Violet Odyssey

Chapter 3: Planned - Jeremy

"Oh, Jem, you're home!" Mom said, walking still sitting on the couch with my dad.

I looked at the screen they watched, and I immediately became disgusted.

"What is that?" I asked in horror as I gagged.

"It's the tape of me birthing William. We're trying to see if anything went wrong during delivery because we can't seem to conceive," Mom said.

"The fact that you're forty-four might be a factor in this!"

"People do it all the time!" Mom defended.

"You have six kids... I don't get why that's not enough," I said.

"We want another one. We're trying to think of ways to make sure it's a girl, then have a boy after that," Dad said.

"Why?"

"When you marry someone like Cindy Crawford, you'll want kids too."

"What? No! I don't want to marry Cindy Crawford!"

"Brooke Shields isn't hard to look at," Dad continued.

"Dad, I'd rather marry someone who's like Dave Mustaine. Just... female. So she'd play guitar and have that red hair."

I looked into the dining room to see my younger and closest sister, Leslie, sitting at the table and smiling.

"Is that my Iron Maiden shirt?" Leslie gasped.

"What? I like them too!"

"Take your sister's shirt off!" Dad ordered, seriousness on his face. He stood up and walked towards me. "You're not a fa-"

"Ron, not in front of the kids please!" Mom said as she continued to watch.

Dad raised an eyebrow, and I knew I had to answer.

"N-no, sir."

He nodded. "Good." Then, he stared at Leslie.

"Leslie Katherine-Melinda... you're obviously wearing clothes your brother wears. What's that about? You aren't a fa-"

"Ronald, Will is there!" Mom reminded him.

"No, Dad. I'm not."

And I was the only one who knew that was a lie.

About six months ago, I saw her kissing another girl while in the restroom at school.

And they looked into it.

---

I was at the school, and I saw Leslie go in the restroom, a close friend of her's following.

I was there to pick her up.

For a good ten minutes, I waited for her. Then, I opened the door to the restroom, and my eyes grew wide.

Leslie and her friend Elayna were up against the wall, Leslie's hands in Elayna's hair.

Leslie had lipstick smudges against her cheeks, and her face was stained with horror as she saw me.

"Jeremy!"

Elayna turned around, her lips covered in pink lipstick, so the evidence only stayed with her.

"What's... happening?"

Leslie gulped, letting go of Elayna.

"Um... I-I'm into girls... like I should be into boys..."