A Queer Turn of Events

  by Lisa Lees

"Mommy? Why does Aunt Carys look more like a boy every time she visits us?"

"We'll talk about that later, honey." A lot later, if I have any say in it.

"Cait! It's a disguise!" said Carys.

"And I'm the Queen Mother."

"Really, Mom?"

"Hush, darling. Jami, at least you look..."

"Not in the least like I have an XY karyotype?" Jami smiled and jiggled her breasts.

"I give up." Caitlin shook her head. "Let me get the twins in bed, and we can talk."

"All righty," said Carys. "We'll go help get our bivouac set up in the garage."

"Thanks for helping us out, Cait," said Jami. "When I explain, you'll understand just how much this means to us."

Mommy? Why does Aunt Carys look like a boy?

"Konichiwa!"

"Konichiwa!" Sandy looked around the club. The room was filled with people about her age, many of them visibly queer. Well, here we go.

"My name is Sandy. I'm the bass player for Wizzy Wig. We call ourselves a genderpunk performance troupe, and we're from East Lansing, Michigan." She paused for the clapping to stop.

"You've all heard the slogan, silence equals death. We're going on the road to tell a story with our songs and performance pieces about something so hideous and evil that you'd just laugh if I told you in a few simple sentences. So please pay attention tonight! If any of what we say strikes a chord with you, come talk with us. This may be a life and death matter for you or someone you know. There is evil out there; it may have touched some of us, and it's for certain hunting some of us."

People started talking, some shaking their heads, some looking frightened. Sandy motioned for the crowd to be quiet. "We'll talk afterwards, and we have a free CD to pass out that has all kinds of information on it. Please listen to our story!" She handed the mic to Emiko, then looked at Crystal, who nodded and smiled.

Right on, babe, thought Crystal. Is anyone going to believe us? Other than, obviously, the people who want to find Jami? Whatever. Time to play. She put the strap of her guitar around her neck and walked to center stage. Giving Sandy a quick kiss, which won a cheer from the crowd, Crystal struck their first chord.

Once they started playing, singing and dancing, the crowd got into it. Carys thought she noticed people maybe paying a little more attention than usual to the words, and to their performance pieces. Good, she thought, that's the whole point of this gig.

Once they wrapped, a number of people came up to Kay to take one of the CDs they had prepared. Emiko, nervously watching people, noticed that one person seemed to be hanging back, and finally was the last of the crowd remaining in the club. She put a hand on Jami's shoulder and pointed the person out to her. "Jami. I think she wants to talk with us. It's weird. She almost looks familiar. I feel like I've seen her somewhere, but I can't place it."

Is anyone going to believe this?

"I forget sometimes who I look like."

Jami looked where Emiko was pointing and her eyes went wide. She felt like she'd grabbed a live wire. She dropped the toolbox she had in one hand and stared. "Holy shit!" she gasped, "who are you?"

The girl standing off to the side smiled slightly. Letting her pack slip off her back to dangle from one hand, she walked up to Jami and Emiko. "Sorry, " she said, looking at Jami, "I forget sometimes who I look like. I'm not Lain, not really. My name's Lisa. But the older I've become, the more I've felt out of place in the real world."

She paused. "I know what you all are talking about. I figured it out for myself, but I had no idea what to do. I dropped out and ran away two months ago, and I'm about at the end of my resources now."

She looked at the floor. "Uh, when I was in school, I did a lot of theater stuff, before I got so weird that even that crowd didn't want me around. Do you all maybe need another roadie or something?"

"You can come with us," said Emiko. Jami nodded. Lisa closed her eyes and heaved a huge sigh of relief.