“Mom!” Holly yelled from the top of the stairs. “Where’s my pink flower hair thingy?”
“Did you check in your little box of hair accessories?” Her mom called back from the kitchen.
Oh yeah. Holly laughed slightly to herself, a little embarrassed. “Thanks!” She called as she turned back to her room. It was the first day of school, and their whole house was a little flustered. Almost everything was still in a box, but there wouldn’t be time to deal with things until after everyone got home that night.
Holly hummed to herself as she fixed the large flower at the base of her bouncing ponytail. Then she stopped suddenly, arms still raised. Three blind mice? She blinked at her reflection in the mirror. Why would I hum that?
In the mirror, Holly saw her bedroom door open. “Holly?” Fletcher said, poking his head around the door. When he saw that she was up and dressed, he stepped into the room and closed the door. “Are you ready yet?”
A smile spread across Holly’s face and she spun around. “Let me see!” She said happily, looking Fletcher up and down. She loved her brother’s clothes, how they had a purpose other than just covering his body, and how they reflected him so perfectly. Not for the first time in her life, Holly wished that she knew herself as well as Fletcher knew himself.
Today he was dressed in simple blue jeans and a white t-shirt, both of which hung on his body well, not clinging too tightly, but he also wasn’t hiding behind them. Holly grinned when she read what was printed across the front of the t-shirt. In black lettering it said ‘Let’s get one thing straight…’ and then in lettering that looked like it had been cut from a rainbow it said ‘I’m Not!’.
“What are you staring at?” Fletcher asked, tilting his head to one side.
“Your shirt.” Holly stated truthfully, grinning and giggling. “You’re so confident.”
Fletcher shrugged and turned away. “I just want people to know who I am.” He explained. Holly could tell that he was feeling a little uncomfortable. “I’m done hiding.”
The smile fell from Holly’s face. “I know.” She said, stepping up to her brother’s side and placing a hand on his shoulder. Fletcher had felt so out of place in their home before, wanting to be confident, but always being treated like a weakling and a freak. Holly quickly pulled him into a tight hug. “Everything’s going to be better now.” She told him.
Fletcher sighed and hugged her back. Then he pulled back and smirked at her. “You know, you’re not going to have time to eat if you don’t hurry.”
“Wha!” Holly cried out, looking at the clock on her dresser. Fletcher was right, they had to leave for school in just ten minutes. She ran past Fletcher and down the stairs. Luckily, breakfast was on the table, so Holly didn’t have to scramble to make herself something.
“I thought things were going to be different here.” Her dad scolded from his seat at the table as Holly started wolfing down her food.
“They are.” She told him, taking a gulp of orange juice. She started to choke and had to pound herself on the chest. Once she had recovered, she flashed her dad a grin. “But some things have to stay the same.”
His only response was to roll his eyes before returning to his coffee.
Once Holly had finished her food, she thanked her mom and ran to the front door. She let out a little scream when she slid on the smooth floor in her socks as she tried to stop beside her shoes. Fletcher’s were already gone, as was his backpack, which meant that he had either already left for school, or she was keeping him.
“Bye!” She shouted, grabbing her black messenger bag full of school stuff and running out the door.
To her relief, Fletcher was standing beside his car, waiting for her. He smiled and shook his head at her. “It’s the first day, the one day you absolutely can’t be late.”
“Shut up.” Holly grumbled as she opened the passenger side door and got in.
Fletcher got in too and turned the key in the ignition. Immediately, music filled the car. One of Fletcher’s ‘Devil’s Halo’ CDs was in the player and Holly instantly started bobbing up and down to the music. Then Fletcher turned it off. “I need to focus.” He said, looking out the back window as he backed out of the driveway.
Holly crossed her arms and huffed loudly. “Fine.”
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