I proceeded to tell my parents everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks. Well, not everything, obviously. I deliberately omitted the specific details of flirting with the hunky Italian waiter (whose number was still tucked away in my jeans pocket) as well as having snogged Darnell at the nightclub. But I did tell all regarding becoming Tabitha and playing for the girls' football team.

Miss Snell kept hold of my hand throughout. That was an enormous comfort to me in that moment. And my parents didn't once interrupt my flow. I honestly couldn't decipher their emotions as I told my story. They looked at me a little blankly, in truth, but at least they hadn't stopped me from continuing my speech. I felt that if I stopped, I'd never be able to restart.

"So, you see, well, I became Tabitha initially to help out Miss Snell, and the school, I suppose, because, well, I felt bad for missing the penalty in the boys' cup final, but, also, if I'm being honest, I was also excited by the idea, y'know, of dressing as a girl. Deep down I think it's something that's always been inside me, and this was an opportunity to explore it, and, well, one thing led to another, and I have loved every minute of being Tabitha. I've made new friends, I've felt more comfortable in my own skin, and I feel like I've become a part of a team. And, if I'm being honest with myself, I think I want to be Tabitha more often. Like, maybe even permanently. Because I'm happier when I'm Tabitha, and less happy when I'm Toby. I know this is a lot for you to take in but I hope you still love me, and I'm still your child, and I still love you both, to the moon and back. And, yeah, I suppose, umm...I don't really know what else to say. I'm sorry, I'll stop rambling on..."

Tears were streaming down my face. I wiped them away with my hoodie sleeve but the waterfall still poured. Miss Snell squeezed my hand and beamed a sympathetic smile in my direction.

I looked towards my parents. My dad was still largely expressionless, but I thought I could detect the traces of a tiny smile forming on his face. My mum now started to look a bit more emotional, and a solitary tear escaped her eye and trickled down her cheek.

She gestured for me to go and sit between her and my dad. Miss Snell let go of my hand and I took up the seat my mum offered. She then pulled me in for a hug as my dad patted my knee. They didn't have to say anything. I knew from that moment that they still loved me, regardless of whether I was Tabitha or Toby.

She released me from the hug and then set me back so I was facing her. She put both her hands on my shoulders to keep me looking straight into her eyes.

"Darling, I'm so, so, so, so proud of you." She pulled me back in for another hug before setting me back to look at her again.

"There's actually something we need to tell you, though. And I'm not sure how you'll take it."

"What's that?" I was still crying, but not so vociferously. My initial fears of rejection had now been quelled. The biggest obstacle I faced, in my mind at least, had now been overcome.

"Well..." The pause before she continued was agonising. "We already know about Tabitha."

"What? How can you already know? It's only Miss Snell and me who..."

I looked over towards Miss Snell who had her head bowed slightly and was fidgeting with her fingers. It was at that moment that the penny dropped.

"You told them, didn't you?" I asked. But there was no anger in my tone, and I did not feel betrayed. I actually felt grateful.

Miss Snell didn't speak, but my mum spoke for her.

"Miss Snell here had to tell us, darling. She needed our permission. And, well, she told us how happy you were the first couple of times you had become Tabitha. And that's what we want for you, Toby, to be happy. So we gave her, and Tabitha, our blessing. And you've just told us yourself that you are happier now, at least when you're Tabitha, that is. I must admit, we were shocked when she first told us, and I think it's fair to say your father even felt a little angry. But she explained everything so calmly and earnestly, that we couldn't not trust her. Your dad took a little more convincing, admittedly, but even you can see that this was the right thing to happen, can't you darling?" My dad nodded but didn't speak.

I turned towards Miss Snell, walked back over to the sofa she was on and wrapped her in an enormous hug. I didn't say anything, but I didn't need to. She too had started crying. Everyone in the room was crying, except for my dad.

Nobody spoke for a minute or so, until my dad walked over to the coffee table. He had picked up the newspaper that sat there and flipped over to show the back page.

The headline read:
Tournament Triumph for Church Lane Sixth Form!
Church Lane fight back from 2-0 down to win County Cup final on penalties.

Under this was the picture of myself and Katie holding the trophy aloft, surrounded by our teammates.

"I take it this I Tabitha?" my dad asked, pointing to me in the photo.

"Uh-huh."

"So this picture is also of you, then?" He pointed out a smaller picture in the bottom right of the page: it was of me after I'd flung my top to the ground and ran over to celebrate with Zara following my winning penalty. Zara was holding me up while I had my fist clenched high in the air. The caption beneath the photo read: 'Penalty hero Tabitha [left] celebrates with goalkeeper Zara [right].'

"Yeah, that's also me."

"Bloody hell", he said, then paused. "Takes some bottle to convert the winning penalty. I'm proud of you, kiddo."

"Thanks, dad." I got up to hug him, too. I wasn't usually much of a hugging person, but I'd been hugging so much in the last few weeks that it was starting to become my M.O. He didn't really reciprocate the hug, just patted my back, but that was just his way of showing love.

"I just wish I'd been there to cheer you on. You know I love a game of football. And to see you play, in a cup final no less, well that would have been a treat."

"Then why didn't you come? If you already knew all about Tabitha?"

"We were scared we'd put you off", my mum interjected. "We thought if you saw us by the side of the pitch that you'd panic and it'd throw you off your game. Miss Snell has been keeping us updated, and she'd explained how much progress you were making. We really did want to come but didn't want to be responsible for putting you off."

"No, that does make sense. And you're probably right, too."

We all sat in silence for a bit. My mind was still racing, but a definite pressure had been lifted. I imagined everyone else's minds were racing too, but maybe the truth being revealed was a relief for them, also.

Finally, mum broke the silence: "Obviously we've got a lot more to discuss, but that can wait for another day. For now, how about we let Miss Snell go about the rest of her day and we do something as a family, just the three of us. It's been a while since we spent some quality time all together, with you being so busy with the football this past month."

Miss Snell took that as her cue to leave, but my mum wouldn't let her go before giving her a hug and saying thank you. My dad showed his thanks by shaking her hand.

"Just one thing before you go", mum said as Miss Snell walked towards the door. "We, Bill [my dad] and I, would really like to meet Tabitha in person. Would you be willing to help [she gestured towards me, but I think was unsure of whether to call me Toby, Tabitha, or something else] y'know, do what's needed to make that happen?"

"Absolutely. I'm free tomorrow afternoon, if that works for you all?" Miss Snell replied.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. That OK with you, darling?"

"Yeah", was all I could conjure.

"OK. Why don't you come round mine tomorrow at midday, and I can drop Tabitha back off here when we're finished?"

"Sure", I said.

"Lovely, that sounds like a plan", my mum wrapped up the conversation. She led Miss Snell to the door and saw her out while my dad and I sat in the living room.

My mum, dad and I ended up spending the rest of the day together. My mum did us her iconic Sunday roast for lunch, then we played some board games and finished the evening off by watching a film. I went to bed that night with a full heart and a weight lifted off my shoulders.

Tomorrow was a big day, but I wasn't particularly nervous about it. I was looking forward to my parents finally meeting Tabitha.