Heather made her way to Alex’s school with Erinna in the backseat. Margaret and Maddison followed them in Maddison’s car. Alex’s school was about a forty-minute drive from their home, but it was in the other direction from George’s and Erinna’s school.
The four left the cars after arriving in front of the school and parking. Making their way inside the school and heading directly to the principal’s office, Heather knocked on the door, then opened it.
Alex was sitting in front of the principal’s desk. She looked to be a woman in her late to mid-thirties. The principal wore a grey suit and had brown eyes and dark black hair. She had this evil smile as Alex sat in front of her, blushing profusely.
Heather’s blood started to boil from anger once she saw Alex. He was wearing his white polo shirt, but instead of his slacks and dress shoes, Alex was wearing a mid-length skirt with white tights and black Maryjanes. It was clear he was not enjoying this. That’s what made Heather angry.
After starting the video app on her phone, Heather immediately handed it to Erinna. With a sigh, Erinna began recording.
“You must be Mrs. Houston. Please have a seat,” the principal said, pointing to a seat in front of her desk.
Heather took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. She looked at the principal’s nameplate on the desk. “Ms. Wilkinson, where’s Alex’s uniform? He doesn’t look comfortable wearing a skirt,” Heather informed the principal, taking a seat in front of Alex. She could tell that Alex was not happy with these clothes. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to humiliate her children.
“This is now his uniform, Mrs. Houston. Alex has been a bad boy starting a fight and using violence. As a punishment, he should be petticoated. Isn’t that right, Alex?”
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Alex replied with a red face as tears started to form in his eyes. He usually wouldn’t get into fights and never started one, but it was all because the boy insulted his father. He couldn’t take it.
“Let me ask you a straight question, why was there a fight in the first place? I assume you would know what caused my grandson to hit the boy in the first place,” Margaret interfered, making her presence known. She had such a strong and imposing presence that the principal looked shaken.
“The other boy had a black eye and a bloody nose. The reason doesn’t matter. I stopped this toxic masculinity before it grew. Boys should learn to behave and how to be gentle and delicate; otherwise, they will grow to be abusive,” the principal explained. She looked at the faces of the three imposing women. They didn’t look convinced.
Heather glared at the principal before turning to Alex. She held his hand in hers before wiping a tear from his eye. “Alex, honey, why don’t you tell us what happened?” Heather asked, completely ignoring the principal.
“You shouldn’t let him make...” the principal started but was quickly cut off by a glare from Heather.
“I am talking to my son, so kindly shut up,” Heather said, causing the principal to fall silent. She felt as if Heather was going to burn her with her glares.
“Freddy kept insulting my dad and taunting me even when I asked him to stop, I told the teachers more than once, but they didn’t do anything. We were in the lunch room when Freddy came over and said the world is better off now that my dad is dead,” Alex explained before breaking down.
“That’s just an excuse. It’s toxic masculinity, and...”
“Look here, I don’t care if someone filled your head with all this nonsense about toxic masculinity, but I will not accept people like you trying to ruin my children’s heads. The last thing I want is for my daughter to grow up and be like you,” Heather spat angrily, losing her temper. She was disgusted by this woman, and she certainly wouldn’t forgive her for her actions. “You can believe in whatever ideology you have, but you should have thought carefully before trying to force it on my 11-year-old son. You and the likes of you are disgraces to womanhood, so why don’t you leave this position to someone more capable and go home and stay alone with your cats for the rest of your life.”
Heather stood up while holding Alex in her arms. “Come on, Alex, let’s go home. You’re not spending another day in this school. You will go to Talented Youth Academy with George and Erinna.” Heather took Alex in a hug, rubbing his back before turning to the principal. “As for you, Ms. Wilkinson, I would look for a good lawyer because I will be naming you and the school in a lawsuit.” Heather held Alex and Erinna’s hands, walking out of the office with Maddison following them. Margaret left the office after giving the principal some words of her own.
•••••
Brandi walked around the house nervously. Hundreds of scenarios played in her head, and most of them were negative. The CPS will be visiting today for a home inspection. After everything came out, and the family knew that her father had abused her, she had nowhere else to go.
Her other two uncles were not that welcoming, and her cousins didn’t welcome her as a girl. It was thanks to Nancy that they couldn’t bully her. Besides, her uncle Erwin was the most welcoming and caring person in her family.
No one knew where her real mom was, and Brandi hadn’t heard from her since she was 5. Her stepmom had a history of alcohol abuse and couldn’t see herself being a mother. She did come to visit her, and Brandi felt happy to have her around. The moment she started taking booster pills, her body changed dramatically. She now wore a B-cup bra instead of the A-cup she used to wear at first. Her scrotum was now gone, and in its place was the labia of a fully mature and functional vagina.
She was not supposed to stay in the house today, but her new school treated her like any new TSS child. So, she had a week free of school, staying at the Huston’s house until Carla returned home. Unfortunately, Heather and Erinna had left the house, and Brandi was unsure about being around strangers, even if these strangers were Erinna’s grandparents.
When Brandi heard the doorbell, her nerves skyrocketed. Brandi was the closest person to the door, so she went to see who was there. In the window beside the door, Brandi saw one of their neighbors. She didn’t know much about him except that he was a neighbor and friend of her uncle, Erwin. She also knew that he was an FBI agent. Brandi saw him earlier at the Hustons’ house, offering his condolences for his dead colleague.
She had talked to him once when he watched a game with her uncle and Erinna’s dad. He was a lovely man, so Brandi opened the door immediately. “Hello, sir,” Brandi greeted, making a path for the kind neighbor to come inside.
“Hello, little one, is your uncle home?” the man politely asked, stepping inside. He took note of Brandi’s blue dress and her whole outfit, and it gave him a good idea for his daughter’s birthday gift.
“Yes, sir. He’s in the backyard. I will call him for you,” Brandi explained before shutting the door behind the man. She immediately walked to the backyard, where she found her uncle. “Uncle Erwin, Mr. Hale came by, so I let him in.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Erwin replied, wiping his hands since he worked on Oliver’s new dirt bike. Walking towards the house through the backdoor, Erwin noticed Brandi’s nervousness. “Don’t worry, honey. Everything will be alright. My stupid brother may not know your value and your big heart, but I do,” Erwin reassured her, pulling her aside and kissing her forehead. No one would ever take his niece away from his house. He had already cut ties with his miserable brothers, and so did his parents. They had sided with Brandi’s dad, so they were no longer part of the Collins family.
Erwin walked with Brandi to the door to welcome his neighbor. Erwin greeted, hugging and shaking hands with him. “Wyatt, my man, how are you?”
An hour and a half passed before Brandi heard the doorbell again. In front of the door were two women wearing severe-looking skirt suits. They had to be the CPS. Immediately, Brandi’s heart jumped into her throat as she opened the door.
“Hello, sweetheart,” said one of two ladies who looked like she was in her mid-twenties. She sounded pretty nice and managed to put Brandi at ease.
