The next morning, Stephanie woke up, not remembering much of the previous day's events. Looking around the room, she felt like she was still dreaming. As she stood up and fell out of bed with a thump, however, everything came flooding back. With a deep breath, she made her way downstairs, only to find Sportacus humming in the kitchen and cooking breakfast.
Curious, Stephanie peeked over the other's shoulders to see home fries being cooked in one pan, tofu in the other. A wide smile spread across her face and Sportacus looked down at her, growing a grin of his own.
"Hungry?"
She nodded and sat down at the table, where the plates were already set.
The two ate in silence until Milford and Bessie joined them, who talked among each other about whatever paperwork they were doing today. Stephanie ignored it until the clock said 8:00.
She turned to her uncle and lightly tugged on the man's sleeve. "Uncle Milford, who's taking me to school?"
Unsure, the mayor turned to Bessie and the two whispered to each other about who should be given that duty until a cheerful Sportacus interrupted.
"I'll be happy to take her."
A bit taken aback, the mayor sat up in his chair. "Are you sure, Sportacus? Won't that cut into your schedule for today? I know you hate to miss your morning jogs."
Laughing, the blue-clad man cut the mayor off before he rambled himself into nothingness. "I've already done my morning jog, Milford. It's no problem, I'd really be happy to take her."
Milford laughed and went back to his food, talking with Bessie again.
Within an hour, the young girl found herself standing in a cafeteria full of kids. Quickly, she found her class and looked around at the other students, who seemed too preoccupied with friends they already had to talk to her. A few of them even stared and giggled at her pink hair, which made her feel even worse. The only reason she hadn't begged again to go back home yet was the prospect of a fresh start in a new school, with people who didn't know her past at all.
But the eyes of the students burned into her head and she found herself looking down, twiddling with the corners of one of the new dresses that her uncle had bought for her the day prior.
Suddenly, a hand tapped her shoulder and she whipped her head around like a lasso, smiling brightly, hoping she came off as friendly.
"Hey pink-hair, what's your name?" A boy slightly taller than her peered down at her, a sly smile on his lips.
Nervously, she cleared her throat. "My name is Stephanie. I'm new here." She said awkwardly, looking at her shoes.
"I can tell. Nobody has dared to have their hair that bright in our school before. They're all too scared of standing out." The boy snickered, two other boys standing behind him now. "Name's Gabe," he said, holding his hand out, "this is Tristan," he pointed to the yellow-clad boy to his left, "and this is Paul." the green-wearing boy to his right waved.
She smiled and reached out, shaking the hands of the boys. Maybe this was all going to be alright after all.
"Alright class, separate into boys and girls for headcount!" The teacher called. Stephanie skipped into the girls' line and smiled over at the boys. She could feel the beginning tingles of a friendship in her stomach. "Hm… looks like we're missing a little boy."
Right away, Stephanie's head turned to the teacher. She bit her lip, she closed her eyes, and she wished as hard as she could that the mistake wasn't what she thought it was. But, of course, the teacher cleared her throat and the pink-haired girl's eyes shot open in horror as she talked on.
"Is there a Steven Splitz here?"
Her eyes glued to the ground in shame, Stephanie raised her hand and stepped forward. "Um, it's Stephanie Splitz now, Miss Regina."
"Oh." The teacher gave the child an awkward smile and wrote something down on her clipboard. Stepping back into line, Stephanie clenched her fists around her backpack's handles, refusing to meet anyone's curious gazes. Many of the children turned their head back to the teacher as head count went on, but Stephanie could feel eyes lingering in curiosity.
When she looked up, she saw the face of the boy she was talking to before. His eyes were lidded and he squinted at her, as if trying to figure something out, his lips in a tight, judging line. Stephanie looked back down.
Slowly, the line started to shuffle through the halls and whispers picked up again. The boy leaned over to her and spoke lowly. "What do you mean, it's Stephanie now?"
Clearing her throat, Stephanie peeked over at him. "My name was Steven before I figured out I was a girl."
The boy went silent for a brief moment before he spoke up again. "What do you mean, figured out you were a girl? You're either born a girl or you're born a boy. You can't change that later."
Stephanie found her fists turning white as she again tightened her grip on her backpack. "Well, I did."
"So, you're saying you're really a boy, then?" The boy spat, causing Stephanie to look up fully now, her voice raising a little.
"No, I'm a girl. I have pink hair and I'm wearing makeup and a dress. I'm a girl because I say so."
Tristan laughed. "I've heard of that. So you're a drag queen?"
"What? No, I'm a girl." Stephanie's eyes met the ground again, but her voice stayed level.
"Just because you look like one doesn't mean you are." Paul said, catching the ears of other students now.
"But I am a girl!" Stephanie said now, her teeth gritting together.
Gabe rolled his eyes. "Then why can I see your adam's apple?"
Nervously, the girl covered up her throat with one hand, the other on her bag's sleeves. "Leave me alone." She held tightly onto her backpack strap as if it would protect her.
She hated feeling so singled out. Looking up, the girl bit her lip and hoped that the tears forming in her eyes weren't noticeable.
But, of course they were, to the tribe of boys watching her.
"Oh, boys don't cry. Grow up." Tristan said, is arms crossed.
Gabe leaned forward. "Yeah, stop whining, Steven."
Sighing, Stephanie kept her head up and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her dress. "It's Stephanie."
The girl ahead of Stephanie whipped her head around.
"Hey Gabey, stop talking so loud! You're going to get in trouble!" The girl whisper-shouted, showing off her braces.
"Oh, shut up, Trixie." Tristan spat, causing the taller girl to turn around fully now, walking backwards.
The girl looked around before flipping the boys off, causing one of them to gasp. The teacher turned around at the sound, seeing the child's middle finger proudly displayed.
"Trixie!" The woman said in disbelief, telling the kid's in front to stop walking as she made her way over to the girl. "What are you doing?"
Right away, the girl started crying. A little shocked, Stephanie pat the girl on her back, who continued wailing.
"M-Miss Regina! They did it first! I didn't know it was bad!" The girl blubbered, causing the boys to cross their arms.
"No we didn't!" Tristan huffed, stomping his foot. The teacher looked between the four students and then to Stephanie.
"Did you see what happened, Stephanie?" The teacher whispered, holding the young girl's arm. Stephanie looked past the teacher and to the students, the girl smiling softly at her, already drying her tears.
Nodding, Stephanie pointed at Gabe. "He flipped me off to be mean. This girl just jumped in and saw, she didn't know that the middle finger is bad. Honest."
The boys mouths all fell open as they stared at her in shock. They started to defend themselves, but the teacher shushed them. "Whatever happened, I don't want any more out of you three. Now, go to the front of the line and stop picking on the girls."
The boys all glared at the pigtailed girl and the pink-haired girl, making their way to the front as the teacher ordered.
Once the line started to move again, Stephanie shyly tapped the girl on the back. "Thank you for standing up for me."
The girl shrugged. "It was nothing. They used to pick on me, too, until I beat one of them up last year."
A bit shocked, Stephanie's mouth fell agape. "You beat one of them up? Really?"
Chuckling, the taller girl nodded. "'Yeah. They were picking on my kid-brother and stealing his bag and threatening to flush it, so I popped one of them in the nose and started wailing on 'im. I learned how to on my mom's wrestling show."
Smiling now, Stephanie loosened her grip on her backpack and sighed internally. "Didja get in trouble?"
"Well, yeah." The other kid said matter-of-factly, a coy smile on her face. "But it was worth it. They deserved it."
Stephanie giggled. She covered her mouth shyly when another student turned around and shushed the two. "They don't seem very nice. They act like goblins, or something."
The other kid snickered, earning another shush. "Yeah, they're like little evil goblins. They're rude and stuck-up. They think that just because their moms work here that they can be jerks to everyone." A sad expression spread on the kid's face before she turned around again, walking backwards. She held out her hand. "Name's Trixie, by the way."
Abashedly, Stephanie reached her hand forward and shook it firmly. "Mine's Stephanie."
The two whispered for a little longer until they made it into the classroom. Right away, the teacher ordered the kids to pick a seat buddy. Without hesitation, Trixie latched her arm onto Stephanie's, pulling her over to one of the joint desks.
"If you sit with me, those boys won't bother you at all." Trixie said, sitting in her seat and pulling folders out of her bag.
A small smile grew on Stephanie's face as she sat down. "Well, I'd sit with you anyway. You're the first person who was actually nice to me."
Shyly, Trixie laughed off the words. Stephanie looked around curiously, realizing that the seats all around them were empty. The rest of the students seemed to be purposely sitting away from the duo.
Curiously, Stephanie turned to ask Trixie if she knew why, but before the words could exit her mouth, Trixie seemed to know what was on her mind.
"The kids here don't like me that much." Her voice was softer, gentler than it was before. When Stephanie looked at her with confusion, she continued. "They're scared of me. I've got two moms, and everyone figured out last year. Ever since then they've not liked me."
Nodding, Stephanie slowly slinked her hand over to Trixie's, gently squeezing it. "I'm not scared of you. You seem really cool, Trixie." She smiled. "And if you're fine with me being different from the other girls, I've got no problem with you having two moms."
A gently, shy grin erupted onto the other girl's freckled face. "Thanks, Pinkie."
The girl stifled a giggle at the nickname and only stopped when the teacher stood in front of the room, calling the students attention to her.
After a brief introduction, the teacher handed out a sheet full of personal questions, which Stephanie took nervously. "Now, once you're done, I will pair you up with another random student, and you will get to know each other." Many of the kids rolled their eyes and whispered amongst each other about how silly the idea was, but Stephanie found herself clinging to Trixie's arm, worrying about being separated and paired with another bully.
Staring at the questions, Stephanie felt even more embarrassed. "Tell about your family?" She whispered to herself more than anyone, but Trixie leaned towards her.
"Tell me about it! The kids already don't like me, now I have to tell them about my moms?" Trixie groaned and pulled another giggle out of Stephanie's throat.
Once the teacher came around and collected the papers, Stephanie found herself sitting closer to Trixie again, nervously waiting as the teacher started to tell the students who their buddies were.
When Stephanie's name came up, she could practically hear the blood pumping to her head, turning her a shade of scared scarlet. When the name Gabe escaped the teacher's throat, Stephanie almost burst into tears. As the teacher listed the last name, students started walking over to their buddies and chatting them up, but Stephanie looked to Trixie nervously instead.
When Trixie saw the look on Stephanie's face, she grabbed her arm and smiled. "Don't worry about a thing, Pinkie. I'll go with you."
"But… your partner is," Stephanie started, her voice squeaking like a chew toy.
Trixie held her finger up and shushed her, "My partner doesn't matter. I'm going with you and that's final."
Stephanie grinned softly, happy tears pulling at her eyes. She wiped them away and Trixie giggled as she led her over to the bully. "You sure cry easily, Pinkie."
The pink-haired girl giggled and kept a tight grip on Trixie's arm. When Gabe's eyes settled on Stephanie, she felt her heart sink. The look on his face was one of a predator about to pounce on its prey, and she felt herself becoming sick. Trixie stepped in front of Gabe slightly and his eyes flickered around, still harsh, but slightly softer.
"Heya, Gabey." Trixie said confidently, her chest puffed out like a proud bird.
Gabe pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Trixie." He looked over to Stephanie. "And Steven."
Once she heard the name escape the boy's lips, Stephanie looked down in shame. "It's Stephanie." Trixie spat, pulling his paper away from him, glancing over it. "Bragging about your Mama again, are ya? 'My mother is in charge of the student counsel and helps the football team with fundraising,' and blah, blah, blah.'" She looked over the paper more. "And what's this? 'My hobbies include reading and playing football.' You? Football?" Trixie cackled. "As if. You're way too small, you won't even make the team."
The boy looked defiantly up at her. "And what? You could?" He crossed his arms. "I'm sure that will make your mommies very proud, now wouldn't it?"
"Leave them out of this." Trixie growled, stepping forward a little, only stepping back when Stephanie tugged on her arm.
"And what about your parents, Steven? They're probably janitors or fruitcakes, right?" The boy snatched the sheet out of Stephanie's hands, glancing over it, a smug grin on his face. Slowly, the look on his face morphed into one of confusion. "Why'd you just write the word 'gone'? You were asked to describe your parents."
Nodding, Stephanie looked up. "They dropped me off at my uncle's yesterday and told me they aren't sure if they're coming back or not."
Gabe looked at the paper, then back to Stephanie, the confusion changing to one of embarrassed anger. "Yeah right. I don't believe you."
Shrugging, Stephanie looked at Trixie. "I didn't ask you to believe me. If you don't want to believe the truth, that's your problem."
Trixie grinned proudly at Stephanie. The two girls stared the boy down, as he boiled in embarrassment. "Well, at least I was born a boy!" He huffed, hurrying to the front of the class room. Curious, the girls followed him and watched in shock as he stood on the teacher's podium.
Before the teacher could reach him, he smacked the board, attracting the attention of the rest of the class.
"Hey, everyone! Stephanie is really Steven! Steven is a boy! He's a boy! He's a boy!" He hollered, causing the class to look around and whisper to each other. "He's got boy parts! He's got boy parts!"
The teacher grabbed the young boy forcibly and pulled him to the ground, staring disappointingly at him. "Young man, office, now."
As the teacher escorted the boy out of the class and down the hall way, Stephanie clenched Trixie's arm, her eyes squeezed shut, her free arm covering her ear that wasn't smashed against the other girl. She felt like she was going to explode.
Before anyone could say anything to her, she dropped her hold on Trixie and sprinted out of the room, covering her throat again. Once she reached the little girls' room, she collapsed and slunk to the ground, head in her knees, sobbing hysterically.
Now everyone in her class knew the truth. Now she was destined to be alone. When she finally dried her eyes, she looked up, only to see Trixie sat by her side, awkwardly sitting with her arms crossed.
"When did you get here?"
A small, smug smile found its way onto Trixie's lips. "Shortly after you did." She rubbed her neck awkwardly. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. The teacher returned a minute ago and she was worried, so she sent me to check on you."
Stephanie huffed sadly, hiding her nose in the creases of her arms. "You must think I'm gross, right..?"
The question took Trixie back slightly, and the kid's eyes darted around for some sort of solution. "No, of course not." She said softly, not knowing what else to say.
"Yeah, right." The young pink-haired girl felt broken. She leaned against the wall more, stretching her legs out across the floor. "You probably don't want to talk to me anymore, do you? I bet you think I'm a boy, too."
Trixie copied the other kid's movements. "I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?"
"Yeah, because the teacher told you to."
"Actually, I volunteered."
Stephanie looked up, stimming softly with her hands. "You did?"
Nodding, Trixie grabbed Stephanie's hand, pushing it to the other girl's chest. "Hey Stephanie, I've got a question for you." When Stephanie didn't say anything, she proceeded. "You're a girl in here, aren't you?"
Confused, Stephanie looked down at the other girl's hand, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Yeah, of course I am."
Not removing her eyes from the other's face, Trixie moved her hand away slowly, leaving only Stephanie's hand on her own chest. "Then you're a girl to me, and I know you're one to you. That's what matters most, right? You know you're a girl."
A small smile spread on the girl's blotched face. "Yeah, I guess." She looked shyly at the ground. "I bet they're all talking about me in there now, right?"
"Nah," Trixie shrugged, "they're trading silly bands in there right now."
Giggling, Stephanie leaned forward and hugged the other girl. "Thanks, Trixie."
The other girl shrugged and hugged her back. "No problem, Pinkie." She stood up, reaching her hand down, helping the other girl up. "Now, let's get back to class."
Once they made their way back to the room, Stephanie took a deep breath before pushing the door open. Upon seeing the duo's return, the class went silent for a short second before the students turned back to their own conversations, trading silly bands under the table.
Smiling, Stephanie released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. For the most part, she was liking the new school so far. As long as she had Trixie by her side, it would work out.
The two girls sat down in their joint seats before turning towards each other and chatting the rest of class away. When recess finally rolled around, Trixie dragged Stephanie over to play with her and her and a little boy.
"So this is my kid-brother Stingy," Trixie pushed the boy forward, presenting him to her friend. "he can be a little weird sometimes, so just let me know if he bothers you too much."
The boy scoffed at the words, sticking his hand out, a dignified grin on his lips. "My name is Nenni, actually," he shook her hand and pulled his hands back to his bowtie, straightening it, "but people call me Stingy."
Scrunching her nose up, Stephanie couldn't help but smile coyly. "'Why do they call you that?"
His smug grin escaped and he looked to the side, a slight pout taking reign over his features. "Well, I think they're just jealous of me, so they insist that I'm greedy."
Rolling her eyes, Trixie pulled the two over to the basketball hoops. "In first grade, he stole all of the crayons in the classroom and refused to share them. The teacher told him not to be so stingy, and it just stuck."
Huffing at the story, Stingy crossed his arms. "I didn't steal them. But other kids were chewing on their crayons! And they were pulling the paper off so you couldn't read the labels, and it was just disgusting! I had to teach them a lesson, so I took them so I could fix them. But those little brats tried taking them from me!" He rambled, taking the basketball from Trixie and shooting it mindlessly, missing terribly.
Trixie rolled her eyes and fetched the ball. "Anyway, that's how he got the name. It was wild, you had to be there."
A giggle escaped Stephanie's throat. "Sounds like it. And biting crayons and pulling the wrappers off is gross."
Nodding in agreement, Stingy shot another clumsy hoop before tossing the ball to Stephanie.
The group went on, chatting and giggling until the bell rang and brought them back inside.
The rest of the day went by easily enough, with Stephanie chatting with her new friends the entire day.
When she finally got home, she hurriedly finished her homework and dinner before she decided to throw on a movie. Within ten minutes of it, Sportacus joined her and the two chatted and laughed through the first half over their veganism, and they would have kept talking if Stephanie didn't suddenly realize the scene occurring on the Hallmark film felt like something out of one of her dreams.
The mother in the movie was telling her young daughter that she loved her no matter what and would never leave her behind, which quickly reduced Stephanie to nervous tears.
Upon hearing the sound, Bessie and Milford slowly made their way into the room and joined the duo on the couch, softly comforting the girl.
"I just don't understand," she whispered, leaning against Sportacus as Milford dabbed at her eyes and Bessie smoothed out her hair. "why can't my mom feel like that about me?"
The adults exchanged looks of pity before Milford slowly cleared his throat. "She does, Stephanie."
The girl looked angrily up at her uncle, breathing in shaky breaths as words escaped her mouth. "No, she doesn't. She abandoned me."
"Stephanie, darling—" Bessie began, but the little girl cut her off, sitting up suddenly, "she doesn't love me for me. She only loves Steven." She started to sob harder, and Bessie cleared her throat again.
"She does love you, Stephanie. She's just…she just needs time to understand that."
Irritated, the girl curled her knees back to her chin. "But why? Why can't she just love me and stop making excuses?"
Softly, Bessie rubbed circles on the girl's back. Milford cleared his throat, "I don't know, Stephanie, but…we're here for you."
The girl looked up and around at the people surrounding her. "Is it because I'm selfish?"
"What?" Sportacus asked, taken back by the girl's sudden question.
"I'm selfish. My mom can't love me because I'm selfish. Here I am crying and pushing my problems onto other people." The little child shuddered as tears heaved down her face.
"You're not pushing your problems onto us, Stephanie." Sportacus said softly, giving the girl's arm a soft squeeze.
"It's not your fault all of this is happening." Bessie added on, holding the girl's hand close to her.
"Your parents made a big mistake," Milford said, pulling the girl's eyes up by cupping her chin, "you deserve a loving family. And we might not be what you had in mind," he laughed awkwardly, looking between the other adults, "but we will be here for you. We won't leave you alone."
Slightly unconvinced, the girl nodded and leaned against Bessie. "I'm sorry, I just… I wish my mom loved me. I'm sorry." Whimpering, another sob erupted from the girl's mouth. Watching in pity, the adults once again exchanged gazes.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Stephanie." Sportacus whispered, rubbing the girl's shoulders.
"I just don't get it." Sobs pushed their way through her body and snot started to run down her chin.
Suddenly, Bessie leaned forwards. "Would talking to them help?"
Quick breaths swam through the girl's chest and she looked over at the woman, taken back. "What?"
"Do you want to call your parents?" Milford asked in a small voice. Not knowing what to expect from a phone call with the girl's parents, he dreaded her answer.
Nodding her head rapidly, she wiped her snot and tears away on her sleeve. Smiling awkwardly at the child's antics, Sportacus stood up and returned with tissues. After another few minutes of slow breathing and cleaning herself up, the young child pulled her phone out of her bag, her hands shaking. She looked up once again to the people around her, as if asking if it was really alright.
When her uncle nodded, she started dialing her mother's phone number.
"Mom?" The word flew out of Stephanie's mouth quicker than she had thought it.
"Steven?" The woman's harsh voice whispered. "Honey, Honey, it's Steven!" The woman called excitedly to her husband and Stephanie felt her stomach grow fuzzy at her mother's joyous tone. She vaguely heard the sound of her father's voice in the background before her mother's returned full force. "Oh, Steven, how are you doing, sweetie?"
"I'm doing okay."
The woman rambled on again about how much she missed her son before the girl interrupted her.
"Do you still love me?" After no answer, Stephanie pushed forward, "Please, answer me."
"Of course, I still love you, Steven." The woman's voice tremored, leaving a sour look on Stephanie's face, as if she just bit into a lemon.
"Leaning back into the couch, Stephanie sighed. "No, you still love Steven."
Confused, the woman could only answer with small sounds of protest.
"You don't love me for me."
"Steven, not this again." Her mother's voice changed to one of disappointment, causing the girl to cross her free arm over her stomach.
"It's Stephanie now." She waited a minute before continuing. "My name has always been Stephanie. You just refused to understand that."
"Don't be ridiculous, Steven."
The child scoffed. "You want ridiculous? How about the person you trust the most leaving you to fend for themselves in a new town, all because you can't understand them? How about refusing to listen to your kid, and instead speeding off without them? How about abandoning me?" Tears started again to form at the corners of the child's eyes. Milford rubbed circles on the child's shoulders as she started to slowly let her heart out.
"I didn't abandon you, Steven." Her mother was growing impatient. "Baby, I would never abandon you. I'm letting you stay with your uncle."
A few seconds of silence pass on the other end before Stephanie adds to her case. "You left me here. I'm just lucky he cares about me. And Mom? My name's Stephanie. And," the child grew a large, coy smile, "my hair's pink now." She listened in satisfaction as her mother gasped on the other end. A few whispers in the background later, and her mother's voice returned full force.
"Your hair is what?" She sounded angry. Stephanie grinned for a minute before it faltered back to its usual state.
"Why can't you just be happy for me? I'm not happy being Steven because he's not me. I'm only happy as Stephanie. Your daughter."
A few seconds of silence pass and again, her mother's voice strains itself to not be too loud. "You're my son. And nothing you do will ever change that."
Tears streaming down her cheeks, Stephanie leaned against Sportacus. "Mom, I want you to love me as Stephanie. You either love me as Stephanie or you don't love me at all."
Milford looked worriedly at the other adults in the room, their expressions matching. They knew that nothing that followed the words were going to be easy on the young child.
Finally, the mother's voice returned. "I love you as Steven. My son." Stephanie could hear the tears in the woman's voice. Shaking her head in distress, the young girl sighed softly.
"Then I hate you."
And with that, the defiant girl clicked the little red circle on her phone that ended the call.
A few minutes of sniffling later, and the group of adults scooted forward.
"Stephanie…" Milford said slowly, pulling the child close to him. She just stared forward, light tears trickling down her face like a leaky faucet.
"I give up." She said, leaning her face into her uncle's chest. "I give up trying to make her happy."
The mayor just nodded softly as the group rubbed her back and ran fingers through her hair and hummed softly to her. Within minutes, the exhausted child dosed off in her uncle's arms.
Smiling softly, the man attempted to lift his niece up only to struggle against her weight. With a soft smile, Sportacus gently took the girl out of her uncle's arms and carried her up instead, followed by the other two adults.
As the girl was tucked gingerly into her bed, she fluttered her eyes open for a short moment before smiling. "Thanks again, Sportacus, aunt Bessie, uncle Milford." She yawned and pulled her stuffed Stegosaurus close to her, her eyes gently closing.
With a small kiss to the child's forehead, Milford left the room, soon followed by Bessie and Sportacus.