𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥.

𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘺.

I sat at the dinner table and ate my breakfast oatmeal. My father was reading his newspaper, while my sister cooked the rest of breakfast. Once she finished, she gave my dad some and walked behind me.

"Are you ready for me to do your hair?"

"What?" I asked.

"I have to braid your hair."

"Why?" I stared at her. She put her hands on her hips.

"Because it's dress code. You have to braid your hair."

My hair was frizzy and red. It's so red, some people think it's dyed, but it isn't. I could very easily braid it, but I didn't want to. I like it down better.

"Do the boys have to braid their hair?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No." She said. I heard my father angrily turn the page.

"So if I was a boy, I wouldn't have to braid it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So can I be a boy?"

My father slammed his fists on the table.

"Enough! No more arguing Gloria! Now let Marcella braid your hair!"

"Yes Father."

I sighed and gritted my teeth as my sister braided my hair. She pulled and twisted it until it was in two twin braids. When she finished, I stood up and went to my room to finish getting ready.

I pulled a blue blazer over my white collared shirt. I adjusted my matching skirt and put on my long white, school-mandated socks.

"It's missing something."

I grabbed a handful of rings off my table and searched through them. I pulled out a clay frog ring and slid it on my right hand. On the other, I put on a mushroom bracelet. When I was done, I walked downstairs.

"I'm ready." I said, looking at my father who had his work clothes on.

"Good thing, you almost missed the bus."

"The bus?" I've never taken the bus. Mother always drove me to school. But she can't anymore.

"Yes, now hurry. I can hear it up ahead."

I ran out the door and looked out the front lawn. My father was right, I saw the bus start to pass our driveway.

"Wait!!" I screamed, waiving my hands above my head. The bus stopped and opened the door to let me on. I walked onto the bus and scanned the rows for a seat.

I sat next to this boy playing what looked like an old Nintendo 3DS. He didn't look up. He had dark brown hair and even browner eyes. They looked like chocolate drops pushed into his face. He was also wearing a uniform, I guess the masculine version.

I waved my hand infront of the screen, and he looked up.

"Oh. I didn't see you." He gave me a brace-y grin to make up for his inattentiveness, "You wanna play?"

"No thank you. But can I watch?" I pointed to the game.

"Oh. Uh. I guess." He smiled shyly. I glanced at the screen. A cute little character was standing outside a house, in an equally cute town. A cat wearing a t-shirt walked by. He sat down under a tree and started reading a book.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Oh, that's Punchy, a villager. He's my favorite. I hope he doesn't move away." He replied. I leaned in closer to see the screen better.

Suddenly, a bump threw us up into the air. We tumbled back down. A curve sent me into the boy, squishing him against the glass.

"Oh gosh, sorry!" I almost grabbed my hair to play with it, before remembering I had dumb braids.

"It's fine. It happens a lot on this bus." He brushed his lap off.

"Actually, we should be there soon. I can tell because the driver always goes around the curves too fast." He rolled his eyes. He saved the game before shutting it off.

"Oh okay." I suddenly felt a wave of nervousness. I wanted to ask for their name, but I felt queasy. I mustered up the courage and asked.

"What's your name?" I asked as we started slowing down.

"Oh. Zachary, and my pronouns are he/they." He smiled again. The bus stopped.

"I'm Gloria. She/her." I smiled back as the kids began to get off. We both stood up.

"Welp, cya around Gloria!" He said as we walked towards the entrance.

"Cya." I walked into the large building.