I doubled my E dose today, first day of the ramp up. Just like day one, I was giddy and laughing uncontrollably at times. I had told my co-workers that I was on anti-depressants to explain my changing mood. (It's not a lie, E stopped me from being depressed.) Someone asked what was wrong with me. I told them that today was the day I had doubled my anti-depressants. A co-worker whom I am good friends with, let's call him "Kenny", asked why I didn't bring any to share.
"Trust me, you wouldn't want them." I said
"Come on, I'm depressed too. This job sucks!"
"No, I'm pretty sure these wouldn't help you, they're part of my deep, dark secret." (I've been pushing people off of trying to friend me on Facebook by saying that my page contains a deep, dark secret. My Facebook page is in my girl name, so it would kind of be a dead giveaway.)
"Why, are they actually estrogen?" ->-bleeped-<- ->-bleeped-<- ->-bleeped-<-, I'm so effing dead. I'm in the bible belt, I'm trans, and I'm SO effing dead! (I work in a factory, it's loud and everyone wears earplugs, so no one else heard this but me. At least, I hope they didn't...)
"What?" I stop working and look at him, his face is completely deadpan.
"What?" He says, looking directly at me.
We say "what" back and forth for a bit, until I just turn away and go back to work. Okay, it was just a joke. He doesn't know, it was just a joke.
A few minutes later I hear "So is that your secret, you're becoming a woman?" Okay, now I'm effing dead.
"Am I that obvious?"
"Kinda. I mean, how else would you know so much about transsexuals?" (We've had conversation about trans issues before. I don't bring it up, I just try to do damage control on misunderstandings and bigotry.)
"Yeah, I guess that was kind of obvious." Oh gods, if he figured it out, then other people must know too! I'm so effing DEAD!
"Just a little bit."
"Please, you can't tell anyone I'm trans. I could lose my job, or worse, my life. I need you to keep this a secret. Please?"
He looks at me for a second and says "Oookay." Of course he knows he's not supposed to out me, he dated a trans guy before he transitioned, he knows the rules. Duh...
A few minutes after that I hear "So, uh, you were joking, right?"
"What?" wat
"About being trans?" WAT
I just stare at him, dumbfounded, while my traitorous cranium shakes back and forth in a clear 'no'. He was joking. I'm an idiot. A dead idiot...
"Oh, well... That's cool I guess. I don't really care either way, it's your business." I can see my tombstone now. 'Here lies [boy name], he thought he was a girl.'
"You were joking?"
"Um, yeah, sorry." At this point I start hitting my head against my press.
"Well then, why don't I just ->-bleeped-<-ing tell everybody at this point!?"
So yeah, it went well, I just wish it hadn't happened at all. I really wasn't planning on coming out to anyone at work for months, if ever.
Edited for profanity