Natalia woke up to the sound of mechanical humming. She sighed. She needed to get her metal arm fixed. It was always messing up in some way, making her spill coffee on herself or accidentally scribbling on her homework. Sometimes she wished she wasn’t a cyborg. She was tired of her arm. Most of all, she was tired of hiding her true self, living in a world where cyborgs were looked down upon. I hate this, why do I even have a metal arm in the first place, she thought.
At least her best friend Steve knew. He would always comfort her, tell her that it was okay to be different, okay to be unique. He also didn’t pester Nat about why she had that arm. They’d been best friends since they were five years old, and now that they’re eighteen, she’s glad nothing has changed. What he didn’t know was that being a cyborg wasn’t the only difference. She was also bisexual. Nat wasn’t sure how he would react if she told him, so she just never told him.
As they walked into school together, Nat made sure her arm wasn’t showing. She always wore long sleeve shirts to hide it. Thank god there weren’t any bullies at school.
“Who’s that new girl?” Steve asked.
Nat craned her neck to see what, or who, Steve was looking at. The girl Steve was looking at had long hair as black as coal and brown doe-eyes. She was tiny, at least shorter than Nat, who was only 5’5.
“Let’s go talk to her. She looks lost,” Nat replied. They walked towards the girl.
“Hey, my name’s Natalia, but you can call me Nat for short. This is Steve,” Nat said.
“Oh, uh, hi. I’m Reyna. I’m new here, but I think you know that already.”
As they chatted and walked to class together, they realized that they all had homeroom together. Over the next few weeks, they became close friends. It was almost like Reyna grew up with them. She was easy to talk to and very charismatic.
One day, Nat found herself thinking about Reyna as more than a friend. Oh, no, I’m getting a crush on her, she thought. She immediately started to text Steve when she remembered that he didn’t know about her bisexuality. Ugh, what do I do now?
The days went by, and Nat and Reyna only grew closer. Nat couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided to tell her when they were walking home.
“Hey, uh, what would you do if a really close friend told you they liked you? And, like, they’re a girl too?” Nat asked.
“Oh, it would depend on my feelings for them, but I wouldn’t mind if they were a girl. I’m actually into girls, not so much into boys,” Reyna explained. “Why were you asking?”
Nat took a deep breath. “Confession time: I’ve had a crush on you for a while, and I wasn’t sure how you would react, so I asked you what you would do in that situation and stuff so yeah,” she finished lamely.
“Well, this is a relief. I actually liked you, too, I just didn’t think you liked girls that way.” Reyna’s smile was as bright as the sun rise.
After several months of dating, Reyna and Nat were one of the school’s power couples. Steve didn’t look at all surprised when Nat told him about her relationship.
“Did you tell her about the other thing? You know? Your arm?” Steve whispered while Nat and he trailed behind Reyna.
“No, that’s the thing. I think she’ll look at me differently if I tell her,” Nat said.
“What do you mean, ‘if’? You have to tell her. You can’t keep up a good relationship if you keep secrets.”
“You’re right, you’re right. I’ll tell her tonight,” Nat replied, determined to have a healthy relationship with Reyna.
  The school day went by quickly, and it was time for Nat to tell Reyna. Nat spotted her down the hall and caught up to her.
“Hey, I have something really important to tell you,” Nat started. “I hope nothing changes when I tell you this.” She looked to the ground and sighed. “I’m not fully human. I have a metal arm. I’m a cyborg, Rey.”
Reyna’s expression was expected. Her face was full of shock, surprise, and a hint of anger. “You’re a what?!”