Christine
|
Christine Hale |
|
|---|---|
|
Dorley girl |
|
|
|
|
| Gender | Female |
| Year of intake | 2017 |
| Year of graduation | 2020 (projected) |
| Sponsor | Indira |
| Gender at intake | Cis male |
| Date of birth | unknown |
| Name at intake | unknown |
| First appearance | Chapter 1 |
| Chapters with POV scenes | |
| edit this box | |
Christine Hale (sometimes called Tina) is a third-year girl in the 2017 intake. She was sponsored by Indira (who affectionately calls her Teenie). She is currently employed by the programme as Head of Network Security [SD 17] and as an operational security specialist.
Christine is 177 cm (5'9.5") tall [LL][SD 6] and has auburn hair. [SD 1] She is in a relationship with Paige.
Christine was 21 as of October 15, 2019, making her the same age as Stephanie in the 2019 intake.[SD 6]
Abby considers her to be "very independent, but in a good way". [SD 9]
Though she had a smoking habit before her intake, [SD 7] she no longer smokes or has cravings. [SD 17] Her fingers often twitch when anxious or pre-occupied, due to the emotional crutch cigarettes provided her pre-transition. [SD 10] [SD 17]
She is currently in her first year of studies in the Linguistics program at Saints. [SD 10] She plans to stay at Dorley Hall until she finishes her degree. [SD 11]
Christine had Indira pick her name for her, her only specification being that it shared no syllables and no initials with her deadname. [SD 12]
Pre-transition
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
Christine describes herself pre-transition as "angry, afraid" and “capable of acts of great cruelty" when she felt trapped and lonely. She still struggles to reconcile her old and new selves, and carries significant guilt over her past actions. [SD 5]
Christine was taken in for computer-related harassment and financial extortion of women.[chapter reference needed]
First year
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
At intake
Chrstine had trouble adopting Vicky's new pronouns early on; Vicky would apparently retaliate by kicking her. She later learns that Paige asked Vicky to stop kicking her under the reassurance that Christine was not malicious, just "slow". [SD 14]
Aunt Bea considers Christine's progress through the programme as having been "typical". [SD 8] Abby believes that Indira had the "easiest sponsorship" with Christine. [SD 9]
Second year
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
Early in her second year, Christine develops an app that grants her control of all of the electronic locks in the Hall, allowing her to cycle them silently from her phone. [SD 5]
For Aunt Bea's birthday dinner, she cooked a casserole that was "cold in the middle and crunchy at the edge". [SD 9]
Christine's first trip off-campus as a woman was to accompany Indira to be reunited with her family. The trip to London was disastrous -- on the train a drunk man clocked her, shouted at her, and pursued her, Indira, and their friends through two carriages before they could find a member of staff to intervene, an experience which left Christine shaken. [SD 10]
At some point, Christine breaks things off with Paige, [SD 16] her close friend and a member of her intake with whom she previously had a physical relationship while early in transition. [SD 11]
Third year
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
At the beginning of the year
Christine's progress is stalling out a couple months into her third year in the programme as she is simultaneously chafing under the pressure of Aunt Bea's standards and expectations, has become isolated from the other members of her intake, and is facing an identity crisis. [SD 7] She is struggling to find a healthy balance between her studies at Saints and the programme and is often sleep deprived. She has made a habit of hiding out in her room on the second floor eating meals by herself [SD 7] and she has begun to suspect that the other girls think she is antisocial. [SD 6]
Noticing her recent flailing, Aunt Bea breaks protocol, confiding in Christine that the women she tormented before entering the programme have not only been reimbursed but that she believes that they have healed from the experience and "moved on" and would likely forgive her, given her reformation. Christine expresses relief and confesses that she has had guilty dreams about them for years. [SD 8]
Christine attends a protest at the Anthill against Katherine Frost with Indira and Vicky where she meets Vicky's girlfriend Lorna, and introduces herself as a cis woman. [SD 8] At the time, she has already introduced herself to Indira's family as a trans woman and ruefully chalks the situation up to "poor planning". [SD 9]
Christine meets Faye, a second-year girl who is struggling under a harsh sponsorship by Nell. She comforts the girl, offers her reassurance, introduces her to Paige, [SD 9] and successfully advocates to Aunt Bea for Nell's replacement. In doing so, Indira is reassigned, leaving Christine without a sponsor. [SD 10]
Christine is reconnecting with Paige; they eventually rekindle their relationship as girlfriends. [SD 13]
Stephanie's intake
At Paige's insistence, [SD 7] Christine attends a party at a dorm on campus and meets a young man named Stefan; the two hit it off and abscond to the rooftop to talk. When Stefan offers to walk her home, Christine demurs; she lives close by at Dorley Hall. Inebriated, Stefan reveals that he knows "a funny thing about Dorley Hall..." [SD 1]
Panicked, Christine manoeuvers the inebriated boy into the bushes outside Pippa's window, then screams and runs away; [SD 3] she then edits Saints' file on Stefan, sealing his record and adding comments to suggest that he was dangerous in some way, leaving Pippa to draw her own conclusions and bring Stefan into the basement. [SD 5]
Christine visits Stefan in secret and presses him for information; after Stefan reveals what he believes to be happening at Dorley Hall and the motivations for his search, a guilt-ridden Christine decides to break him out of the basement. In her effort to convince Stefan to leave with her before it's too late, she reveals the true nature of the programme at Dorley Hall and also that she is a participant in it. Stefan is slow to believe her, but once it becomes clear that Christine is telling the truth, Stefan confesses that she is trans and tells Christine that she wants to stay -- she has no other viable pathways to transition. Christine is conflicted but is eventually convinced to go along with her request, agreeing to help Steph survive the programme while playing the part of one of Dorley's usual subjects. [SD 6]
Christine spends the next two weeks juggling her various responsibilities and increasing social obligations while covertly keeping an eye on Steph's wellbeing and also trying to manage Pippa, who is conflicted and confused by Steph's innocent, friendly behavior. Feeling guilty, she also tries to extend a hand of friendship to Pippa, who she realizes is lonely and isolated from her cohort. [SD 9] Christine also finds herself manipulating Abby, who has realized Steph's connection to Melissa; [SD 5] Christine convinces her to help by telling her the truth regarding Steph's investigation and transgender identity while omitting her own role in his intake. [SD 6] After reconnecting with Paige, she comes clean to her about the deception and her . [SD 13][SD 14]
Christine sets Steph up with a secure Consensus channel, letting her communicate with herself and Abby so they can provide her with useful information on the programme and the other members of her intake. [SD 7] Christine asks Lorna, in a veiled way, for advice on helping Steph. Lorna invites Christine to join the Trans Youth UK Consensus server where she asks for advice on Steph's behalf. [SD 8] She tries to help Steph get comfortable with pronouns other than he / him, which she initially refuses, to Christine's chagrin. [SD 9]
New responsibilities
Christine and Paige are watching on the security feeds when Pippa realizes Steph has been deceiving her. After Steph comes clean, admitting she's trans and that she knows the true nature of the programme, Christine confesses to her part in the subterfuge. Pippa and Christine meet on the roof of the Hall to plan next steps, inadvertently drawing the attention of Maria and Aunt Bea who become aware of the situation and step in; having exposed a multitude of vulnerabilities in the Hall's systems, Maria offers Christine a job as Head of Network Security. [SD 14] Christine mulls over the offer until Maria is attacked by Leigh and she must accompany Maria to the hospital; she introduces herself to Rabia with the new title. After Maria regains consciousness in the hospital, Christine informs her that she is taking the job. [SD 17]
Pre-transition associates
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
Her father, Richard, worked at a law firm[SD 3]. Her mother, Helen, and her husband currently live in Brighton [SD 29].
Photos
Official "intake" artwork by Emory Ahlberg.
Official "transition" artwork by Emory Ahlberg.
Official "graduation" artwork by Emory Ahlberg.
| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| 2017 intake | Christine (Indira), |