Zora

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"I'm telling you, nothing will happen," Zora muttered as she and Terrance exited the main office.

"Something will happen, because it has now been brought to their attention that someone is being bullied. Trust me, this school is different. They are not going to leave you in the dust like they did in Georgia," Terrance promised as they walked down the vacant hall to class, their hall passes tucked into their back pockets.

"And if it doesn't, I want to make sure you are prepared for that. Not everything can be magically solved by telling the authorities. The world doesn't work that way. Do you know how many guilty criminals have been let off with a playful slap on the wrist?" she countered.

"Yeah, people don't always get reprimanded. Maybe this won't change the way those girls think about you, but it will teach them that their actions will face consequences. They can't keep this up. It's not right," he stated. "And if they don't do anything, then Tyler, Spencer, and I will see to it that they stop."

"Terrance," she warned.

"Relax." He placed his hand on Zora's shoulders and stared directly into her eyes. "Quit sinking in the negatives. Focus on the positives."

"Positives? What's going on?"

Turning their heads towards the curious voice, they spotted Denise standing in the women's bathroom doorway. Her eyes narrowed on the two, one eyebrow cocked in the air. Her gaze lingered on them both, expecting an answer.

"I'm glad you're here," Terrance stated, staring directly into her worrisome eyes. "Will you please tell Zora that everything is going to be okay?"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Zora hissed as Terrance.

"Zora has been getting bullied by some girls in the bathroom lately, and we just talked to some counselors. Can you please help her realize that everything will be okay now?"

Jerking her gaze to Zora, Denise asked, "You're getting bullied?" in a tiny voice.

"It's nothing to worry about."

"Yes, it is. What did they have to say about it?"

"They're going to talk with the girls about consequences, and if they keep their harassment up, they'll face even worse ones," Terrance explained.

"This was all really unnecessary," Zora interfered.

"No, it was not. How long has this been going on for?" Denise asked.

"Three months," Terrance answered.

"And you haven't told us? We would have taken you to the bathroom with us, protected you in the halls. We could have stopped this sooner rather than later," Denise interjected.

"Look, will the two of you just shut about this?" Zora snapped, rage consuming her face like a hungry monster. "Just ignore it like I have, alright? They are not going to do anything about it no matter how much we bother them about it. The prissy, cisgender girls always win because they are considered normal."

"Zora, you're normal, too," Denise argued.

"Not normal enough," she whimpered before storming away.

Both Terrance and Denise were frozen in place, unable to comprehend her confession. For as long as they knew her, not once had she ever felt insecure about who she was, calling herself abnormal. When they first met her, she refused to allow Terrance to call her anything but a girl. To think that those girls could have possibly been brainwashing her to believe lies and damage her soul broke their hearts. They refused to let her believe in the cruel lies. She was beautiful no matter what those girls said to her, as well as a normal human being, and they wanted to make sure Zora knew that.

^^^

Standing in the dance room by herself, Zora began to stretch. She avoided Terrance and Denise for the rest of the day, as she didn't want to continue hearing them rant about the bullying that happened. She needed for them to back down and quit pestering her, because she knew what she was doing. She knew why she needed to keep it a secret.

Sam Smith's 'One Last Song' blared through the speaker, and she stood in ready position. Imagining there was another person there to dance with her, she practiced her steps for a ballroom dance, imagining Tyler was her partner. As she twirled, a hand grasped onto her own, and another hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her in close. The two began to dance, spinning and gliding across the floor. Gazing up into his framed eyes, she couldn't help but smile before flickering her eyes down to her feet.

"You're cute when you're flustered," Spencer chuckled.

"It's because of your charm," she truthfully answered.

He scoffed. "I do not have any charm," he claimed as he spun her out and back into his arms.

"I can assure you, you do. At least to me you do," she giggled as she swooned in his arms.

"Then I guess I've done my job right," he chuckled. Dipping her in his arms, he smirked. "Speaking of jobs, I seem to have a job with you this weekend."

"You think of this date as a job?"

"That didn't come out right," he stated as he stood her upright. "I meant more like my job is to make sure you feel loved and appreciated on our date."

"That's sweet of you," she commented as she pulled out of his arms and approached the speaker, turning off the music.

Clenching and unclenching his hands as his side nervously, he pushed his slipping glasses back up on his nose before he croaked out a sturdy, "It's also my job to make sure you feel loved and safe at school."

Sagging her shoulders, Zora heaved a sigh as she turned to face him. Leaning against the table, she dug her nails into the top and scowled. "What's your point?"

"Why didn't you tell me about those girls? If I knew things were getting bad at school for you, I would have done something to fix it," he stated as he stepped up to her. Placing his trembling hands on her hips, he exhaled as she released her grip from the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm always here to help."

"It doesn't matter. Telling the counselors isn't going to do anything. They are still going to mess with me."

"Do you think Kaden wasn't made fun of when he came out?" Spencer asked, his voice cold and hard. Before Zora could speak, he declared, "No. He was made fun of relentlessly when he came out. Tom too. They were made fun of every day when the teachers weren't around, and while some teachers didn't bat an eye, a lot were there to help. Now they've created the gay-straight alliance to help bring kids together who are different in good ways."

"So?"

"The teachers are here to help. They know being gay or lesbian or transgender is not a choice. It is how you were born, and there is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is being made fun of for those differences. I wish you didn't have to go through that all alone. You've told us about everything else that happened to you. Why didn't you tell us about those girls?"

"They told me that if I told anyone, they'd do something worse to me," she admitted. "I was too scared to say anything, and now I am terrified of what they might do to me since Terrance forced me to tell someone." With a sniffle, she wiped her eyes dry as Spencer pulled her into his arms. "I'm so scared."

"I will not let anyone hurt you. I will always be here to protect you." Stroking his fingers through her hair, he cooed in her ear as she trembled. It killed him to watch her fall apart. To know those girls held such power over her was a punch to the gut, and he wanted nothing more than to bestow the same pain they inflicted on her onto them. But he knew that was not the way to handle the situation. He had to be there for Zora, not stoop to the bratty girls' level.

That was not the way to teach a lesson.