"Well, don't be mad."

Frankie stayed quiet. Jeremy continued. "You did not know this, but Lily and I are dating now. My best friend is my cousin. You met him that day we came to your house. You gave us Cokes. Do you remember that?" He looked at Frankie, and she nodded.

"My cousin, his name is Tucker." Jeremy was talking slowly. He was thinking hard about what he wanted to say.

"Well, Tucker is like you," he said, pausing again.

"What do you mean?" Frankie was confused. Tucker was a babe, if her memory was right. He had dark brown, wavy hair cut in a shaggy style. His eyes were blue and kind. He had a broad back and shoulders that led to a small waist. And then, a nice butt. Frankie remembered thinking that he was so cute.

Jeremy stopped Frankie's memory. "He is transgender."

Frankie froze. So did Allison. Both girls stared at Jeremy in horror.

"Don't be mad," Jeremy said again, "but Lily and I have talked about you."

Frankie's eyes opened wide with fear. Allison grabbed her hand for support.

Jeremy continued, "One day, I was telling her about Tucker. He is such a great guy. One thing led to another. It slipped out that when he was born, his mom and dad thought he was a girl."

Frankie's fear eased a little. She kept listening to Jeremy.

"Tucker was lucky. His mom is a counselor. She knows about gender. So, Tucker was able to live like the boy he is since he was about three years old."

Now Frankie was not scared at all. Now she just wanted to know more. Three years old? How did he tell his mom and dad? What did he do to get from a baby girl to the hottie he was today? Frankie hoped Jeremy would tell her.

"So after I told Lily about Tucker, she told me about you. That is how I know your name." Jeremy looked right into Frankie's eyes. "She is right. You are a pretty girl."

Frankie jumped up and gave Jeremy a hug. He hugged her back.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine," he said with no doubt in his voice.

Frankie looked at Allison and smiled. Frankie looked at Jeremy and smiled bigger.

She wanted to talk to Tucker. She had so much to ask him!  For the first time, Frankie believed that what Jeremy said was possible. Everything was going to work out fine.