Chapter 19“Julia.”
Each time Mr. Fisher said his birth name, it was like a heavy weight pressed against his chest. Julian sat across from him in the principal’s office, Mr. Fisher’s chair squeaking and crying under his weight. For a long time, it felt as if he were just staring at Julian, baiting him. Waiting. But there couldn’t have been more than a few seconds between the birth name and what came afterward.
“Using the opposite bathroom is a serious offense. It’s written right into the school code of conduct.”
“Okay, but on what grounds? It’s just a bathroom.”
“It’s not just a bathroom. It’s a written law, both in and outside the school. How would you feel if a man went into the woman’s bathroom?” Mr. Fisher asked, and it felt like a threat. “The bathrooms have strict gender lines to
