Heather and Carol walked out of the shoe store with six shopping bags, all of them full of shoes only. Joshua smiled at them as they walked out of the store and turned to do his job. Then, Carol finally realized his feminine waist and hips, which was different from Carol’s first judgment. She was even more confused now and sure she had seen a bra through his blouse.

“So, what’s the story behind Joshua, I mean, his face and body don’t say he’s a male at all, but still, with the short hair and Adam’s apple, I must say he confused me a bit,” Carol explained as they both headed to the van. He was curvy in a way a male shouldn’t be. Also, his voice seemed soft and clear with a feminine pitch; she was now curious about Joshua.

Heather shook her head and sighed, remembering the case where she had represented Joshua. It was painful; Joshua could barely walk at that time.

“It’s a long story, Carol, and I will tell you about it later. Joshua has a female body due to an unlawful gender reassignment surgery conducted on him two years ago. He’s just slowly feminizing gradually,” Heather explained to Carol, who looked slightly apologetic for her question.

She liked the way Joshua dressed. She knew Oliver would never want to wear anything like that, and he was more than happy to avoid any feminine clothes. It was outrageous and unethical that someone had forcibly changed another person’s gender. She knew that Heather must have won the case, and she was glad it was Heather since she had never seen her lose. Heather never lost a court case as a prosecutor or a defense attorney.

They walked to the van and put the bags with all the others.

“We certainly got her a lot of new clothes,” Carol commented as they closed the van’s back doors.

“Yes, and she still needs more clothes,” Heather grinned.

Carol just shook her head and smiled.

“The movie should be over by now; let’s go join the kids in the food court.”

Carol nodded in agreement. Both of them walked to the food court.

••••••••••••

Everyone came out of the theatre excitedly; they all liked the movie. Since Heather didn’t allow her to drink soda, Erinna had consumed two cans of juice. She and Dakota were not allowed to drink soda which their coaches decided. Knowing that Erinna was not allowed to drink soda, Oliver agreed to get juice. Out of habit, Erinna had finished her juice almost immediately and only had popcorn. Oliver, who made sure to take his seat next to Erinna, realized that and handed Erinna his juice.

Erinna regretted not going to the bathroom during the break before the movie resumed. She urgently had to go to the restroom. After informing Nancy, Erinna dashed to the lady’s room. She stopped in front of the bathrooms, almost entered the men’s restroom by mistake, and Erinna entered the lady’s room with a sigh. She was four years old the last time she was in a lady’s room with her mom.

Entering the lady’s room, Erinna was nervous and could hear the sound of two women inside. She was expecting the same look she had received in the men’s restroom. Erinna pushed the door, entered the lady’s room, and two older teen girls were fixing their makeup. They briefly looked at her when she entered but then returned to what they were doing. Erinna’s first impression of the Women’s room was that it was so clean and didn’t smell of urine, like a Men’s room.

Erinna walked into one of the empty stalls, locked the door, and pulled her tights and panties down. She pulled her skirt up as she had no time to unbutton it and lower it. Erinna then sat down to finish her business. Once she finished, Erinna walked out of the stall to see a teen girl fixing her makeup. Erinna let her mind wander for a moment and imagined herself applying her makeup in the teen girl’s place. She immediately shook her head, dismissing the idea. She sighed, walked to the sink, and washed her hands before drying them.

Before she left the restroom, Erinna observed no urinals there, which was why the room smelled so much better, and it was nice not to be reminded of her disability as she saw it. After all, Erinna still thought of herself as Ryan, the 10-year-old boy. While all the other boys her age could pee standing, she couldn’t, so she saw it as a disability.

Walking out of the lady’s room, Erinna didn’t realize the eyes that followed her. She was suddenly aware of the company when a group of boys blocked her way. Erinna just gave them a blank and confused look. The three boys looked like nothing special. She thought Oliver looked way better than any of them since he looked cute. Erinna was shocked; she couldn’t believe that she just thought Oliver was attractive.

“Hi, baby, going somewhere?” said one of the boys. He was tall but very skinny, unlike the boy she was comparing him to. He didn’t measure up and was nowhere near Oliver’s level.

Dismissing her thoughts, Erinna kept walking, ignoring the group of boys. The boys didn’t leave her alone and stood in front as they continued to block her way. Erinna rolled her eyes; she was getting annoyed and was ready to fight them if necessary.

“Come on, baby, don’t be like that; at least give us your number,” another boy said. He was of average height but seemed to have a slightly pudgy belly, he looked normal, but his attitude told Erinna he was an idiot.

Erinna was not ready for what came next. She felt a hand on her butt, and she squealed in surprise. She quickly reacted, punching the boy in the face, making him groan, and holding his bloody nose. Erinna was surprised at her reaction, but the boy deserved it.

“You bitch!” one of the other boys said, grabbing Erinna’s hand. She was new to all of this but was already fearless enough to continue to cause much pain to these boys if need be.

Before Erinna could react, the boy was roughly pushed away. She saw Oliver standing between her and the two boys as the third one was too busy trying to stop his nose from bleeding.

“Leave her alone,” Oliver shouted confidently, surprising Erinna and even him. Oliver was never that confident, but when he saw the boys surrounding Erinna, something inside of him clicked, and he wasn’t about to stand aside.

“I believe he said leave her alone. Maybe I didn’t hear it right,” came the voice of an angry George from behind the boys. He put one hand on each of the boys’ shoulders and squeezed hard, causing the boys to moan in pain. The boys turned their heads and looked upward to see George’s face. He had a smile on his face, but it was not a pleasant smile at all.

“Now, why don’t you boys all piss off and leave my sister alone?” George said, squeezing their shoulders even harder. The boys tried to remove his hands, but George’s grip was far too firm for them to break from it.

“I will release my hands, and you will take your friend and get out of my sight, or you will both have a bloody nose, just like your friend there. I don’t want to see your faces again and stay away from my sister,” George growled in his developing but deeply pitched muscular voice. He was trying so hard not to hurt these boys; he didn’t appreciate someone messing with his sister, and he wouldn’t deal kindly with anyone who did. Both boys nodded, frightened by George. When George released his hands, the boys quickly took their friend and scurried away in a hurry.

George let out a sigh as the boys hurriedly left. He tried so hard not to lose his temper. George could’ve made them scream and easily break their bones, but he didn’t want to cause trouble. However, if they had laid their hands on Erinna, George wouldn’t have been able to hold back and seriously hurt those boys. “Are you both okay?” George asked. Both Erinna and Oliver nodded as George let out a sigh. “Let’s go back then.”

They followed George back to where everyone was sitting. They were all sitting around a table in the food court when Heather and Carol joined them.

Heather could see that Erinna was bothered about something and that George looked slightly angry. She feared that something had happened between them, and her heart broke just from the thought. They were always good together, and she didn’t want to see them fighting for any reason. George was always the protective older brother, and Erinna adored and loved him more than anything. She had to find a way to talk to these two; she couldn’t let them stay like this. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head, and she was glad they gave Erinna a phone. Quickly, Heather pulled her phone out and texted both George and Erinna.

George’s and Erinna’s phones chimed as they took their phones out. They both read the text messages and looked at Heather, who stood up and pointed at them with her eyes. Both George and Erinna were confused; they didn’t know what was happening since they rarely got in trouble, and when they did, it was nothing serious. The three of them made an excuse and walked away. Both of them followed Heather and stopped near the restrooms.

Heather turned; she looked disappointed. “Did you two fight?”

Both George and Erinna looked at each other confused, fighting was out of the question for both of them, and they didn’t understand why Heather reached this assumption. “Mom, why would we fight? Everything is good between us; besides, I would never fight my little sister,” George stated confidently.

Looking into his eyes, Heather could tell George was not lying, but she knew her children very well. She could tell something was not right; something was bothering them. She didn’t know if she would interrogate them for more information or not. In the end, Heather decided to push for information. “Okay, so, what exactly happened?”
Heather saw a flash of anger in George’s eyes for a second; he was usually calm and wouldn’t easily get angered. It told Heather whatever happened was very upsetting for George.

“Some boys were bothering Erinna, and I told them to leave her alone and go away... gently,” George explained as Heather’s eyes grew wide.

Her fears for the second time today came true, but at least George was there. Now, it made sense why he was angry, and she was hoping that the boys were not seriously injured. Knowing George, he wouldn’t have hesitated to protect Erinna. “Are you okay, sweetie?” Heather said, kneeling to face her daughter. She could see the tears forming in her eyes. Heather immediately scooped her into a hug as Erinna started to cry.

Erinna didn’t even understand why she was crying; she was okay a couple of seconds ago. Yes, what the boys did, bothered her, but she didn’t feel like crying a second ago.

“It’s alright. Did those boys do anything?” Heather pulled Erinna to arm’s length, trying to assess if she was okay or not; she could see that Erinna was physically okay. “If anything ever happens, don’t be ashamed to talk to me about it, okay, sweetie?” Heather wanted to teach Erinna a lesson for the future. If she told her mom about incidents like this, she would avoid keeping it locked away. Heather hoped Erinna wouldn’t have to tell her about future happenings. Like any good mom, she only wished the best for her daughter.

Erinna nodded a bit, sniffling. “Th-they. They touched my bum,” Erinna said, sniffling. George’s face started to turn red from anger upon hearing Erinna, and he clenched his fists. Angry was an understatement for what George felt. He was ready to explode and looked around, hoping those assholes were still nearby.

Heather had seen this look before; it wasn’t good. She had known Jeff before college, and Heather didn’t know him that well and babysat his little sister Madison. When Heather was in her second year in high school, an incident occurred where Maddison was attacked and almost raped by a group of boys. She remembered Jeff’s expression that day. It was like he was ready to explode. Afterward, he confronted that gang and ended up fighting against them; it was brutal, and all the boys received severe injuries.

Fortunately, he didn’t start the fight. He was smart enough to make the boys start the fight. Although, all the boys ended up in the hospital, where they had put his sister like Jeff used to say. His mom, who was a very well-known lawyer, bailed him out. Heather used to look up to her. She was the one who inspired Heather to become interested in the field of law and eventually become known as the iron lady.

Heather reached and held George’s hand. She wouldn’t mind doing the same as Jeff’s mom; they were family and took care of each other. While she did appreciate that he was angry for his little sister and ready to help her, she didn’t want him to do anything he might regret. “Calm down; we will solve this rationally,” Heather commented, calming her son down.

Looking back at Erinna, Heather wiped a tear from her eye. “Tell me, what did they do with details? Can you tell me?” Erinna sniffled and nodded. She started to tell her mom about everything that had happened.

Hearing Erinna’s explanation, Heather couldn’t help but laugh when Erinna said she punched one boy in his face and was about to strike a second one when Oliver arrived.

“Not fair,” Erinna whined a bit and huffed. She was suddenly in a much better mood and didn’t understand why.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, it’s just that I did the same thing to the first boy that went too far while hitting on me,” Heather said, making Erinna giggle while George smiled. She couldn’t help but think how Erinna took a lot after her. She was a kind girl, but she wasn’t the girl who would simply stand and let things happen to her. You didn’t mess with this family.

Heather looked up to George with a broad smile. “I am very proud of you, not only because you protected your sister but also because you held your temper and didn’t act rashly.” Heather’s eyes turned again to Erinna, and she kissed her forehead. “Next time, aim for the eyes. It will leave a good mark,” Heather joked, making Erinna giggle. “Now, as an excuse for our absence, we should buy everyone a drink. What do you think?” George and Erinna agreed to their mom’s plan and followed her to the food court.

As they walked back to the food court, a name pulled Erinna’s attention. It was a store showing a goat’s head on a green sign. The store’s name was ‘Kilo Kebab.’ It was the name kebab that attracted her attention. The store displayed Mint Lemonade drinks on a sign at the front of the store.

“Mommy, mommy look,” Erinna said, pointing to the restaurant.

It took Heather one look to understand what made Erinna so excited. “I haven’t seen this store before. Maybe we can buy food and drinks for everyone, you know, and share this experience with the others.” With that, the three of them ordered food and drinks for everyone. They decided on Kofta wraps and a small Tahini salad for everyone and Mint Lemonade for drinks.

Ten minutes later, the three returned with the food and drinks; Carol looked at them quizzically as they approached the table where everyone was sitting. She was confused since they had been gone for so long and was beginning to get worried. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, nothing. Princess spotted a restaurant similar to what we had yesterday, so we decided to bring food and drinks,” Heather announced, showing everyone what they had bought. Erinna blushed a bit as Heather called her Princess, but she couldn’t protest. She was the family Princess, and so far, she was enjoying her new nickname.

•••••••••••••

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you are enjoying it. Please tell me if you like it and how I think I could improve it. Any comments or thoughts on the story are appreciated. I would love to hear from you.

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