Ever since Amber was little she had been a tomboy. When her mom would sit her down and comb her hair to put ribbons in it, Amber would scream and throw a fit and yank the ribbons out as soon as she could. Her mother would dress her in beautiful pink satin dresses and at first chance Amber would pull them off and be back in her shorts and tees. And when her mom would set up playdates with other girls, girls who brought their Barbies and their dress-up clothes, well. Those girls usually ended up sitting and staring aghastly at Amber while she played with her own army men and cars.

Her mom finally gave up when Amber was five.

When she started school the other little girls made fun of her, saying that she looked like a boy, refusing to play with her. Of course, Amber didn't want to play with them, anyway; their stupid dolls were so boring! She instead tried to play with the boys, and after the first few awkward days where they weren't sure how to react to this strange little girl, the boys in her class accepted her as one of them.

Junior High came and went, and along with it the horrors of puberty. Amber found herself with so many girl issues that she wasn't ready to face yet, and being too embarrassed to talk to her mom about them, she wished in vain for a girl friend to share with.

Junior High was also when Amber developed her first serious crush. He was so athletic and smiled so often, she couldn't help but be drawn to Henry. The summer of their thirteenth year they spent nearly every waking moment together, playing basketball and surfing the gorgeous Californian waves. It was one such morning when Amber learned the price for being herself.

As they leaned on the beach, both totally exhausted and wet from the ocean surf, Henry laughed out loud and began to talk. "You know... I love hanging out with you. It's so refreshing to not have some chick hitting on me all the time; you're so easy to chill with."

Amber considered what he said for a moment, then decided that she could totally take that as a compliment. As she turned to him to say how much she also enjoyed their time together, Henry continued, and what he said astounded her.

"I guess it's so easy since you're a lesbian."

Henry moved away to Canada shortly after, Amber never getting the courage up to tell him that no, she wasn't gay, and she very much liked him. 

High school came with all of