[Pink Basic] An Unexpected Reacquaintance

A couple of days ago, I had a peculiar event happen at the X-Change store in town. I had just bought a bottle of Pink Basics for my personal use. Upon leaving the store, I bumped into someone, which caused me to drop the bottle in my hands as well as cause the person to drop whatever they we holding in their hands. I vaguely remember apologizing as they bent down to pick up my bottle of pink pills. I bent down to pick up what looked like an ID card. On the ground, it had landed with the NHPA ID side face up and in my curiosity, flipped it over to the government-issued ID. I didn't pay any attention to the name on the card, but the face looked familiar and upon looking up, it matched the face that was on the person.

I don't know if I uttered anything at that moment, but what I recall is that the person I bumped into was someone I knew when I was younger. He looked older, but there were features that jogged my memory. However, before I could properly reacquaint myself with him, he shoved the bottle of pink pills into my free hand and snatched the ID from my other. I was frozen on the spot while he disappeared into the store.

I guess we had our fight-or-flight moment at the door. He probably felt embarrassed as he was the last person I could imagine going to an X-Change store. There was no inkling of an interest in that sort of thing in the past, but I can understand that attitudes and personalities and most definitely interests can change over time. I too was feeling skittish, yet I did not run the other way. Maybe it's because I was comfortable with taking X-Change and more or less fine with having my secret come out into the open like that.

I wonder what he was thinking after running into the store following our encounter. I bet I was the last person he could imagine being into something like X-Change. I was outwardly manly and was a bit taller than him too in grade school. He had more admirable talents, like playing the piano and cliff diving into water. At least, that's what he usually posted on his Instagram. We were in the same circle of friends in middle school, but through high school, we drifted into new circles and new interests. After graduation, it's likely we found varying degrees of success in the real world.

I had a job after graduating and went to college for a time, but dropped out after a while. I cannot boast that I found the success that most of my classmates found in their chosen careers, though I have settled with the fact that I did go through a short period of depression, followed by my return to a job that in my eyes was a dead end. It still paid the bills and kept me afloat. When X-Change showed up in the world, it was still a taboo. I imagined what life would be like on a Pink Basic, but did not have the guts to purchase one illegally. Once the law passed after my 22nd birthday, I registered and bought pills on a regular basis. Even up until this point three years later, it has been a secret that I've kept to myself. I enjoyed not being the manly me for 24 hours at a time, though I didn't venture out into the community seeking, at the very least, a one-night stand. There was a thought that my singleness as a guy was so toxic, girls my age didn't dare acknowledge me. I wondered if there was a higher power punishing me for my lack of initiative. Maybe I was content on the impossibility of me getting a girlfriend, so my focus was becoming the opposite sex. I had this idea that while my classmates found success financially or in relationships, I could enjoy just not being my single male self in a cliched “sea with many fishes.”

But my encounter with this old friend from my childhood sparked a thought in my head. Yes, he had admirable qualities, but in my eyes, I always thought he'd leave his hometown after finding success. I imagined that he was more or less in the same boat as me and now has an interest in X-Change. I wouldn't know until I received some kind of confirmation. Then came a message on Facebook. It was a private message from the one and only person I bumped into at the local X-Change retailer.

“Can we meet?” the message read. I tried to contain my excitement, thinking it would affect my reply somewhat. I could have said no and closed the door on such an opportunity. He'd be the first and last person who knew I used X-Change. I would probably be the first and last person to him too. But I didn't say no. The introvert in me would have, but on X-Change, on a Pink Basic, as Charlene, I didn't feel like an introvert. Maybe a closeted extrovert, since I have yet made it publicly known that I was an X-Change user.

My reply to his request was a bit influenced by the voice of my alter-ego, Charlene, in my head. I told him we could meet. His request was a mixture of catching up, but primarily was all about our varied interest in X-Change. The online conversation was short, mainly to hash out the details of our reacquaintance, like the date, time, and location. What we didn't decide is whether we'd be on X-Change or not. In the end, I figured we'd appear in the body of our choice, so such a matter was up to chance at this point.

The conversation was a couple days ago, but the meeting is today. Depending on certain things that could change before our meeting, this reconnection could be a simple catching up, but it could also turn into a date. I assumed the outcome would be up in the air until that moment actually came into being.