Jolene ran into the backstage hall with Lee just behind her. "Alright, just get into costume and-"

Suddenly, a door opened and a female calico cat came out. She looked a little too old to be a student and wasn't wearing a costume or uniform, so she must be one of the faculty.

The cat smiled when she spotted the sheep. "Good evening, Jolene-san."

Jolene looked surprised to see the cat there. Lee thought for just a second that he saw a scowl on her face. But the sheep quickly gave an incredibly fake-looking smile. "Hello, Meredith-san. I'm surprised to see you here. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The cat cleared her throat. "I just wanted to take a look at your production here. See if you're up to the task of running the Drama Club."

Jolene laughed awkwardly. "Well, I'll try my best!"

"Well, there's one issue I've noticed right out the gate that has me a tad concerned."

The sheep glared at the cat. "Which would be?"

Meredith put on a concerned face, but something about it seemed insincere. "I just noticed a bit of a miscasting. Specifically, the male Dall sheep: Sebastian-san. It seems he's playing a role for a female character."

Jolene raised an eyebrow. "And what's wrong with that?"

"I'm afraid it's just inappropriate to have a male playing a character that is meant to be female." The cat smirked. "It wouldn't do to have a male running around, pretending to be a female. It sets a bad example for the behavior of other students."

Lee's jaw practically dropped. This wasn't some random transphobic bully, this woman is on the faculty and she's saying stuff like that?! The chimera was shocked and baffled.

Jolene's right eye twitched as she gave an incredibly fake-sounding laugh. "Well, it's the twenty-first century, Meredith-san. We don't have any need for antiquated gender norms. Besides, we rewrote the character to be male."

Meredith scowled. "Well, there's one other issue we have, regarding the casting of Sebastian-san. I did some research and found he had a mental breakdown before while practicing for Adler. And he's documented with a rather severe mental illness. I'm wondering if he's even fit to be acting."

Jolene put on a fake smile and spoke with excessive venom in her voice. "Sebastian-kun has done an excellent job managing his mental illness. He's very well behaved and is one of our better actors."

The cat sighed. "Well, another issue I've found was an incident from a few years ago. It seems back in middle school, Sebastian-san stabbed another student several times with scissors. You'll understand why I would have concerns about his mental stability. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to cancel the play and inform him that he can't be in the Drama Club."

Lee looked incredibly alarmed. "What?!"

Jolene put a hand up at Lee. "Just let me handle this."

Meredith put on another fake-looking sad frown. "I'm sorry. It's just too risky. I ask that you personally tell him. I feel you should break the news to him."

Jolene angrily glowered at the cat. "I'm afraid you're overstepping your bounds, Meredith-san. I'm fully aware that's not something you have the authority to demand. Sorry, but I have to refuse."

Meredith scoffed. "Very well. I'll have to inform the rest of the faculty of your decision to jeopardize the safety of your students by having a mentally unstable individual around them. I certainly hope they go easy on you."

The sheep was clearly holding back a scornful expression. Lee could feel hatred radiating off of the theater director like the heat of a bonfire.

The cat walked away and Jolene scowled. "I hate that bitch."

Lee looked at her with a concerned expression. "You're not actuallygoing to get in trouble, are you?"

The sheep shook her head. "No. I actually avoidedtrouble by refusing to do as she asked."

The chimera looked confused.

Jolene sighed. "That was a trap. If I were to dismiss Sebastian-kun from Drama Club, his father would hear about it and threaten the school again. The faculty would then put Sebastian back in the club to appease him. Take a wild guess who'd be in the most trouble for making Pina-san mad."

Lee looked shocked. "She was trying to get you fired?!"

The sheep nodded. "That rotten banshee has had it out for me since she found out I'm trans. She'll do anythingto get rid of me."

The chimera looked baffled. "But she told you to! Wouldn't it be on her?"

Jolene shook her head. "It's herword against mine. And she's wayhigher up the food chain than me."

Lee looked appalled. "That's how things work around here?! That's ridiculous!"

Jolene gave him a serious look. "Now isn't the time for getting angry. We have a show to put on."

Lee took a deep breath. "Okay. That's fine."

The play went perfectly. Lee was a tad paranoid about Ibuki being on stage again, but, thankfully, nothing happened. Getting rid of that group seems to have put an end to the violence.

After getting out of their costumes, Lee and Ibuki sat together at the fountain.

Lee looked at his boyfriend. "I need to ask. Were you aware of Jo-chan's past?"

"You mean her being trans? Yeah. When she first started working for Dad she hadn't transitioned yet, but still identified as female and dressed accordingly. She got started on hormone replacement therapy pretty soon after getting the job. It was actually pretty fascinating, watching someone slowly become more feminine over time. It's so gradual you don't realize it's happened until you look at an old picture."

The deer-wolf reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He scrolled through a social media app on his phone. "Here's one."

Lee looked at the phone and was stunned. He could tell it was a picture of Jolene, but she didn't look female at all. The person in the photo looked like a handsome young man. Somewhat androgynous, but masculine enough to be easily identified as being male, a feat simplified by the presence of two large horns. This younger Jolene was also far less curvy. To think this is what the adorable and effeminate female sheep used to look like. The wolf-rabbit whistled. "Wow. That's actually pretty cool."

Ibuki looked somewhat sad. "Some of the other employees talked about her behind her back. They were saying that she was deluding herself." The deer-wolf looked ashamed. "I was much younger when I first met her. I was a total ass to her and didn't respect her identity." He smiled. "But she just put up with my crap anyway. And the more I liked her, the more I changed my mind. And over time, the other employees started respecting her too."

He put the phone away. "I remember how happy she was when she finally got the surgery. Before I came out of the closet to Dad, I thought about her to prepare myself. I thought about how happy I could be if I was honest with myself. She inspired me. She's truly an amazing woman."

Lee smiled. "Seems like it. I already like her." He then remembered his and Jolene's run-in with Meridith and his smile turned into an angry scowl. "Some psycho bitch on the faculty has been trying to get her fired though."

Ibuki sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. A lot of the faculty at Cherryton wound up getting fired after the segregation thing. If this person is still bigotted despite that, she must be too significant for Headmaster Gon to fire."

Lee groaned. "I don't get why people even care. How hard is it to just use female pronouns? I don't know how you can even look at Jo-chan and notsee a woman."

Ibuki arched his eyebrows, looking contemplative. "But you're talking about appearance. If Sebastian-kun didn't have those big horns, everyone would think he's a girl."

The wolf-rabbit shrugged. "I didn't know about the horn thing though. So I thought he wasa girl."

The deer-wolf pointed a finger at his boyfriend. "And that's my point. You asked how you can look at Jo-chan and notsee a woman. But Sebastian-kun looks like a girl but isn't."

Lee tilted his head as he tried to interpret what Ibuki said and formulate a response. "Okay, but when you get to know Sebastian-kun he wants you to use male pronouns and identifies as male. But is it wrong to assume someone's gender until they tell you otherwise?"

Ibuki leaned back a bit. "That could be taken as rude, though."

Lee shook his head. "Sebastian-kun hasto know he looks like a girl. He intentionallydresses and acts like one. It'd be unfair for him to get upset that you mistook him for one."

"Perhaps. But why do we define those traits as being for women anyway? You're getting into cultural norms there. You're preemptively deciding that dresses and make-up are a girl thing. But cultural norms also dictate that because Jo-chan was born male that she should identify as and behave like one, which we just established is wrong."

"But you're assuming that all cultural norms are bad. You can't expect people to completely change their gender assumptions. If you wear what most girls wear then, of course, people will think you areone."

"But where does that put Esther-chan? She dresses like a boy and acts like one. But you can tell from her face and curves that she's female. Pretend you don't know Esther-chan for a bit. If you encountered her, would you assume she's a trans man or a female that likes to dress like a man?"

Lee fell silent for quite a while as he tried to work this dilemma out in his head. Jolene dresses as and identifies as female and was born male. Sebastian dresses as a female identifies as a male and was born male. Esther dresses as a male but looks like and identifies as female and was born female. Putting all these things together, the wolf-rabbit could only come to a single conclusion. "My brain hurts."

Ibuki let out a loud, barking laugh. The couple both laughed for a good thirty seconds. The deer-wolf wiped away his tears of laughter. "Let's just say gender is a complicated and nuanced thing and call it a night.

Lee chuckled "I can agree with that." The wolf-rabbit kissed his boyfriend on the lips before the two split up.

When Ibuki got back to his dorm, he noticed that Jiro had beaten him there and was sitting on his bunk. Even his other roommates were still out. He noticed that the artist had that manic look again and was drawing very quickly.

The deer-wolf looked closer at the sketchpad. As he expected, Jiro was drawing on the back pages. Ibuki must not have seen that the first time he caught the artist in this state.

Ibuki walked into the room. "Hey, Jiro-kun."

Jiro glanced at Ibuki. Like last time, his pupils shrank. But before he could shut the sketchpad, the deer-wolf held up a hand. "You can keep drawing. I've already seen the back pages. I won't judge you for whatever it is."

The fox stared at Ibuki for a bit. To the deer-wolf's surprise, he went back to drawing. But only for a few seconds before setting down his pencil. "I was just finishing it up anyway."

"May I see it?"

Jiro whipped his head in Ibuki's direction. Even with his non-functional face, the deer-wolf could tell he was shocked. "Y-you want to see it?"

Ibuki smiled and nodded. "I just said I won't judge you. But I understand if you don't want to."

The artist bit his lip. Ibuki could tell the fox felt conflicted. Eventually, Jiro took a deep breath and handed the sketchpad to Ibuki.

The deer-wolf grabbed the pad and looked at the drawing. In it, someone was being crushed to death by a giant snake. Their face showed an amount of pain that Ibuki couldn't even imagine as blood spurted from their mouth, and their eyes bulged out of their head. It sent a shiver up his spine. "Nice!"

Jiro blinked. "Nice? How is that 'nice'?"

Ibuki handed the sketchpad back. "It's good art. I'm impressed."

The vulpine looked at his sketchpad, then back to Ibuki. "B-but it's really sick and messed up."

The deer-wolf smiled. "It is! But I like it."

There was an awkward silence as the artist was clearly at a loss for words.

Ibuki chuckled. "Remember when we watched 'The Gleaming'?"

Jiro nodded.

"That was a really messed up and disturbing movie. There's no way the director wasn't a little deranged himself. But he was one of the most respected directors to ever live. He died years ago and his art is still being interpreted."

The fox looked at his sketchpad and went through all the old drawings.

The deer-wolf gave him an understanding look. "You don't need to hide it. Your disturbing art is just as much a part of you as the normal stuff. I think maybe you should try drawing one of these on the front pages for once."

Jiro looked back at Ibuki. "But… people will think I'm nuts if they see it."

Ibuki scowled. "Anyone that thinks your art makes you a bad person isn't worth your time. Those kinds of people never grow or change. All they do is try to repress what they don't understand. You reallydon't want to live life by their standards."

The fox looked back at his sketchpad and stared at it.

The deer-wolf smiled. "I'm not saying you should show it to random people. But if you let that aspect of your mind free, if you stop hiding from the people that judge you, what would you draw?"

Jiro stared at his sketchpad for a bit before flipping to an empty page on the front. He gazed at the blank, white paper like he was trying to see through it. Then, he had a glint in his eye. He picked up his pencil and started drawing.

Ibuki smiled and sat down on his bunk. His roommates came back and wanted to play a video game together. They invited Jiro, but he was completely spaced out, unable to pry himself away from the page. The deer-wolf was curious to see what the end product would be.

Esther held Olivia's hand as she escorted her back to the canine dorms.

Olivia smiled. "You were great in the play, by the way."

The tiger blushed. "Th-thanks. And uhh… thanks for coming too."

The lab brushed her head against Esther's shoulder affectionately. "How couldn't I come to see my girlfriend perform?"

"Well… you're just so shy. It still surprises me."

Olivia sighed. "It's not really shyness. People disproportionately stare at me as opposed to anyone else. And they're all looking at the same thing."

Esther looked a little sad. "It really is that bad, huh?" She scratched her head awkwardly. "Is there a way to make them smaller? Like, through surgery?"

The lab gave her a skeptical look and spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Oh, yes I'm sure you'd loveto see me shrink them."

The white tiger bit her lip. "I like them. But I don't like seeing you upset. If it can help you, I'm all for it."

Olivia smiled. "That's sweet. But… well, I'm just not comfortable changing my body like that. It seems unfair that I should have to if I want to be taken seriously."

Esther nodded. "I get that. Permanently changing your body sounds scary. I wouldn't want to get any kind of surgery that I don't absolutelyneed."

The lab chuckled. "That's not a bad mentality to have."

The two arrived at the canine dorms.

Esther grinned. "I'll see ya tomorrow, hun!" She gave the lab a deep kiss on the lips before walking away.

Olivia blushed. "Bye, Esther."

The white tiger made her way back to the feline dorms, excited to take a shower.

On the way, her ears twitched when she heard something odd. It sounded like somebody walking through foliage. She turned towards the woods and saw some of the trees and bushes shift. Someone was walking through the woods, but she couldn't tell where they went. Creepy.

After a good shower, Lee got into his bunk and pulled out his phone.

Lee: "The play went perfectly. Nobody attacked Ibuki."

Legosi: "Glad to hear that!"

Haru: "So I guess all the members of that group were arrested, huh?"

Lee: "Apparently the mom of the new theater instructor was your next-door neighbor when you lived in a condo."

Legosi: "Wait, do you mean Sebun-san?"

Lee: "Yeah, her. The new theater instructor is Sebun-san's kid."

Legosi: "You mean Joel-kun? I haven't seen him in a long time. How's he doing?"

The chimera titled his head. Her original name was "Joel?" Seems strange to pick something so similar to your old name. He resolved to ask Jolene about it when he got the chance.

Lee: "She's doing fine. But she goes by 'Jolene' now."

There was a very long pause before the next message.

Legosi: "Sorry. Are you saying Joel-kun changed genders somehow?"

Haru: "You DO know what trans people are, right?"

Legosi: "Trans people? Like movers?"

Lee: "Huh?"

Legosi: "Do trans people transport things?"

The chimera was completely dumbstruck by what he just read. Then, he broke down into uncontrollable laughter. At the volume he was at, the room next door could probably hear him.

Haru: "Holy shit, Legosi…"

Lee wheezed as he typed a message back.

Lee: "LMFAO!"

The chimera heard Oscar's voice outside the curtain. "What's so funny, Lee-kun?"

Lee informed the entire room of the contents of the text. Immediately, Lee's roommates joined in on the uproarious laughter. He repressed his laughing fit and shushed them. "Y-you're gonna piss off the Housemother if she hears you. Pipe down."

Legosi: "Well, what does it mean then?"

The chimera's laughing fit finally came to an end.

Lee: "It means TRANSgender. Someone that was born the wrong sex. Jo-chan is one of those people, so she had surgery to change her gender."

Legosi: "Wait, you can do that?"

The chimera snickered at his father's ignorance on this subject.

Haru: "How are you only learning this now?"

Legosi: "I don't know. Nobody told me, I guess."

Haru: "I think you need to read the news more often, sweetie."

Legosi: "Well, either way, I'm happy for him."

Legosi: "I mean her."

Haru: "If kids get bullied at Cherryton just for being gay, I can only imagine how they treat trans people."

Lee: "It's pretty bad. The only reason I know Jo-chan is trans is because some asshole was bugging her about it."

Legosi: "It seems being different in ANY sense is a problem at Cherryton. I'm so sorry for sending you there, Lee."

Lee: "Don't be. I've met a lot of friends. And Ibuki is my boyfriend now. I can't complain."

Haru: "I'm so happy for you and Ibuki-kun. I'm sure you two are a cute couple."

Legosi: "Either way, don't let people push you around, Lee. You should avoid fights when you can, but stand up for yourself and others."

Lee: "Right. It's about bedtime. Love you guys. Goodnight."

Haru: "Goodnight, sweetie."

Legosi: "Goodnight, Lee. And when you get the chance, tell Jolene-chan I said 'Hello'."