The next day while the others are at court
"I'm sorry but it's tradition son" says Patrick Shapiro
"dad look at Maria, don't you see she's never been this happy, she promised she'd kill herself if anything happened to Lexie because of her, she's already started cutting, you don't understand that forcing Lexie to convert will make Lexie leave and Maria will be sad enough to actually do it" says Robbie
"if you were her father Robbie would you let your religious traditions die" asks Patrick
"dad you need to understand something, Maria wouldn't be considered a part of the faith anyway, she doesn't practice any of the core values, not for lack of trying but her speech issues make her a target as it is so even if she did start verbally practicing Lexie wouldn't stop her, Lexie believes that all religions hold some truth, if Lexie felt inclined to participate she would willingly do so, Ryder, the serial rapist is her big brother, she's been under his thumb since she was little, making her look like a boy because he felt like she had to be what she looked like, she's been repressed her whole life by him, if you force her to convert in order to be allowed to date Maria she will walk away and Maria could end her own life, you need to ask yourself what matters more, your religion where Maria is an outsider anyway or her life, because her life is in your hands, per your question about what I'd choose, her life trumps all religious beliefs in my book, I'd chose the option that allowed her to live in happiness" says Robbie
"you've convinced me Robbie, if Lexie chooses to convert, she must do so on her own, Maria is our only daughter, you have shown me I have been foolish with her life and I thank you for that, is Lexie a trans girl" asks Patrick
"sort of, she was born with a rare condition that gave her the possibility of both organs, she has the same stuff Maria has, the doctor that found out Lexie has brittle bone also found out that her body can be told to finish growing her girl parts and a surgeon just needs to cut away the male part, apparently it doesn't function like our parts down there do, it's just mimicking it, imagine how she felt learning that what she thought was real wasn't, that her body could be told to make one chemical over another, she's different, Maria never got along with boys or men, I learned yesterday that Maria doesn't trust us males, that Lexie only told Maria she was a girl, imagine the trust between them, the bond they have can't come easy nor can it be forcefully removed without a disaster, we have to trust them, Lexie understands Maria on a level none of us possibly could" says Robbie as Maria and Lexie walk over
"so has a decision been made" asks Lexie nervously
"yes but I have a question first, ok two questions, what do you love most about Maria and if you could change anything what would that be" says Patrick
"I wouldn't change anything about her, she's perfect the way she is, I love her eyes, you guys probably haven't noticed but she speaks louder with her eyes than she ever could with her voice, look deeply into her eyes and tell me you don't see a world waiting to be explored, waiting to be understood, she has what my sister calls galaxy eyes, little dots of random color in her eyes, I did my research, it's not a threat to her health, if I'd felt comfortable she would have been by my side from the moment I came out to her as trans, before I knew how easy it would be for me to transition, she stared into my eyes and in my opinion my soul, then we kissed, that was more than six months ago, after that I stayed away from her, out of fear of how you guys, her family would see me, that moment her and I shared, it was her doing, she walked over to me, her eyes locked with mine, every move was hers not mine" says Lexie
"did you know your brother was as bad as he was" asks Patrick
"I knew it would be bad but I didn't know how bad, all I knew was how he treated me and my sister, I'm a loner, I had no point of reference, I'd just assumed he was that way with us and not others, I knew he was doing something to my sister but even if I'd caught him back then, I don't have the strength to save anyone, Vanessa has a muscle condition, I have brittle bone, Ryder is a tyrant, in essence we were his property, he forced my sister into a corner and forcefully kept my hair short, anyway I assume the answer is no so maybe I should leave" says Lexie
"woah slow down, the answer is yes, you may date Maria, on the condition that you keep respecting her as you clearly have, her speech issues have made her a target to bullies, let alone her religious views, or as it would seem assumed religious views as again her speech issues make it hard to decern anything" says Melissa Shapiro
"she can speak, she has a major stutter that she has to bide her time to avoid, which is why she chooses not to speak most of the time" says Lexie
"how do you know that, not even Robbie knew that" asks Melissa
"one day in health class a doctor was guest speaking and I asked questions, she pulled me aside after class and asked me why I was interested in such a condition, I took her to meet Maria, she had a very short chat with her then explained things to me, as of right now once the trial's over I'm headed back to London with my sister and her model girlfriend, I would never take away your right to have Maria stay here, she is your daughter first and foremost" says Lexie
"what does she want to do" asks Patrick as Maria looks away
"her loyalty to you as her parents mean everything to her, she wants to go with me but feels doing so would be a stab in the heart to you guys" says Lexie as Maria hugs Lexie tight
"what matters is love Lexie, if she is to go with you we want to hear it from her, we trust you Lexie but it is important that we hear it from her, as you know and have said she doesn't speak much, we rarely hear her voice" says Melissa
"mom, dad, I love her m-m-m-more than i-i-i-I can e-e-e-express here… p-p-please d-d-d-don't m-m-m-make me k-k-k-keep speaking" stutters Maria
"your voice is beautiful Mari, cherish her Lexie, do you plan to make love to our daughter" says Patrick
"that's kind of a personal question sir, we're still minors… I want to someday but I don't know the laws in London, I'd rather not go to jail, people don't understand me, I don't always say the right things" says Lexie as Maria nuzzles her
"her love is clear, that's all that matters to us, our biggest fear was that somebody would take advantage of her, while she can defend herself better than anyone we know she would be unable to tell somebody yes or no, most of the time people have to guess what she wants, we were thankful enough that the most popular girl at your school nominated for cheer squad, she loves sports, being a cheerleader made her so happy" says Melissa
"you can thank me for that, I was the towel 'boy' for the soccer team, I managed to convince them to ask Maria to try out, she tried but couldn't speak without stuttering, the school turned her away but the cheer captain June Garezz took Maria under her wing, acting like a big sister, when Hollywood arts burned down and Maria wanted to quit, June understood why and made a whole event out of it with Maria at the center, there was a game that night and Maria was allowed to referee it, it was the most attended game the school had seen in years, she may have been the ref for that game but she couldn't stop herself from doing flips when the school team scored, the audience went crazy over it, it fired the team up, they won against the school's biggest rival, a team they haven't won against in a decade" says Lexie
"we'd heard about the win but couldn't believe it when they told us she did flips, she was always terrified about hitting her head" says Patrick
"remember how I said I came out to her as trans and how she stared at me and kissed me, it was the night of that game, she was worried about Robbie, that school meant a lot to him, after we kissed her mood changed completely, almost like she realized she had a future, don't get mad but she changed into her custom referee outfit right in front of me, her mood went from nervous to super confident the moment I blushed" says Lexie
"she's never really been shy about changing wherever she wants, ever since she was a baby, no matter how much mom and dad got angry at her and told her about privacy when she's changing it hasn't changed her defiance, if anything she's getting bolder, June wouldn't have encouraged her to be bold about it would she" says Robbie
"June is a friend of my sister Robbie, as self-sacrificing as Vani can be she'd never be friends with someone like that, she's meeting with Vani after court, they were part of the Cassandra Valentine fan club, meeting Cassandra has been June's goal for years, I don't know her that well but I do know that she is very serious about anti-rape policy in schools, she makes all cheerleaders where metal reinforced underwear under their shorts or skirts as a precaution, if she goes that far to protect her fellow cheerleaders I don't see her condoning Maria changing like that, it almost felt like she was teasing me" says Lexie as Maria blushes
"you didn't seriously do that Maria, that's a little far even for you" says Robbie
"i-i-it w-w-wasn't m-m-m-my i-i-intention R-R-Rob i-it's j-j-j-just w-w-we'd j-j-j-just k-k-k-kissed…. I-i-I c-c-c-couldn't h-h-help it s-s-s-she b-b-blushed i-i-i-I wanted t-t-to s-s-s-see i-i-if s-s-she c-c-c-could r-r-resist, i-i-i-I t-t-t-thought t-t-t-that i-i-i-if s-s-s-she r-r-r-really w-w-was t-t-trans h-h-h-her s-s-s-seeing m-m-me l-l-like t-t-that t-t-that h-h-her m-m-male p-p-p-p-part w-wouldn't r-r-react" stutters Maria
"you stared at her for five minutes and you still had to test her" asks Robbie
"J-J-J-June s-s-said i-i-if L-L-Lexie w-w-w-was s-s-s-serious a-a-about b-b-b-being t-t-t-trans t-t-t-that h-h-h-her m-m-m-man p-p-part w-w-wouldn't r-r-r-rise, s-s-she w-w-was r-r-r-right i-i-i-it d-d-didn't, b-b-b-b-besides s-s-s-she d-d-d-didn't s-s-s-see m-m-m-much j-j-j-just m-m-m-m-my b-b-b-bra a-a-a-and m-m-m-metal u-u-u-u-underwear" stutters Maria
"ok now silence for an hour, that's too much stuttering for you right now" says Lexie kissing Maria lightly
After the trial as June and Vanessa arrive
"how'd things go today" asks Lexie
"me and six other girls were able to put Ryder on defense today, the lawyer defense lawyer quit yesterday forcing Ryder to defend herself in court and he's failing miserably, the prosecutor and Judge had to warn him several times when he'd accuse us of faking evidence, I had to stop myself from laughing, he never liked law and it's showing, anyway you asked me to bring June why" says Vanessa
"did you encourage Maria to tease Lexie to test her commitment to being trans" asks Melissa
"look Maria only wanted to be a cheerleader to be close to Alex… or erm Lexie, she had all these questions written down that she wanted me to answer, I'm still in the closet myself, I had no idea how to answer them without either her being offended or being called a creep by the cheerleader coach, I told her I'd tell her something to do but ONLY if she really really loved Lexie, she nodded furiously so yes I suggested she tease Lexie in a safe manner, I only did so because I knew Lexie wouldn't be a threat, the day before at practice she'd messed up washing the towels and when she offered the top dog soccer king Shepard King a towel after first practice she got flung, sprained her ankle so if things had gone bad Lexie wouldn't have been able to catch her and she'd be able to get away, I'm very protective of my cheerleaders, I'd have never suggested Maria tease Lexie if there wasn't a chance she'd be able to get away, I make them wear underwear woven with metal, it's a rape deterrent, I was raped a few years back by a football quarterback so I take rape prevention seriously" says June
"you stand up for your own right" asks Robbie
"always, Maria is like a sister to me, I'm an only child, which is why I hoped my advice would help, if I crossed a line I'm sorry, you won't hear from me again" says June as she walks out the front door crying
"R-Rob h-h-her p-p-p-parents d-d-d-died l-l-last n-n-n-night, s-s-s-s-she h-h-h-has n-n-n-n-nowhere t-t-to go" stutters Maria
"she's coming with us Maria, Cass offered her a job though it's in jeopardy now" says Vanessa
"doesn't she still have school" asks Melissa
"she did till she seriously damaged a rib last night when one of the soccer people accidentally sent a full speed soccer ball her way, her parents didn't have enough money saved up in their accounts to cover the surgery so Cassandra paid for, anyway she doesn't have enough energy to focus with classes with all the students, Darrel convinced the school to switch her out of in person school and into an online variant, she only found out about her parents death this afternoon, it's a lot to process" says Vanessa
"there's more to this 'job' offer isn't there" asks Robbie
"I'm not saying here and now, nothing is firm right now" says Vanessa