- Chapter 2 - Mr. Corine scans the circle expectantly. "Who wants to go first?" I glance around me, not daring to volunteer, and catch a few others doing the same. When no one speaks up, Venus raises their hand. Mr. Corine grins brightly, "Excellent! Thank you, and go ahead." "Hi, I'm Venus, they/them." They say confidently, "I'm in 8th grade, and I have three cats." Venus glances expectantly at Kiara, who's sitting next to them. Kiara smiles and says, "I'm Kiara, she/fae. I'm also in 8th grade, and I play the flute!" She twirls her fingers through her long, umber hair, and the lighter tips of it catch my eye. A small voice in my head wonders if her hair is as soft as it looks. Introductions continue around the circle, and I only partially pay attention. The other part of my attention is split between trying not to stare at Kiara, and figuring out what I'm going to say. Unfortunately, I don't get much time to think, because the kid sitting next to me says, "Hey guys, I'm Orion, he/him. I'm in 8th grade, and my little sister recently came out, so I'm here to learn some things so that I can support her." I catch a few people in the circle looking at Orion warely, but others are smiling softly. My eyes land on Venus, who has this strange look in their eye. They don't look pleased, but not quite annoyed either. More let down. "Hey." Orion nudges me lightly with his elbow, "Your turn." He smiles as I realize the whole circle is watching me. "Oh! Um, sorry. I'm Grey." I pause, hesitating ever so slightly, "She/her. I'm in 8th grade and I want to dye my hair green." I look down, staring at the leaves I'm sitting on as the person next to me introduces themselves. I'm Grey. She/her. It's what I've said my entire life, so why doesn't it feel right anymore? It's not quite wrong, but it's not quite right either.
This chapter is shorter, but we now have our four main characters: Grey, Kiara, Venus, and Orion!
