THE COLLAB IS REAL CHAPTER 3 --------------------------------- The morning sun hit the brick exterior of the school, but it did nothing to warm the chill in my chest. Walking through the front doors felt like marching into a trap. Word traveled fast, and I knew James wouldn't waste any time spreading what he heard. My gender intensity felt like a shaky thirty percent today—present enough to feel the weight of the world, but too weak to fight back against it.I kept my head down, staring at the scuffed linoleum floor, trying to blend into the sea of moving backpacks."Phoenix! Hey, Phoenix!"A voice cut through the morning chatter. It wasn't James, and it wasn't Emily. It sounded completely unfamiliar. I looked up, blinking in confusion. Standing right in front of my locker was Nico, wearing a bright, oversized hoodie and waving frantically at me with a massive grin. "Nico?!" I blurted out, my jaw dropping. I froze, completely thrown off balance. Nico went to an entirely different school three districts over. There was absolutely no reason for them to be standing in my hallway on a random Tuesday morning. "What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly as I looked around to see if anyone else was watching. "How did you even get into the building? "Nico laughed, adjusting the straps of their backpack. "Surprise! Remember how my parents told me yesterday was my last day at my old school? Well, I realized I can go somewhere else next year! I hitchhiked over here to cut straight to the chase. "Nico leaned in closer, dropping their voice to a sharp whisper. The playful grin vanished, replaced by an intense, serious look. "I came here because we have a massive problem, Phoenix. I found something insane back at my place before coming over, and it involves you." "Involves me? What are you talking about?" I asked, my heart starting to hammer against my ribs. Nico unzipped the front pocket of their hoodie and pulled out a crumpled, folded piece of loose-leaf paper. "During lunch, the principal went off somewhere out of his office. I knew something shady was going on, so I sneaked inside to look through the files on his desk. I found this."Nico flattened the paper against my locker door. Written in unmistakable, rigid handwriting was a list: Students to remove: Nico Ashley Phoenix (success) Ryan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I stared at the page, my eyes locking onto my own name next to the word *success*. I felt my stomach drop into a cold, empty void. My chest tightened as the reality of the paper set in. "Ryan's non-binary, Ashley's a lesbian, I'm genderfluid, and you're boyflux," Nico whispered angrily, pointing tightly at the lines. "The principal is literally trying to get rid of all the pride students! And he’s doing it right during pride month!" "He... he actually wrote this?" I stammered, my hands trembling as I reached out to touch the paper. The elegant, looping signature at the bottom belonged entirely to the head of the administration. "He succeeded with me. The suspension, the isolation... it wasn't just an overreaction to Josh (My old bully). He wanted me out." "He came back into the office right after I grabbed it," Nico said, a small, triumphant smirk breaking through their anger. "He asked me why I was there. I told him I just lost something while I was in ISS, found it, and walked right out without him noticing. Something actually went right for once." Nico took the paper back, folding it safely into their pocket. "I already showed Ryan and Ashley. Now that you see the handwriting, you know it's real. We aren't letting him get away with this, Phoenix. We're going to expose him to the whole school."
