Zora

Chapter Two

The water cup in Terrance's hand shook slightly, a few drops splattering onto the carpet. It wasn't as though he could easily calm down; he was too excited. His mother and brother had landed. They would be home soon. After years of waiting, he was finally going to get his family back. If things went well that night, everything would soon fall into place. His broken family would be repaired, and his mother would be happy again.

Nevertheless, he was excited to finally have a brother. He wanted one ever since he was a child, but he never thought his parents would want anyone but him. He knew if he waited long enough, one day he would have a brother. Or at least someone close enough to consider a brother, like his friend Spencer. He even considered Spencer's sister his own as well. And with them being his family, he wanted them with him when he met Jeremy. He hoped Jeremy would one day view them as his family as well.

"I still can't believe you are going to have a brother," Spencer beamed. "I've always wanted one, but I got stuck with a lame sister instead."

"Excuse me?" Denise shouted as she threw a pillow at the back of her brother's head. "I happen to be a delight," she exclaimed as she held up her shaking, clenched fist.

"You are a delightful pain in my ass," Spencer sang and smirked as he dodged another pillow with one of his own.

As the two began to repeatedly hit each other with the pillows, Terrance groaned. "Please don't break anything. I cleaned all morning to make sure everything would look perfect once they come home . I want him to be welcomed in a non-broken environment."

Denise awed. "It's sweet to see how much you already care about him," she smiled as she rolled onto her stomach. "I don't think I have ever seen you so excited about in my life."

"Well, yeah," Terrance answered with a small laugh. "I know it may sound stupid, but...ever since my dad left, it's just been Helen and I. I'm pretty sure I replaced the son she lost, but we learned to cope with one another. She's my mom, and I'm her son. And she has another son that she loves, so I love him too. I want him to feel welcomed the moment he walks through that door."

"Aww," both Spencer and Denise cooed.

Yanking the pillow out of Spencer's hand, Terrance slapped the back of his head with it. The two continued to wrestle it out, earning laughs and cheers from Denise. "Come on, dumbass, kick his butt!"

"Who are you screaming that too?" Spencer asked.

"Whoever kicks the other's ass." Leaning back on the couch, she sighed happily. "Hey, Terrance, if Jeremey is cute, can I date him?"

"No! That's my brother you're talking about," Terrance exclaimed as he whacked her with a pillow, causing her to fall to the floor. As Denise sat there in shock, Spencer laughed at her. "I'll whack you onto the floor with her."

"Bring it on," Spencer taunted as he jumped at Terrance.

While the two playfully wrestled, the front door opened, and laughter rang from the entrance as both Helen and Zora stared at the boys wrestling on the floor. Taking a step back, she hung her head as Helen stared between her and the boys.

"Spencer. Terrance," Helen dragged out in a warning tone. Both boys jumped to their feet and smiled innocently at her. "Come here, I'd like you to meet someone."

As Spencer walked to the door, his gaze locked on Zora. She wore a white, floral print dress, paired with a black cardigan and a pair of matching tights and flats. Her blue hair was tied up in a ponytail with strands of her hair framing her face. A blush coated his cheeks as he stared at the woman who seemed to have stepped right out of the cover of a Vogue magazine. A goddess, essentially.

"Whoa," he murmured, but Zora heard him and blushed as she stared at her shoes.

"Boys, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Zora," Helen beamed as she wrapped an arm around her waist. Zora smiled shyly at her before facing the people in front of her.

Terrance lifted an eyebrow as he scanned her up and down. "This is man." Zora's face fell, but she held his gaze. "You said I had a brother, so this must be a man. Don't call him your daughter just because he's dressed like a girl. Let him wear whatever he wants. I'm sorry about her-"

"Terrance," Helen warned, but Zora shook her head quickly.

"It's okay," she whispered. Taking a deep breath, she stared into Terrance's eyes and stated, "I'm a woman. I identify as female, so I would appreciate it if you would address me as a woman and call me Zora."

A fresh start was presented to her. The dream of being accepted as a woman finally arrived. It was a dream she couldn't find even as she slept. She would start fresh, take on the bullies and harassers head on. She would no longer sit idly by and allow people to call her a freak or a man. She knew her truth, and she intended to let everyone know it. The only true way to make a difference was to start making the change.

"What are you talking about? There are only two genders. Male and female," Terrance stated. "You're born as either one or the other."

"Chromosomes do not determine who I am. I am not identified by my body parts, I am identified by my soul. And male and female are not the only genders. Gender is a spectrum. I personally identify as a female, just as you personally identify as a male from what I can only assume. Please do not tell me who I am," she demanded.

"Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk here," Terrance defended with his hands up, "but I am going by the rules of the health books we were given. Nothing in there says anything about there being a gender swap or different genders other than male or female. I am going by what I know."

"Then I'll teach you," she shrugged. "If you don't know better, then I will not judge you. But do not be like everyone else in my old town where they ridiculed me day by day in an attempt to have me 'man up.' It doesn't work.

"Also, I am not swapping my gender. I have always been a woman. It is because of forced gender roles that people don't understand it or care to educate themselves. I am a woman, because I feel like a woman. Even if I were to wear men's clothes, I would still be a woman. It is about how I feel, not how I look or what I was born as."

Terrance scratched his head as he scanned her up and down. The person before him did look like a woman, there was no doubt about that. However, he didn't understand what the person was. Born a boy but identified as a girl. That was something he rarely heard of. Sure, there were a few people like that at school, but he never bothered to ask them about it. It was their private life, not his. He didn't have a say in how they lived, so he stayed out. But now that he had a sibling who was like them, he knew things would be different. If Zora said she was a woman, then he knew to respect it. But it was difficult without knowing much about it.

"I still don't get it," he responded, his voice soft.

"That's alright," Zora assured with a soft smile. "It can be a lot to process and take some getting used to, but if you keep an open mind, you'll understand in no time." Facing Helen with a smile, Zora asked, "Where's my room?"

"Third door on the right upstairs."

"Thank you." Grabbing her suitcases by the handle, Zora walked past everyone and walked upstairs to her new bedroom.