An hour later, everyone was gathered in the principal’s office while waiting for her to arrive. Nancy was holding Erinna, who was crying her eyes out. George had a black eye, and Oscar had a bloody nose, though the other two boys looked much worse.

The door was slammed open, and Mrs. Mackenzie walked into the office with anger in her steps. She couldn’t believe something like this. Thinking those boys assaulted a grade 5 girl in her school was unacceptable. “Lara, did you call the police?” Mrs. Mackenzie sternly uttered.

“No, ma’am. We didn’t want to call the police until you arrived,” the secretary immediately answered. Lara had never seen Mrs. Mackenzie this angry before. The woman was always calm and never shouted. But now, she was terrifying.

“I am here. Call the police right now,” Mrs. Mackenzie yelled as her secretary rushed to call the police. Mrs. Mackenzie walked to her desk and sat down. She looked at George, Oscar, and the other two boys. It was admirable to think that a couple of grade 10 boys could take on a pair of grade 12 boys and leave them in such a miserable state.

“You are not serious about calling the cops, are you?” one of the boys said. The grade 12 boy had two black eyes, and it seemed he had lost teeth. The boy could only punch George once while George had beaten him to a pulp. Oscar was not that different. While he didn’t look as muscular as George, his friend couldn’t do much against him.

“Damn right, I am serious, Mr. Herman. If I were you, I would think about what story you will tell the police when they arrive,” Mrs. Mackenzie replied.

“But he attacked me,” the boy accused, pointing to George.

“And you were in the middle of assaulting his little sister. I would be grateful that Mr. Houston didn’t break your neck,” Mrs. Mackenzie replied, shocking everyone. No one had seen this aggressive attitude from her before.

A moment later, Maddison knocked on the door and entered the office, rushing to Erinna. She held her niece in a tight hug. “Are you ok?” Maddison asked before shooting the two boys a death glare.

“No worries, Ms. Houston, those boys didn’t get the chance to harm Erinna. We called the police, but I don’t think they need Miss Houston. As for Mister Houston and Mister Morris, I will make sure the police don’t question them without the approval of their parents. You should take Miss Collins with you as well. Please take Miss Houston to the school counselor,” Mrs. Mackenzie instructed.

Erinna sat in the school counselor’s office, waiting for the counselor to arrive. Erinna turned her head as the door opened.

Ms. Taylor, the counselor, entered the office holding a delicious-looking coffee cake and some orange juice on a tray. Erinna’s stomach growled, making her blush. She realized that she had never had the chance to have lunch due to what had happened.

“Sorry, I had to go get the cake my fiancé sent me,” Ms. Taylor explained, taking a seat across from Erinna. “Would you like to take a piece?” Ms. Taylor suggested seeing Erinna nodding.

Ms. Taylor sliced the cake and placed it on a plate, along with a fork, in front of Erinna. “Would you like a glass of orange juice too, dear?”

“Yes, please, ma’am. Thank you for the cake.”

“My pleasure, dear, enjoy,” replied Ms. Taylor.

It didn’t take Erinna any time before digging in. The cake was delicious, maybe not as good as the one her mommy makes, but it was divine. She did her best to eat as a well-mannered young lady, just like Heather had taught her.

“So, do you mind if I call you Erinna, or is there a name you would like me to call you by?” Ms. Taylor asked, handing Erinna a napkin.

Erinna wiped her mouth from any remaining crumbs left. “You can call me Rin, ma’am,” Erinna answered with a smile crossing her leg and getting comfortable in her seat. As an apology, the school had replaced her torn tights and pinafore dress. She was glad that neither her blouse nor her blazer was affected when those creeps assaulted her.

“Rin, huh? That’s a cute name,” Ms. Taylor commented. “Would you mind telling me who gave you that name?” Ms. Taylor inquired. Her purpose was to start a conversation with Erinna and put her at ease.

Rin immediately started giggling, remembering where this nickname originated. After all, she adored Angelo, making sure everyone used it. Angelo gave her this name. “It was my baby cousin, who gave me that name,” Erinna explained.

Ms. Taylor smiled at her. She had heard a lot about Erinna, and the entire school probably knew her by now. This girl’s IQ was impressive. She was a big challenge for the teachers since they couldn’t find her scholastic limits.

“Baby cousin, huh, how old is he?” Ms. Taylor exclaimed, smiling. This innocent yet intelligent and confident young lady was melting her heart. Ms. Taylor loved kids, which was why she took this job.

“Angelo is three and about to turn four,” Erinna replied sweetly.

“I see. Angelo must be cute then,” Ms. Taylor exclaimed with an understanding look. Who can resist cute babies?

“Oh, he’s adorable. He has big brown eyes and blonde hair. He looks the cutest when he asks for cookies,” Erinna explained happily. No one could be cuter than her baby cousin. What she didn’t know was that it was about to change.

Emory Morris walked through the school hallway at a furious pace. He had believed that his son had changed, he wanted to believe this, but he had failed him again.

Once Emory saw Oscar sitting in front of the principal’s office talking to a female police officer, Emory’s blood boiled from anger. Oscar’s stepmom had been defending him, and he listened to her opinion mostly, but this was enough. “You little brat, why can’t you stay out of trouble, even for a day?” Emory angrily spat as he walked toward his son.

He was about to slap Oscar, but the female officer stepped in front of him.
“Sir, I have to ask you to calm down. Your son is a witness, and I haven’t even taken his testimony yet,” the female officer explained. Seeing that Emory had calmed down, the officer took out her notebook. “Your son is a minor, and I couldn’t take his testimony without your presence and permission.”

Emory raised an eyebrow, he thought his son had created the trouble, but he never considered that he was a witness and not the one making trouble. “You mean that Oscar isn’t in trouble, and you’re not interrogating him?”

“I don’t think that saving my daughter would get him in trouble, Mr. Morris,” Heather spoke, walking over to Emory. “Sure, he got into a fight, but so did my son, and it was for a noble cause. I am sure saving a little girl from being assaulted could count as a noble cause,” Heather explained.

At first, Emory was confused, but then he realized his mistake as his face turned red from embarrassment. His wife was right when she insisted on giving Oscar a second chance. To think that Oscar was not just out of trouble, but also he was the hero.

Emory looked at his son with his face red from embarrassment. This misunderstanding was very embarrassing. “I am very sorry, son. I doubted you for nothing,” Emory apologized as Oscar smiled and shrugged. “I know I have been hard on you in the past, but I am proud of you,” as he patted Oscar on the back.

Oscar was delighted to hear his dad apologizing to him. He knew he would never allow anyone to do this to his sisters. He could never let a couple of creeps attack Erinna.

“So, Rin, I understand you had no trouble being a girl. Would you mind telling me how you felt when you heard the news?” Ms. Taylor asked.

She was very interested in Erinna’s condition. Most TSS kids who embraced their gender without much thought almost immediately admitted that they always wanted to be born as the other gender. They also never liked their original gender.

The terms transgender, gender dysphoria, or transitioning didn’t apply. TSS kids were in a different class as they completely transformed into the opposite gender down to their chromosomes. They were all happy about the change and embraced their new identity immediately. Though Erinna always seemed to enjoy being a boy, she completely embraced her new gender.

Erinna shrugged. She had already gotten over these feelings. Rin still missed being a boy from time to time. However, she knew she liked being a girl more than being a boy.

“Well, at first, I was shocked. I liked being a boy and didn’t want to become a girl, but I was always curious about girls and their life. Sometimes I even imagined myself wearing girl’s clothes. When mom took me with her shopping, girl’s clothes always caught my attention. Even at the salon, I was always curious about almost everything,” Erinna explained.

Ms. Taylor smiled, taking notes of what Erinna was saying. It was fascinating having this talk with Erinna. “Speaking of hair, I must say your hair is beautiful, Rin. You must be taking care of it daily,” Ms. Taylor complimented, causing Erinna to blush.

“Thank you, Ms. Taylor,” Erinna said, blushing hard as she moved some hair behind her ears.

“Now, we will have more sessions to talk about your feelings. I am glad we covered how today’s event has affected you,” Ms. Taylor spoke. It had been a sensitive topic for Erinna, and while it didn’t traumatize her enough to affect her daily life, it still affected her.

“Now, there is another issue to discuss. The CPS sent us a letter and demanded all TSS girls participate in a feminine activity at school. They have named a couple of activities, including ballet, girls’ gymnastics, and cheerleading. Although I’m afraid I have to disagree with those psychoanalytic idiots, I am afraid you will need to choose a feminine activity,” Ms. Taylor explained in clear annoyance. She was not happy with what the CPS was doing. However, she didn’t expect anything from the followers of Freud.

They claim that forcing the TSS kids to live with their new gender would help them by helping their unconscious mind to adapt to their new gender. As someone with a psychology degree, Ms. Taylor felt ashamed of some of her colleagues. She believed in a more moderate pace to slowly help TSS kids to adjust to their new gender. She had been reading the latest guidelines, and TSS would be renamed GCS – Gender Change Syndrome in the future, but it was a discussion for another day.

“But boys can do ballet, gymnastics, and cheerleading,” Erinna exclaimed in protest. There was a reason she didn’t accept being a cheerleader immediately. Erinna didn’t want anything to get in the way of her swimming. If she wanted to make it to the Olympics next year, she would need to put in a lot of work and training.

“That’s true, but the roles of both males and females are very different in ballet, gymnastics, and cheerleading. It was recommended for TSS boys, too, as it should help them adjust to their male identity,” Ms. Taylor explained. She could see that Erinna was not convinced and couldn’t blame her.
“You don’t have to decide now. I will give you a list of recommended activities. You can make a decision whenever you feel like it.”

“I will join the cheer squad,” Erinna decided with confidence in her tone. She was already thinking of joining the squad. Except for Marissa, all the girls were friendly and liked her. Also, with her mom as the cheer coach, she could ask for help to practice in her free time.

“Are you sure about this? You don’t have to decide now,” Ms. Taylor assured. She didn’t want Erinna to jump into something she didn’t like.

“It’s ok. I was already thinking of joining the cheer squad,” Erinna admitted.

The rest of the day went uneventful, with Erinna enjoying her day at school. Once the school day was over, Erinna walked to her locker carrying many bags of chocolates and flowers. Oliver was moving the rest while Dakota and Maria were in the same situation.

Both Dakota and Oliver exchanged a look and nodded. They both had a lot of competition, but they were determined to win the girls they loved. After all, both Erinna and Maria were in another league.

As they all made it to the lockers, they found the cheer squad standing in front of Erinna’s locker. All of them had a grin on their faces.

“Wow! did you two get all the flowers from the school?” one of the girls commented as the others giggled. Their reaction caused Erinna to blush.

“Anyway, you’re one of us now. We have a warm-up today before the game. We already have your uniform,” one of the girls informed, showing Erinna her new cheer uniform.

Meanwhile, Marissa was changing from her school to cheerleader uniform in the cheer squad locker room. That’s when Nancy entered the locker room with Brandi beside her.

“Oh, Marissa, I am so glad I found you. Can I talk to you for a second?” Nancy said. From her tone, Marissa could tell that Nancy was not here to talk. “Why don’t you go and change, Brandi? The game should start soon,” Nancy suggested as the nervous Brandi made her way to a locker and began to change into her cheer uniform.

“What do you want?” Marissa said, eyeing Nancy up and down. Nancy was one hot girl, and Marissa wouldn’t deny that she was into girls as much as boys or even more.

Nancy walked over to Marissa with a fake smile on her face. Nancy immediately pulled Marissa’s hair with a firm grip causing Marissa to yelp. “Listen here, Marissa, I don’t give a shit; if you want to mess with me, I can always put you back in your place. But let me explain one thing: don’t ever mess with my little sister again. If you do, you will regret it,” Nancy growled in Marissa’s ear before releasing her hair and pushing her to the floor.

“B-but you don’t have a sister,” Marissa stuttered nervously. No one wanted to make Nancy mad, she had done so before, and the result wasn’t good.

“George’s sister is my sister. Stay away from Erinna,” Nancy paused for a second, taking out her phone and playing a video for Marissa to see. “If you don’t want everyone seeing this video, you will stay away from Rin.”

With that, Nancy walked back to where Brandi was sitting and started changing into her football gear.

The rest of the cheer squad made their way to the locker room. Erinna was with them as they excitedly chatted between them. Heather had given them Erinna’s new gym bag with her sneakers and sports bra. Erinna didn’t even get the chance to undress as the girls started to undress her.

Once Erinna was standing with nothing but her panties and bra, the girls immediately unhooked her bra, replacing it with the sports bra. A pair of glossy beige tights were pulled up her legs and around her waist. Then a long sleeve white top followed by golden and white shells. Then they put on her spandex shorts, the golden skirt, and white sneakers with golden strips.

The girls hadn’t finished, as one of them took out a tube of lipstick and applied a coat to Erinna’s lips while another worked on her hair, making it into two big tails tied with a red satin ribbon. One of the girls added some eyeshadows and eyeliner. Finished with the transformation, the girls pulled back to admire their job.

“No wonder she got all those flowers,” one of the girls giggled, making Erinna blush. “Coach Heather is probably going to kill us, but it’s worth the risk,” another added.

Meanwhile, Nancy observed the whole thing to ensure the girls didn’t go too far. She looked at Erinna with a smile on her face. She could only smile, seeing how beautiful Erinna looked.

“Nancy, why don’t we do your makeup, too?” one of the girls joked. All the girls knew that having Nancy wear makeup before the game was useless. It wouldn’t make sense, but the girls always said it as a joke.

“Hmmm, maybe after the game,” Nancy replied. “You can do hers, though. Say hello to Brandi, my cousin and the newest member of the cheer squad. I am sure coach Heather has already told you about her,” Nancy introduced Brandi, who was trying to hide behind her. She then pulled Brandi’s hand.

Immediately, the girls squealed in excitement as they rushed toward Brandi with their makeup in hand.

A couple of minutes later, the girls rushed to the football field. The team was already on the field, training and preparing for the game. Heather was standing on the sidelines, watching George as he and the team got ready for the game. Once she saw the cheerleaders approaching, Heather walked toward them. “Took you long enough,” Heather said unhappily. They needed to work on the new calls and moves and didn’t have much time.

“First, we were lucky to get two cheerleader boys when the football team could barely find any reserves. Malcolm, Lincoln. Please come over here,” Heather called as two boys approached. They looked between 12 and 14 years old, had slightly feminine faces and a muscular build, and wore male cheerleader uniforms.

Both Malcolm and Lincoln were 14-year-old TSS boys. They both had to take an activity that CPS saw fit. Since cheerleading had defined roles for males and females and was on the list, they chose it.

Once the whole squad knew each other, Heather got them immediately into warming up and a bit of rehearsal before the game. The warm-up lasted until the opposing team arrived. They wore black and white football uniforms and used a badger as their mascot. Both teams walked to their locker rooms while the cheerleaders followed their respective teams to the locker room.

Once inside, Erinna saw Oliver and Alex wearing team manager shirts. While Oliver was interested in sports, Alex was more interested in soccer. Instead, he just wanted to help out the team.

Coach Miller stood up by a large flat screen. “Alright, everyone, pay attention to what I am about to say,” Coach Miller spoke, gaining the attention of everyone. “We’re playing against the badgers today, I know their coach can be a pain in the ass, and he has some good players, almost the same level as you guys, but one thing they don’t have is coordination. These boys have never played with each other before. You’ve been playing as a team for a long time, so you understand coordination and teamwork. When you go out there, you will do what you do best. Now for the gameplan, Miss Houston, please.”

Coach Miller looked at Erinna, who stood up, walking to stand beside the screen, while George flashed her a smile, thinking how cute Erinna looked in her cheerleading outfit. He glanced at Oliver; sure enough, Oliver couldn’t keep his eyes off her. If it were any other boy, he would probably beat them until they couldn’t see his sister anymore.

Meanwhile, outside of the locker room, Heather led both Malcolm and Lincoln outside the locker room. “Are you boys sure about this? Just because you are part of the cheerleading squad doesn’t mean you have to match them,” Heather spoke, handing each of them a package of glossy beige tights. “Remember the idiot who designed your customs and made the pants snug and a bit short so that they may show a bit of the tights,” Heather warned.

She was disappointed with the design of the cheerleaders’ outfits. The girls’ skirt was too short, and their top was too tight and short. She had to call her sister, Leslie, who forced them to redesign the costumes. She already had one made for Rin in case she wanted to join, but they had rushed boys’ uniforms, and while the boys weren’t complaining, Heather knew the pants weren’t suitable since they were too tight. She didn’t want something so snug like that.

“We will be ok, coach. It’s not like we haven’t worn tights before,” Malcolm spoke, and Lincoln nodded in agreement. They didn’t mind wearing tights. It was something they often did when they were girls.

“Alright, put them on quickly and come back to join us in the field,” Heather instructed.

In the locker room, Erinna explained how the opposing team played. “This player is the biggest problem. His nickname is Bullet, one of the best wide receivers in our region,” Erinna explained as she displayed the image of player number 87. “Oscar,” Erinna called.

“Yes, milady,” Oscar replied as everyone laughed, making Erinna stick her tongue out to him.

“He’s fast, but you’re faster, so you will take care of him in the defense. Nancy won’t be able to stop him,” Erinna explained, looking at coach Miller for approval. He nodded in agreement.

Erinna’s presentation came to a close. Coach Miller still can’t believe this little girl has analyzed the opponent’s team and given them the plan to defeat them. He thought about stealing her when she was a boy, but as a girl, the CPS gave him and the school a hard time because Nancy was playing in the team. He also knew Erinna didn’t have much spare time, with swimming taking much of her time.

“Thank you, Miss Houston. You can return to your squad,” coach Miller spoke. He watched Erinna smile, walk away, and then he turned back to the team. “Any questions about our game plan?”

Erinna left the locker room, held her pompoms, and walked onto the field. Rin was nervous, but she knew she could do it. Rin had practiced these routines, and it would pay off. She spent a lot of time training with her mom and Brandi in their backyard.

As Erinna walked onto the field, she noticed her dad waving a pompom at him in the stands. He just smiled and waved back. She could see that she was the youngest cheerleader, which made her even more nervous. She joined her squad, which was greeting the other cheer squad.

After greeting each other, both squads turned to the crowd. Erinna and her cheerleaders stood facing the public, raising and shaking their pom poms while Malcolm made a cartwheel and Lincoln performed a backflip, landing in front of them.

In the stands, Jeff watched his daughter with a smile. He was pretty upset when the school called to explain what had happened. He was glad he didn’t see those boys since he probably would have beaten them up. Though it seemed his son had done a great job on them.

“Mr. Houston, is there anything your daughter can’t do?” Coach Damien joked, taking a seat next to Jeff. While he said it as a joke, he didn’t understand how such a young girl managed her day like Erinna. That girl was something else.

Jeff looked beside him and saw coaches Damien and Monica sitting at his side. He immediately chuckled, hearing what coach Damien said. He had an exceptional daughter, and he was proud of her.

“Well, if you find anything the wunderkind can’t do, please tell me,” Jeff replied, making coach Damien laugh.

“I wasn’t sure she would have the time for everything. However, we have a swimming competition soon. We have a good team, but Rin and Maria are important to the team and drive each other to do better,” coach Monica explained. She was not happy with the CPS decision. Erinna loved swimming which was one of the reasons she was a high-achieving swimmer. To force her to spend time on other activities was a silly decision.

“We have talked with the school about it. Rin prefers swimming, so we made it clear that the priority will be swimming. She can always train at home if she needs to, so her cheerleading will not get in her way of swimming unless, of course, she prefers it over swimming,” Jeff replied. Even if coach Monica only wanted to best for his daughter, he didn’t want anyone to force his daughter.

They watched as Erinna executed an impressive backflip in the air after her squad mates threw her in the air before landing safely again. She had caught the attention of almost everyone in the stands with her beauty, courage, and prowess. She had them captivated under her spell.

“Who’s this girl? I haven’t seen her before,” one of the people on the stand exclaimed. She had never seen Erinna with the cheerleaders before, even though she thought she knew the whole cheerleader squad. There was another excellent girl, but not as great as this new girl. Then there were the two muscular boys who threw the girl into the air like she was a leaf. Even from this far, she could see the tights around their exposed ankles.

“That girl, ma’am is my daughter,” Jeff announced proudly.

Immediately, all heads turned toward him, especially the lady who had spoken.

“Is she 14? She seems to be a bit short for 14,” the lady asked. She wanted to see Erinna closer. She could use a beauty like her for modeling.

“Oh,” Jeff chuckled as the lady raised her eyebrow, feeling offended. “She’s 10. She will be 11 in March,” Jeff explained.

The lady’s jaw almost fell to the ground, and she was speechless. She never thought that this girl was that young. With the right makeup, she could quickly look older. She could still use this girl, though.

“Your daughter is quite impressive. I would love for her to model in my agency and would like to discuss this with you soon.” She handed Jeff a business card.

Both cheerleading squads stood holding their respective banners, waiting for their teams to arrive on the field.

“From the sky up high to the earth down low.”

“No hole will hide you.”

“The Eagles will find you.”

“They will hunt you down. “

“Go, Eagles, go.”

“Hunt them down.”

“Go Eagles, go, go, go.”

Erinna and her squad chanted. Immediately, the team crashed through the paper banner and into the field as the crowd roared.