I was born into a big family, one to which some people came, and one to which some of them left. It was weird... Last year, we had to bury one of my older brothers, Kyle Zacariah Stone. He was mentally handicapped which also left him physically immoble. I'm kind of happy for that though. I mean, financially speaking, it was a hassle taking care of him, and it also ate up a lot of our time. The four of us underneath him never really minded because that's what we were born into, but we all noticed how much of a toll it took on our parents and how many bills they had to pay. Not only that, but I'm also happy because wherever he is, heaven, hell, the earth, nothingness, he's finally free of all his ailments and obstacles. Naturally, his death was hard on all of us, especially my parents, even though Shane was only our step-father. He was only seventeen, and none of us understood how time worked in his head, but we all knew he was as happy as we could make him in his little world we'd never be able to see.
As of now, I live with my current parents, my older brother John, and my younger sister Cassandra-the only one of us whose veins run with Shane Elling's blood in them. My brothers would often mess with me, and they taught me how to be tough. No matter how girly my mother tried to get me to be, I'd always have the tomboy in me come crashing out. They did their best to protect me though, and Cassandra, but that didn't mean it was always enough...
"Where're ya going, ironing board?!" Max yelled out as I ran from him and his pals.
There were these three boys at school that loved to harass me: Max, Jack, and Tony. They've picked on me and bullied me since I arrived at the beginning of my freshman school year. We were in summer school now, and they seemed to be at it more than usual. I was trying to get extra credits for PE so I'd have room to do something else junior year, but they were two years above me. Juniors going on seniors making up for lost time. Max was the one in charge, and I made the stupid mistake of looking back at him because I ended up running into Jack who held me against the ground.
"H-hey! What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled as Tony began to unbutton my shirt while Max gazed down at me with that infamous smirk of his.
Max crouched down near me above my head and grabbed onto the back of my cap just over my forehead. We were stuck after class, so there was barely anyone around.
"Girls shouldn't dress like boys. ...No matter how ugly they are," Max scolded as he ripped my cap off along with a few of my hairs.
I was brought back to reality when I felt a cool hand on my breast just under my sports bra.
"Hey, stop!"
I struggled to get up, but Jack sat on my abdomen and held my arms down with his hands. Why did they hate me so much? And just what had gotten into them after the regular school year ended? No. They can't do this to me. I won't! No!
"No!"
I raised up as much as I could and bit Tony's arm and both of Jack's arms which also resulted in me butting heads with Max in the process, but I didn't care. I just needed to get out of here. I bucked up my pelvis which allowed me to turn onto my stomach. From there, it was a rough stuggle between Jack and the gravel, but I got up easily enough.
Before I could even take my second step out of there, my long hair had been grabbed and forcefully pulled back. Max grabbed my left arm with his free hand and shoved me back against the blacktop. One side of my ribs began to hurt, but not as bad as my head. Max had me on my stomach again, and he was in the same position Jack was. I tried to buck up, but Max was stronger, and he was smarter than Jack, so he knew how to take control better. Max leaned over and whispered in my ear.
"You're gonna pay for that."
I began to cry out in a furious rage, "Aargh! Fire! Fire!"
"Shut up," Tony yelled as he slapped me in the face with the same arm I had bitten.
"Alex?"
"Fuck off, Max!"
"Alex!"
"John-mmph!"
"This is none of your business Johnny-boy. Go on your way now," Max spoke as he held his dry hand over my mouth.
"M-Mike," I heard Jack stutter out. Who...?
I heard Jack and Tony struggling with John and the other guy. I only heard a slight grunt from Max as his body relaxed, and he fell off of me. He landed in the direction I was facing and seemed to be knocked out.
"Name's John, asshole."
"Ugh," I groaned as I got up to thank John and my mystery savior, "...Michael? What are you doing here?"
Michael was the oldest of our siblings, and he was set to leave for college just a few days after Kyle had passed. He almost didn't go through with it, but with a little persuasion from Mom and Shane, Michael made it there alright. ...I forgot people called him 'Mike'.
"I came to visit you for the summer, so Mom had me and John come pick you up instead."
"Great! I mean, I can't imagine what would've happened if Mom came to get me..."
We went on our way after I grabbed my things, and there was a bit of tension once we got in Michael's car.
"Well?"
"What?"
"Are you gonna tell me what happened or what?" Michael asked with more attitude in his voice as he hastily turned to face me.
I sighed and began to tell them what happened as we began the drive home, and I made sure to mention they had never sexually harassed me before this. Of course, it took more convincing to make Michael believe me. I'm not sure what had gotten into the three of them, but they were a terrible trio either way. Michael began to scold John, so that's where I had to cut in.
"It's not his fault, Michael! We're two years apart! We barely see each other in school! ...We don't even have the same lunch hour together..."
"Why didn't you tell Mom or Shane this was going on? Or me? Someone at least."
"Well, they've never hurt me like that before. I figured that as long as I could handle it, I shouldn't whine about it."
"Man, Ricky really fucked you up, didn't he..."
I looked down, feeling sullen all of a sudden. Ricky Stone. That's the name of our biological father. He and Michael never really got along, and that's why Michael has a different name than the rest of us. He dropped Stone and adopted Wren, our mother's maiden name.
"You can't just keep this kind of thing to yourself Alexa."
"But I-"
"No! We're all going to have a talk when we get home."
I figured there was no more point in arguing, so I sat there silently as we rode out the tense drive home. Once Michael persuaded the neighbors to let Cassandra go over and play for awhile, he got the rest of the family and gathered us all in the living room. He began to explain my situation, and let's just say my parents' looks weren't very pleasant.
"You should have said something to us," Shane scolded with what seemed like an expression of disappointment on his face.
"Well, why don't you tell the principal, honey?" Mom asked.
"I-"
Michael interrupted me before I even had a chance to answer, "She can't do that! Don't forget, I went to that school too. Now, I never had any problems like that in school, but telling the administration didn't do jack for any of my friends, so why do you think it would be any different with Alexandria? And you can't tell me anything could've changed because I only graduated from there three years ago!"
The living room was dead silent, and our parents were in shock. They weren't even going to attempt scolding Michael for talk to them that way. That's a first! They seemed to be lost for words as they waited for Michael to continue.
"The only available option is for her to transfer schools. I already know home schooling won't work with her. She might be anti-social, but she still needs other students to interact with."
"Well, the nearest school is a boarding school, which is fairly expensive, and we're not sending her to catholic school," Mom argued.
"That's not necessarily true."
Huh? Wait, what's not true? Ugh, what is he even talking about?
"I had a friend in college who went to that boarding school. He says it's relatively easy for someone to get in if they're smart, aside from having money."
"How?" I questioned. I was finally back on track, now that I figured out what he meant.
"There are tests she can take," Michael answered, still directed at our parents, "Summer school's almost over, so she has enough time to study. Two weeks before the school year begins, there's an entrance exam they take during the week. He said not many usually made it in, but there were still good handfuls of kids."
Our parents looked to each other, then to me.
"Well, what do you think?" Shane asked.
I would have to be an asshole to refuse after Michael went to such great lengths for me. An asshole ...and a real big idiot.
"I... I mean, it's sounds like a great idea, but..."
"What is it?" Michael asked, wanting to know what was so vital to keep me from accepting the better change.
"...I want to go as a boy!"
That was a bit difficult for me to say, so I ended up belting it out, then covering my mouth with my hands quickly after.
"Alex, why do you say that?" Mom asked.
"I just... I don't want the same thing to happen to me! Or something worse. I mean, I'm sure if we just explain the situation, they will have an empty room!"
I saw Michael's expression softened as he smiled at me. He probably thought I was going to walk from such a great deal.
"S-sure, hon," Mom agreed while Shane still sat there speechless.
Michael grinned and spoke, "And just so your last week of summer school isn't completely unbearable..."
