"Mandy?"

All of a sudden Marilyn stood next to Elektra's bed.

"What is it?"

"Mandy, are you okay? It is half past four, get out of bed immediately."

Elektra got out of bed and waited for her mother to leave her room. Then she burst into tears. She wanted to talk about this with her mother so badly. Or with Melissa... Or even her father. But she couldn't talk about anything. She once tried to tell her parents she wanted to go to art academy after school, but they didn't even want to hear about it. And she knew how her parents felt about homosexuals... They weren't too fond of them.

When Elektra heard someone knocking on her door again she quickly wiped away her tears.

"Yes?" She asked with a shaky voice.

"It's Melissa, can I come in?"

At least Melissa was kind enough to ask if coming in was convenient.

"Sure..." Elektra said.

Even though Elektra wiped the tears away, her red eyes gave away she had been crying. Melissa looked a bit shocked.

"What's wrong, Mandy?" She asked.

"Umm... Nothing," Elektra sighed. "Nothing at all to be honest."

"Oh come on! I'm your sister, I know you're not alright. What's wrong?"

Was she ready to tell Melissa? She had only just found out about it herself. Well... Actually she already knew about it. But she had only just acknowledged it. Oh well, she didn't have anything to lose.

"Umm... Melissa? I wanted to tell you something." Elektra said.

"Yes?"

"I think... Well, um. I'm gay."

For a few seconds nothing happened. After a few more seconds Melissa started to get a very confused look on her face and said: "Mandy, no, of course not! Don't worry, you will find a boyfriend someday. You don't have to be afraid you'll be alone for the rest of your life. You don't have to start looking for girls now just because boys aren't interested in you."

"Oh, is that what you think?" Elektra laughed. "I've fallen in love with a girl. It's not that I'm sooo desperate to get a boyfriend. Seriously Melissa, I'm not like you!"

Melissa tried to put her arm around Elektra, but she moved away.

"Mand... We both know you're not really... Well, you're just not like that. You don't have to do this. You just wait for Mister Right."

"I am not attracted to boys! What don't you understand? I am gay. I'm a lesbian. Or whatever you'd like to call it. I like girls, not boys. Never. Understood?"

"Never say never... I'm sure that one day you'll..."

"NO!" Elektra shouted.

"Easy Mandy, easy..." Melissa whispered. "If you promise me you won't go on with this I won't tell mum and dad."

Elektra was so angry. She wanted to punch Melissa in the face and rip her hair out of her head. But she said this in stead: "Oh... Oh, so you want me stop being myself? That's fine! I love pretending to be someone I'm not! I do that every day around here. Now, out of my room!"

Elektra wasn't as upset about Melissa's reaction as she thought she would be. She was more upset about how she left Sadie that morning. She felt so sorry, but she didn't know how to contact her. Until she remembered why she didn't add her on Facebook. Online she was still Mandy Perkins. She decided to open a new account. She didn't like the friends she had on her old one anyway. But when she was done she realised Sadie would see she had only one friend.

"Mandy Bernadette Elisabeth Perkins! Come here this instant!"

Was that Marilyn? What had she done now? Was it about not going to school? Elektra decided to go downstairs, because she knew she'd really be in trouble if she didnt.

"What?" She asked when she saw her mother waiting for her in the living room.

"Melissa just told me that you were into this homosexuality thing, and I want you to stop doing those things." Marilyn said.

"What things?"

"Those... Those lesbiansexual things."

Elektra actually wanted to laugh at her mothers lack of knowledge about this, but she was too afraid of her to actually start laughing.

"I haven't done anything."

"Good," Marilyn said. "But Melissa said..."

"No mum, Melissa is right. I am a lesbian. But that doesn't mean I'm into weird things or... It's just that I like girls better than boys. Is that a problem?"

Elektra already wanted to walk away so she could go back to her room and look up Sadie on Facebook, but Marilyn followed her.

"Of course it's not a problem dear," she said. "But you shouldn't do this. Maybe Melissa we've put too much pressure on you because Melissa started seeing boys when she was your age. Forget about this. You'll grow out of it."

"Ugh... This isn't a phase or something. This is who I am! I've always been gay! I haven't just become a lesbian today?" Elektra said.

"No, I... I understand. But I forbid it. You're not going to be gay in this house."

"Oh! Is that how it is? Well then... Then I'll be gay somewhere else, okay?!"

Elektra turned around and wanted to go outside, but her mother stopped her again.

"What?" Elektra asked.

"You're not. Forget about this. And don't talk about it. What will the neighbours think if they knew they had a lesbian living in their street... Mandy, you don't have to change yourself. You're perfect the way you are. You are mummy's little girl, aren't you?" Marilyn said, while holding Elektra's hands.

Elektra pulled her hands out of her mother's.

"But I have to change myself for you?" She asked.

"Not at all. That's why I want you to forget about the homo stuff. It's okay to be a late bloomer. You are who you are."

"Yes, and I am gay."

Elektra opened the front door.

"MANDY PERKINS, COME BACK RIGHT NOW!"

But Elektra didn't come back. She couldn't stay there. Even though she left her coat at home and didn't bring any money. She had to leave.