The next day when Stephanie went to school, the day went by smoothly until her third class. The school let students have art half of the week and science the other, and this was her first science class. Nervously, she looked around the room as she sat down, keeping her eyes on Trixie. Unlike her other classes where the kids could choose their seats, science class required the students to sit in alphabetical order.

Luckily, that didn't set her too far from her friends. Trixie was a few seats over, and Stingy sat right beside her.

Stephanie giggled and chatted with Stingy until the teacher shushed the class and began introducing herself. A few minutes later, and teacher announced that there would be a small science project beginning today; the kids would have to construct a tower with only spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. At the end, all the groups would set their tower on a desk and the teacher would shake it. The tallest one left standing would win. The groups had to have at least 4 people, which caused Stephanie to glance over at her friends worriedly.

Right away, Stephanie flocked over to her group of three, the trio clinging together like snowflakes as they scanned the room for someone, anyone else to add to their group.

Smiling, Stephanie pointed at a boy in the front row, who sat in the front row alone, hunched over his paper. The teacher had a quiet conversation with him before glancing up and seeing the trio. "How about you join those three over there?" She helped the other up and led him to the group of kids, smiling.

"Can Pixel join your group?"

"Of course, he can!" Stephanie said excitedly. The teacher smiled and left the group alone. Nervously, the boy looked up at the group.

"Sorry, the teacher won't let me work alone." His voice was deep and shy, causing the group to glance between each other.

Trixie grinned. "Well, what your name again? I'm Trixie, this is Stingy," she motioned to her kid-brother, who seemed dazed for some reason, "and this is Stephanie." She looped her arm with the other girl, as if presenting her.

Abashedly, the boy grinned at them. "My name is Pixel." He glanced over at Stephanie. "You're the new girl, right?"

Nodding, Stephanie led him over to the group's table. "That's why nobody picked me, but… why did nobody pick you?"

Awkwardly, the boy rubbed the back of his neck. "People find me annoying. I know a lot about science and sometimes I talk too much about it and people get annoyed."

Stephanie smiled openly at him. "Well, we don't really know where to start. If you're good at science, I'm sure you can help us."

The boy grew a grin and leaned over the table, looking at the tools they were given. "Well, I've built a few of these before. We could build a tower like the Eiffel tower, if you want." He opened the box of spaghetti noodles, "It's very stable, and we would probably win if we did."

Nodding, Stephanie glanced at the other two team members. "That sounds fun to me. What about you guys?"

Trixie flashed a toothy grin and stepped forward, ripping open the bag of marshmallows. "Sounds fine to me." She swallowed one marshmallow before Stingy gasped and lurched forward.

"Stop that! You're not allowed to eat any of them!" The two continued to bicker, leaving Stephanie and Pixel to chuckle and begin the project.

Once the two siblings settled down, they all began to talk and plan out their tower, which they agreed should have a square base.

"Hey, you said you know a lot about science, can you tell me something off the top of your head?" Trixie suggested suddenly, causing the silent boy to look up.

"Well…alright. Do you guys know what Rigor Mortis is?" The kids all exchanged glances before they shook their heads. "Well, it's Latin for "stiffness of death," and it's when your body gets all rigid after you die." He smiled. "Do you know how it works?" The kids shook their head again. "It's pretty cool. What happens is ATP, which stands for Adenosine Triphosphate, starts to die. This is bad of course because it supplies energy to the cells. When the ATP starts to die, it causes Rigor Mortis. It's also environmentally…" he looked up to the group, who had expressions of mixed confusion and astonishment. "I'm not…boring you guys, am I? Sorry for rambling, I didn't mean to."

Stingy was the first to speak up. "It's environmentally what?" He seemed to dismiss the other's embarrassment. "You didn't finish your sentence."

Blushing a bit, Pixel gazed at Stingy. "It's environmentally influenced. It works different depending on the environment."

"You should join the science club with me." Stingy looked at his kid-sister, a hint of disdain on his face. "I haven't joined yet, but they meet every Tuesday night. It's really cool. If enough people join, we even compete with other schools."

"The school has a science club?" Pixel seemed to perk up at that.

Trixie butted in, rolling her eyes at her brother. "Yeah, they mention every day during the evening announcements. How come you didn't know? Are you new?"

Abashedly looking at his shoes, Pixel responded. "No, I'm not new. It's just…" he looked up at the group, "I have a hard time listening to things like that. I love science and know a lot about it, but it's hard for me to learn, or sometimes even listen to, other things."

Stingy leaned forward, laying his hand on the other boy's arm. "That's fine, it happens. But we'd be happy to have you."

Still a bit nervous, Pixel shook his head. "I don't know. I have a hard time working with other people. Sometimes I get really shy, and sometimes I just… can't talk." He drummed his hands nervously together.

A thoughtful look on his face, Stingy squeezed the other's arm. "That's alright." His voice was softer than usual. "Some of the other kids get like that, too. I don't usually, but sometimes I get really overwhelmed and have to leave the room to calm down." He smiled. "A lot of us have things like that. I don't want you to feel like you have to join, but you are really smart, and I think you'd like it. We'd be happy to hear you talk about stuff like that."

Shyly looking down again, Pixel smiled. "Well, I'll definitely consider it."

The bell rang suddenly, shocking Stingy's hand off of Pixel's arm.

"Finally, lunch time! I'm starved!" Trixie groaned, pulling a cheeky laugh out of Stephanie as she followed her.

"Your brother seems to really like science." She whispered to the girl, who laughed.

"Yeah, he likes it, I guess... He likes math more, though. He's a bit weird like that." Trixie whispered back, looping her arm with other girl's. "It's good that he has someone to talk to it about now instead of me, though."

Curious, Stephanie looked over at the other. "Do you not like science?"

Shrugging, the other returned her gaze. "Not too much. Experiments are fun, especially ones that make messes. But other than that, I get bored with it. Stingy watches documentaries sometimes, and I just don't get it." She shrugged, glancing over at the other. "Why? You're not super nerdy too, are ya, Pinkie?"

Laughing, Stephanie shook her head. "Not really. I don't mind it, but it is kind of boring to me, too."

Trixie sighed in relief and Stephanie laughed again.

When the group reached the cafeteria, Stephanie immediately noticed a table set up with a large sign reading 'LGBTQ Club' over it. Right away, Stephanie squealed, surprising her friend, and hurried over to it. Curious, her friends followed.

"Hello Mr. Simpcan!" She cheered, smiling brightly at the man sitting. Looking up from his phone curiously, the man grew a grin as well.

"Well, hello Stephanie!" He looked behind her to her curious friends, who followed the excited girl. "Did ya bring some new recruits?"

Shyly, she looked back at her friends. "I sure hope so!" She turned to face them fully. "Will you guys join with me? It's a club for girls like me who are different, and other LGBTQ people, too!"

"LGBTQ people? The L stands for Lesbian, right?"

"Mhm!" Stephanie hummed, turning around and signing herself up instantly, twiddling the pen in her fingers.

"Well, my moms are lesbians, but I don't know the other stuff, so I guess it'd be good for me to join. They mentioned something about it when they got home from the PTA meeting last night, anyways. Maybe this club is what they meant." Trixie took the pen and signed up as well.

Stingy crossed his arms. "Well, unlike Stephanie and Trixie, I have no clue what LGBTQ means."

The man at the table picked a sheet off the table and held it out to the yellow-clad boy. "We have a FAQ page. It goes into detail about what the club is about and what we'll be doing."

Stephanie took one as well, scanning the paper curiously. Her eyes widened at one of the sections. "Fieldtrips?" She glanced up at the office worker, who smiled widely right back at her.

"If we get enough members, we'd like to try and do a few fieldtrips, yes."

The girl flapped her arms excitedly and turned to Trixie, the two moving out of the way for the boys to sign up. "I wonder what kind of fieldtrips we'll go on?"

Stingy skimmed through the paper as well, uncrossing his arms and looking over to Pixel. "Well, my dad is gay, so I guess I'll join."

As the boy was signing, Pixel leaned over and whispered to him. "I thought you and Trixie were siblings, though."

"We are." He said, throwing a heart over the i in Nenni. "Well, kind of. My dad wanted a kid but didn't have a partner, so one of Trixie's mom had me. We wouldn't be considered related to a lot of people, but our parents are good friends and we celebrate a few holidays together. Her moms are like my aunts and my dad is like her uncle, in a way."

Pixel nodded and stared at the pen that Stingy suddenly handed him. He looked over at the trio briefly before signing up as well. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to, but he also hated not having friends, and joining a club with them was like signing a contract that they would be friends, for at least a few years, right?

He silently joined the group and listened to them talk as they all entered the lunch line.

Before long, the group had finished eating and hurried out to recess.

Shyly, Pixel asked the trio he played with if he could join and they gleefully let him. The game quickly became eccentric and creative, with the group pretending to be knights and ATP cells. They had a war to cause Rigor Mortis in the princess Rigor Morticia, which Stephanie happily played the part of.

When recess ended and the group headed inside to their next class, Stephanie started to dread the following lecture, upon seeing none other than Gabe sitting in the seat directly behind hers. She sat next to Trixie anyways, ignoring the boy's pestering glare the best she could. The teacher quickly handed out a simple worksheet with addition problems printed on it and Stephanie got to work.

At first, everything was fine. But then a tap hit her shoulder and she shuddered. "Hey, Steven!"

She kept her eyes on her paper and tried to ignore the taunts. "Steven!" The boy whispered again, causing Trixie to look back at him.

"Leave her alone." She whisper-shouted, quickly returning to her paper.

A minute passes and a crumpled paper is tossed at her. She unravels the sheet only to see the name 'Steven' written in big letters on it. Frustrated, Stephanie crumbled the paper back to its previous state and looks at her paper. Unable to focus on it, Stephanie started writing the name 'Steven' over and over in the margins, writing Stephanie above it each time.

Before the girl can blink, the bell rings and the kids all stand up and turn in their finished work. Looking abashedly at her half-finished sheet, Stephanie tiptoed to the front of the room and turns her paper in. A quick glance at it and the teacher stops her. "Stephanie, stay after class, please."

Trixie sees the scene and loops her arm with the other girl's. "I have a question, Miss. Can I stay after as well?"

The teacher nods and ushers the rest of the students out of the class. Gabe stayed behind as well, making the same claim as Trixie, who glared at him.

"Stephanie, why did you write your dead name all over your paper? Is something wrong?" The teacher asked softly, putting a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, who shuddered at the touch.

"No, Ma'am. Sorry."

With that, Gabe piped his head over Stephanie's shoulder, glancing at the paper. He laughed.

"Finally, you know how to write your real name, you drag queen."

Right away, the teacher snapped her head up and glared at the boy, but before she could speak, Stephanie wailed around and tackled him to the ground.

Trixie cheered the girl on, mocking a wrestling broadcaster as she did, to the horror of the teacher who tried to pull the kids apart but failed when Gabe punched Stephanie in the eye, shocking the woman. Squinting with her other eye, Stephanie hook-punched the boy in the nose. She watched in both delight and fear as blood trickled out of the other child's nose. At the sight of blood, the teacher roughly pulled the girl off the boy, yelling for another teacher, who quickly ran in and pulled the boy up.

Both kids still struggled against the weight of the adults holding them back, Stephanie giving up first as she realized how much her eye hurt. She held her hand over it as the boy scowled and wiped blood out from under his nose. Stephanie grinned in triumph before the teacher set her down.

"Stephanie! What was that all about?" The teacher asked angrily, grabbing the child by the wrist and causing her to flail.

When the girl didn't reply, the teacher let go and crossed her arms. "Office! Now!"

Trixie huffed and grabbed her friend's hand. "What about Gabe?"

She turned to the boy and scowled. "You go to the office as well!" She turned to the other teacher who let go of the boy. "Can you please escort them? I don't want them to fight on the way."

The man nodded in reply and ushered the children out of the room and to the office. Trixie followed, worriedly glancing at her friend's eye. "Man, I think he gave you a black eye." She whispered to the other girl, causing her to wince.

"I hope not. I don't know what Uncle Milford will think when he sees it."

Trixie pouted. "Well, I saw the whole thing, and I know that he deserved it. I even grabbed that paper he tossed at you for proof."

A soft grin grew on the girl's face. "You did? You're the best, Trixie."

The other girl pulled at her overall straps. "Well, I wouldn't say that."

Stephanie stifled a giggle before wincing at her injury again.

When the door opened and revealed the office workers she had grown fond of over the past day, Stephanie hung her head in shame.

"Oh, Stephanie! What did you get yourself into?" Mr. Simpcan asked right away, standing up at his seat and gazing over the desk at the girl.

The teacher escorting them cleared his throat. "These two," he ushered Stephanie and Gabe forward, "got in a fight in the class room."

"She started it!" Gabe whined, pointing an accusing finger. "And I'm gonna tell my mom!"

Mr. Simpcan, who was constantly tired of the mother of the boy's antics, rolled his eyes a bit. "Well, let's learn exactly what happened before we do that." He glanced at the three children, pointing at Trixie. "You, pigtails. Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

The girl curtly nodded. "Well, when we were in class, Gabe kept whispering Stephanie's old boy's name to her to bother her. At the end of the class, he told called her a drag queen and said that if she were a normal boy people would like her."

Scoffing, Gabe stomped his foot. "I did not! I would never do that to Stephanie."

Both girls rolled their eyes. Trixie pulled the crumbled sheet out and handed it to the man. "He even threw this at her."

Scowling at the paper, he turned his face to the little boy. "Now listen here, , you march yourself into the nurse's office. When you're done you sit in the waiting seats until Mr. Orlando can come and talk to you about discriminating against other students."

The boy shuddered a bit. "Now, Stephanie, even if what he was doing was wrong, you should've told someone instead of beating up another student."

The girl nodded simply and continued to stare at the floor in shame as Gabe was escorted out of the room and into the nurse's office.

"Come here, Stephanie." The girl did as she was told, her friend following. He reached forward and gently moved the girl's hand, wincing at the sight. "I'm afraid that's going to become a black eye, sweetheart." Those words caused the other two office workers to curiously rush over, both of them wincing.

"Oh, Sweetie…" Miss Gooddrop cooed. "Come with me, I'll help you while the boy's in the nurse's office."

The young girl looked to her friend nervously. Miss Gooddrop chuckled. "Your friend can come to, if you really want her to."

Trixie bounded after the duo, a worried look on her face. The woman opened one of the mini-fridges behind the desk and pulled out an icepack, wrapping it in some of the tissues from her workspace. "Now, hold this on there for a while, alright?"

Stephanie nodded and made her way back to the waiting area, sitting next to her friend. Mr. Simpcan came over to the two girl's and leaned over them. "I know you want to, Stephanie, but are you sure you'll be able to make it to the meeting next week? I don't want you to feel embarrassed in front of all your friends."

The two girls exchanged glances. "I think I'll be okay, Mr. Simpcan. I think my friends will all understand. And if not all of them, I've at least got Trixie." She looped her arm with the other girl's and smiled up at him.

A soft grin emerged on the man's own face. "Alright, Stephanie. Well, if that boy gives you trouble again, feel free to come and hang out here while we sort stuff out."

The girl nodded and wiped at her eye.

"Don't be doing that!" He warned. "It will hurt more later if you scratch at it now." She pouted up at him for a minute before giggling. The man made his way back to his seat, leaving the two girls alone.

Trixie turned to her friend and smiled. "Man, I gotta say Pinkie, I didn't think you had it in you."

Stephanie gave her a prideful smile. "Either did I, but I just couldn't handle it anymore. He made me feel bad for being me, so I wanted to make him feel bad for being him."

"Power to Pinkie." Trixie boasted, causing the pink-haired girl to stifle a giggle. The two continued to chat about what happened until it was finally time for the two to leave the office.

Already, Stephanie felt much better than she did earlier. While her eye was still stinging somewhat, she felt proud of herself, as well. She had finally stood up to the boy who had made her cry multiple times now.

When the school day finally ended, she had completely forgot that her eye was swelling until she stepped into the house, her uncle gasping upon seeing her.

"Stephanie! What happened to you?" The taller man pulled her into the living room, the other two house residents following him curiously and gasping as well.

"Well, there's this boy who has been picking on me for a few days now, and I just couldn't help it anymore. He called me Steven today and was making fun of me, so I jumped on him and punched him."

Sportacus covered his mouth in shock. The other two adults looked worriedly at the girl. "Stephanie…"

Upon hearing the disappointment, Stephanie pulled the crumbled-up piece of paper out of her bag, unraveling it and presenting it to her family. "He threw this at me today in math. That's the class we fought in."

Bessie took the paper and grimaced. "I see…" She worriedly looked down at the little girl, running her long fingernails through the child's hair. "Did you get in trouble?"

Proudly, the girl shook her head. "When I explained everything that happened, they let me off with a warning about beating up other kids and told me to leave the office." She looked down at her hands. "I kinda wish I told the teacher instead of wailing on him, 'cause my eye really stings, but it also felt good to wipe that smile off of his face."

The adults exchanged nervous glances. "This isn't…you're not going to be a problem child, are you?" Her uncle asked softly, shocking her.

"No!" She huffed, pulling her feet close to her. "No, of course not, Uncle! This kid has just been picking on me since the first day I went to school! A-and he was calling me by my old name, and it…it made me think of Mom, and I just had to do something… I didn't want people to think I'm a doormat, Uncle." The girl didn't mean to, but she found herself sniveling slightly.

With a glance to the mayor, Sportacus sat next to the girl, pulling her close to him. "No need to cry, Stephanie. We're not angry."

The standing man nodded. "We're really not, Sweetheart. We were just worried. It's not every day you come home with an eye swelling like a balloon."

Bessie bit her lip, sitting on the other side of the girl. "Oh, don't look so upset, Stephie. We're here for you, darling."

The girl smiled a bit and gently dabbed her tears away. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day."

The group snickered. "We can tell that much." Sportacus whispered, causing the girl to giggle.

Bessie smoothed the girl's hair out. "Can you promise us that this was a onetime thing and you won't go handling these things by yourself anymore, Stephie?"

"Well, I can't promise…"

Uncle Milford gave the girl a lopsided smile. "Stephanie…"

A giggle escaped the child. "Just kidding!" She slowed her laughter and smiled genuinely. "I promise." She reached her hand up and pinkie-promised her uncle.

The group sat in silence for a moment before Stephanie spoke up again. "I made a new friend today." She flapped her hands suddenly. "And all my friends signed up for the LGBTQ club with me!"

Milford smiled awkwardly. "You signed up for a LGBTQ club? I didn't know the school had one."

Proudly, Stephanie glanced between her uncle and Sportacus. "They didn't, but Sportacus helped me suggest it at the PTA meeting!" She grinned up at the said man. "He even said he's going to help the club with planning. And I found out today we might take a fieldtrip at some point!" She clapped her hands and leaned back, wincing in pain suddenly.

Right away, Bessie stood up to her full height, grabbing the twelve-year old's hand. "Let's go get you an ice pack and some Ibuprofen, dear."

Once the two girls were out of the room, Milford turned to Sportacus, a strained expression on his face. "You helped her make an LGBTQ club?"

Sportacus shrugged. "Look, if it helps, I wasn't actually going to, but then kids started picking on her at the meeting and I couldn't help it." He furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm confused, do you think it's a bad thing?"

"Well, no, but…" The other man rubbed his temple. "You know, if her parents hear about it, we'll never hear the end of it..."

Sportacus placed a gentle hand on the other's shoulder. "I know, but…you should've seen the look on her face at the meeting when she realized that people at her school were going to be respecting her."

Milford looked up at him, a strained smile on his face. "I just don't know what to do. I don't want her parents to take her back and force her back into being someone she's not."

Sportacus nodded. "We just have to help her now the best we can. Things will work out when we get to them, one way or another."

The other man chuckled. "You and your optimism…Anyways, I'm getting a headache, I'm going to go and grab an Ibuprofen as well." He stood up and stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and Sportacus?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for bonding with her. I don't think I'd be able to handle this all without you." With that, he went into the kitchen, leaving the other smiling at the floor.