FAGGOT

Left sock. Right sock. Running shorts. T-shirt. Shoes.

Getting dressed has a specific order. 

I never really think about it. I just do it. It’s the way I’ve always done it.

…

“Only faggots put their socks on before their pants,” my older brother informs me from the top bunk. 

He gets pleasure from suggesting my preferred dressing method makes me a faggot. I know a challenging retort would end in my physical dismantling. So, I finish getting dressed and hurry out of the room. I wasn’t a faggot, so why bother. 

“Did you hear me, faggot?”

…

I heard him then, and I hear him now. 

I hear him every time I get dressed.

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