NOVEL NEXT 12. Day 365, 8:00pm
"Are you sure you want to watch this?" Vivian asked as she thumbed the remote and turned on the big living-room TV.
I settled onto the sofa next to her and handed her a cooler, then grimaced "Nope. But you know our profs will all expect us to know this stuff when we head back to college."
She sighed, "Fair point. I guess we either watch it now, or stream it later."
"We'll probably wind up doing both," I grumbled. "I'll bet there'll be tests on some of this crap."
"Ugh," Viv groaned.
It was the last Sunday of August and we had one more week before school started up again. The summer break was only six weeks long this year, thanks to the late start last autumn most schools didn't close out the year till mid-July.
More to the point though, today was the one-year anniversary of the phenomenon. There was a two-hour 'special report' on TV tonight, and probably half the people in the country would be watching it. Me and my girlfriend included. It was supposed to be part press-conference, part news broadcast, and part retrospective, like a year-in-review of the past twelve months.
I was worried it would be too depressing, but like I told my girlfriend it would probably be required content for both our courses at college. So the two of us were practically cuddling together on the living-room sofa, watching the special report on the big screen TV and sipping coolers.
Despite my concerns, the news thing wasn't too grim to start with. They ran some clips from that first day, where everyone was looking stunned and shell-shocked, and everyone was wearing clothes that didn't fit. Unfortunately a lot of news people and politicians got deadnamed since the old footage either mentioned or displayed their old names on the screen.
The first half hour or so was more that 'year in review' stuff, but only focusing on the big news items and positive stuff. They spent time highlighting all the positive programs the government implemented, like the ID stuff and the education reform, they threw lots of numbers out like how many people were taking advantage of free college, how many people changed their name when they got updated ID. There were even some charts showing how the economy was on the rebound.
Some of it felt a little like propaganda, like there were elections coming up and it was a little sus how they were highlighting all the great things the current government did in response. But they weren't lying, and they weren't slagging the opposition. It was facts, but it was convenient facts.
After a half hour of that, things got grim. The news-anchor actually kicked off the next section with a content warning, that they'd be discussing the darker side of the situation. She suggested children and sensitive viewers might want to tune out for a while and come back at the top of the hour.
Viv and I both braced ourselves and finished our coolers, but we kept watching.
For the next half hour the program didn't pull any punches. And none of it was surprising, but some of it was stuff that had never been reported before, or at least not in detail. We found out alcohol and drug abuse had gone way up after the phenomenon, like reported cases had gone up tenfold in some areas. That was a thousand-percent increase and it was shocking.
Depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns were also way up, some estimates suggested as much as thirty percent of the population were dealing with a mental health issue that was severe enough to impact their daily life. That was sobering, and made it clear why it was so important for new students like me to get through our courses and get to work.
Then they got to the really grim stuff. We'd been told all year that suicide was up but tonight we found out how high it was. There were a couple big spikes in that graph, the first covered the week immediately after the phenomenon, the second spike came in the third week. There were a couple smaller spikes, like the second and third time 'shark week' rolled around, and another spike at the holidays.
The reality was we all knew about it. Me and Viv and Kev were lucky it didn't affect anyone in our immediate circle, like my family, Viv's family, even Maya's family. But Kevin had friends who lost family members. There were three people at Cheryl's work who never came back after the lockdown. And I found out one of the guys me and Viv went to school with didn't make it through that first shark week. So we all knew about it, but it still surprised me to see how high the numbers really were.
Maybe the grimmest news of all was finding out the country's population had already dropped slightly. It wasn't a huge drop, less than half a percent, but it was another unexpected shock.
Me and Viv were positive the population would be stable for at least a year or two, we thought the lack of new births would be offset by the lack of deaths from old-age. Apparently the increase in suicide and other phenomenon-related deaths, like complications from alcohol abuse and drug overdoses, was high enough to tip the scale slightly.
Fortunately that was the last of the really grim news, and they finished up that section of the program with what the news still treated as a positive statistic.
They weren't using terms like 'former men' anymore, but they reported that the percentage of that demographic who had accepted their new situation and changed their name or were otherwise ok with things was now between eighty and eighty-five percent, and the number was still slowly going up. The rate of climb tapered off significantly after the first few months, but it seemed like one or two percent every month were still going in and changing their names and stuff.
By that point it was just after nine o'clock, and I heard the front door open and close as my little brother finally got home. He'd spent the weekend at Maya's place again. Kevin was spending as much time there as Maya spent here, because they had a swimming pool at her house and both Kev and Maya were enjoying that through the hottest part of the summer.
He got himself a cola then joined Viv and me in the living-room. He quietly greeted us as he slumped into a chair and looked at the TV.
I found myself staring at him for a few seconds instead of the news report, I almost couldn't believe what he was wearing. My little brother had nothing on but a bikini top and a pair of cut-off shorts, and some sandals on his feet. There was a whole lot of skin on display, and from what I could see it all looked tanned. Plus some time in the spring he stopped getting his monthly haircuts, he'd started letting his thick soft brown hair grow out again.
As soon as there was a commercial break on the TV I asked, "Kevin? What the hell are you wearing?"
He had a sip of his drink then smirked, "It's a boykini. Like a bikini, but for boys."
I had no idea if he was serious or just messing with me, but considering what they just finished saying on the news I was suddenly worried about my brother again. I couldn't help wondering if he was changing sides but doing it slowly. Like he started wearing tight clothes and showing off his curves back in the spring. Then he stopped getting his boy-style haircuts. Now it looked like he'd been showing off his body enough to get a decent tan, and here he was in a bikini and cut-offs.
"Kev?" I asked warily, "Are you just messing with me? Or what's going on? I'm serious, are you... Are you changing teams or what?"
He shook his head, "I'm still Kevin, I'm still a guy. But this is my body and I'm not ashamed of it anymore."
He pointed at himself and said, "I'm a boy. These are boy boobs. Boy hips. Boy butt. And I'm wearing a boy bikini and boy shorts. And boys can have long hair too."
I continued staring at him as I thought that through. Like on the one hand I couldn't argue with what he was saying. In some ways it felt positive and affirming. On the other hand I worried it was like another kind of denial. Like he was basically dressing and acting like a girl in every way except his name and pronouns.
My thoughts were derailed when Viv nudged me to get my attention back on the TV, the commercials were finally over.
The next part of the special report was all about science news. They were very positive and optimistic about the reproductive science breakthroughs. That stem-cell stuff we first heard about last September was progressing and they were talking about starting clinical trials within the next year. They cautioned the original estimate of five to ten years still applied, like before this sort of thing became available to the general public. And some of the experts suggested it might be a staggered roll-out or whatever, to prevent an uncontrolled population boom.
The next segment was a pleasant surprise. They actually started talking about trans stuff, and in a positive way. There was a nodd to how half the population now understood what trans people had been dealing with all along, and a comment how a lot of trans women came out of the phenomenon better off than the rest of the population. Then they started talking about trans men.
Guys who were already trans men before-hand weren't changed, but they were still affected in other ways. And after the phenomenon there was a spike in the number of people now identifying as trans men.
The biggest surprise was the government was looking at expanding healthcare for trans guys. They weren't making any official promises yet, but things like free gender-affirming surgery and free hormone therapy were all on the table.
I figured there were probably a few politicians and maybe wealthy political donors who fell into that category now, so suddenly it was an issue they cared about. But whatever the reason, it was nice to know trans guys weren't being overlooked or forgotten.
At the next commercial break I looked at Kevin again and asked, "Kev? Did you ever look into that stuff? HRT, surgery, any of those options?"
"Yep," he nodded. "I read up on it after you told me last year. And they actually talked about that stuff in school back in the spring? I thought about it, but I don't think it's for me."
I frowned slightly, "So... I'm guessing you're not dysphoric about your body anymore? I mean, the last couple months you've seemed pretty comfortable with yourself."
"Yeah pretty much," he shrugged.
"So you're ok looking and acting and dressing like a girl, but you're still a guy, still keeping the name Kevin?"
He rolled his eyes, "Honestly sis I think you're too hung-up on the whole gender binary thing. And considering the past year, I think that's a little old-fashioned of you."
That made me frown again and I asked, "Are you trying to tell me you're non-binary?"
"I don't really like that term," he replied. "I think it still reinforces the binary concept."
Vivian finally joined the conversation, "How about 'gender non-conforming'?"
Kevin smiled, "That's a better term. I'm not sure it's the right one for me, but I like it better than non-binary."
Our conversation paused again as the commercials ended and the news report started up again.
The next bit was about sports, and with this being Canada it was mostly about hockey. Or at least, they led with hockey. A hot brunette in a hockey jersey basically confirmed the stuff that was predicted last year. Both in hockey and other major sports, almost all the professional organizations merged their men's and women's leagues together. The NHL would be starting a new season in two months, and according to the brunette about a third of the players were former NHLers, another third were WHLers, and the remaining third were rookies or called up from the minor leagues.
The story was the same for other sports too, like baseball and basketball. They had a brief clip from a FIFA rep who said the World Cup would be put off two years because they were starting over with all the different soccer leagues around the world. All the various teams had been shaken up so much they were beginning with new qualifying rounds again.
After the sports stuff, they finally got to the press conference part. It opened with that tired old clip of the prime minister coming out. I knew they'd run that sooner or later, but at least they used it to segue into her live speech.
She was dressed up in a cute designer dress, with nice make-up and her hair looked really good. Her look made me think of like a girl-next-door type after an amazing glow-up. Though I realized that was probably intentional and carefully planned. After all she was a politician and this was an election year.
Monique talked about how the past twelve months brought lots of challenges and hardships but she was proud of our country and people for hanging together and pulling through and all that stuff. She was optimistic for the future, she talked about all the great things that were coming up in the next few years to help everyone adjust into this new reality.
I had to hand it to her, she was very charismatic as a man and she was even more-so as a girl. She talked up all the positive stuff, and congratulated the country for getting through the negative stuff. She made it seem like she wasn't ignoring all the trouble and pain but at the same time she wasn't dwelling on it. And she definitely focused on the positive and how bright she thought the future would be.
Finally she thanked all the people who worked hard to help hold our society together, from emergency workers to scientists to grocery store staff to every individual who reached out to help their family and friends and neighbours.
That basically wrapped up the speech, and the news anchor wrapped up the rest of the show soon afterwards.
Vivian hit the remote and turned off the TV then looked at me and asked, "What did you think of all that?"
I grimaced, "I think I'm still going to have to stream it. It'll take a few more viewings for all the nuance and details to sink in. On the whole though? I guess it was ok. Some of it was grim, nothing was that big of a surprise, and the overall message was positive, I think."
"I feel the same," Viv agreed.
My attention returned to my brother again, and I asked "So you're comfortable now looking and dressing and sometimes acting like a girl, but you're calling yourself a boy?"
He rolled his eyes, "Why does it even matter anymore? Maybe I'm not a boy or a girl, I'm just a person. The whole concept of boys and girls is gone and done Callie. Maybe you need to let it go. Just let people be whoever they are without trying to fit us all into boxes."
Vivian asked "Are you happy Kevin?"
"Yeah," he replied. "There's some stuff I'm not happy about, obviously. If you want to hear me say it then fine, I miss my dick. But life goes on. I've got lots of friends, and I've got a hot girlfriend. I'm really enjoying playing softball and I'm looking forward to getting back to school next month. I'm not stuck in the past. Like the PM said in her speech right? Looking towards a better future and all that."
I smiled, "Ok Kevin. I'll stop worrying about it and I'll stop bugging you. If you're happy that's the main thing. The rest is just words and labels."
"Good," he grinned as he got up. "I'm going to my room. G'night sis, g'night Viv."
"Good night Kevin," I replied, then I cuddled up with my sexy purple-haired girlfriend.
I whispered, "Kevin's right. So are you. There's a lot of good things to look forward to. It's going to be a better future."
Viv gave me a kiss and replied, "It is. And we're going to face it together."
~ The End ~
