With massive amounts of stress weighing Zora down back in Georgia, she had to find a way to unwind. It was a difficult task when her father was at home, but when he was at work, it was her time to coax into relaxation. Yoga was her preferred way to destress, and to have it as her gym class was ever better.
There were other ways to unwind. Her personal favorite was dance. Watching YouTube videos and learning the choreography them all was how she learned, providing her with her dream of becoming a Broadway dancer. And to achieve her dream, she knew she had to keep her flexibility and strength up.
Yoga provided exactly that. The peaceful tranquility of it all captivated her. Closing her eyes, inhaling deep breaths as she balanced and became one with her soul was heaven-sent. To be able to do it for gym class rather than run the track and play badminton was a dream come true.
What was an even greater dream come true was to finally be able to use the women's locker room. With Helen providing her with the paperwork to state her identity as a woman at school, she was finally able to use the women's restroom and, finally, locker room without hassle.
Yet before she could walk into the locker room, she was called aside by a teacher. "Excuse me, this is the ladies locker room."
"I know."
"Then why are you going in there?"
"Because I am a lady."
"Unless you can show me that you are allowed to go in there, you will have to change in the boy's locker room."
Zora wrapped her arms around herself and said, "My mom sent in the papers that allow me to use the women's bathroom-"
"That doesn't include the locker rooms. Until I receive the form from the principal allowing you to change in here, I can't let you in here. School policy."
"How long will it take to get the form submitted and authorized?"
"About a week."
"A week?" Zora exclaimed, earning stares from her peers. "You mean I have to change in the boy's locker room, where they most likely want to hurt me because they see me as a freak who intimidates their toxic masculinity, for a week?"
"We have a strict 'no tolerance' policy at our school. I know you're new here, but I am following protocol. The situation is out of my hands. If I let you in there without the proper forms, I could lose my teachings license."
Though Zora understood where the teacher was coming from, she couldn't help but panic. To be humiliated by going into the locker room of the opposite gender, just like at her old school, would be mortifying. Having people kick her in the crotch and call her a tranny faggot would be nothing new, but it was a pain she hoped to avoid at her new school. All she could do as she stood there was wish she and Helen knew about that form earlier so she could have sent them in sooner.
"Don't worry, Miss Chesterfield," Spencer's familiar voice spoke up from behind Zora. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. "I'll keep a good eye on her in the locker room. I won't let anyone hurt her."
"Thank you," the teacher smiled. "I'm very sorry, dear, about the miscommunication. What is your name?"
"Zora."
She smiled. "Well, Zora, I look forward to seeing you in my class."
As Spencer dragged her away, Zora whimpered. "I can't believe this."
"We used to have a policy where transgender kids could use the locker room they felt comfortable using without any forms last year. But then a group a boys snuck into the women's locker room by cross dressing and claiming to be trans. A group of girls were molested, and one was raped. Thankfully they were all expelled.
"In order to prevent this from happening again, the school board made all transgender students fill out forms so no one can just go into whatever locker room they wanted anymore despite what they're dressed in. It's like what you said at lunch, how it's stupid for people to go through such a drastic life change just for the slim chance of seeing a girl naked. With the long process, it's not worth it. I mean, guys can still sneak in there, but at least it doesn't support the false pretense that all transgender people are rapists, you know?"
"I mean, it does keep the students safe from those kinds of people, so..." Zora muttered. She sighed. "It just sucks since I was told I was allowed to go into the women's locker room this morning by the secretary since I had the bathroom form. I was looking forward to changing in the appropriate atmosphere and fitting in with my classmates for a change."
"I know." He pulled Zora closer to his side as he approached the women's bathroom. "In the meantime, get dressed in here, and I will lock your bag in my gym locker so you don't have to worry about going into the men's locker room ever again."
"Really?" Zora murmured as a smile spread wide across her cheeks.
Blushing once again, Spencer nodded and perched his glasses higher up onto his nose. "Y-yeah," he stuttered, smiling along with her. "Like I said, I'll take care of you and make sure you're safe."
Placing her hands on his shoulders, Zora leaned down to give Spencer a small kiss on his cheek. She pulled back with a smile before walking into the women's bathroom. Staring at the door in shock, he smiled as he dropped his bag to the floor and leaned against the wall. It was the best kiss he ever had.
Standing by the bleachers, Zora crossed her arms as she watched the students file out of the locker rooms. She was nervous standing all alone, as the only person she knew during this period was Spencer, and he was still getting dressed.
As she looked around at everyone, she spotted a tall, handsome man staring at her. He looked like a young Terry Crews, who was, in her opinion, the most attractive man in the world. His muscles flexed as he smirked at her, prompting her to laugh softly and cover her mouth with the back of her hand. It was apparent he was attempting to flirt with her, and though she didn't know him too well, she couldn't help but find herself to be nervous as she stared at him.
When he saw Zora stare back at him with interest, he walked away from his two friends and over to her. Placing his hand above her head against the bleachers, he smirked. "Hey, I'm Tyler."
"Zora."
"You're Terrance's sister, aren't you?"
She nodded.
"I heard about you. I must say that you are as pretty as the rumors describe you."
"Thank you." Ducking her head with a blush, she smiled up at Tyler from under her eyelashes and played with a loose strand of hair. "You very handsome yourself."
Tyler chuckled. "Tell me, do you work out a lot? You have nice, toned arms and legs."
"I do a lot of yoga and dance," she replied. "I want to be a professional dancer, like on Broadway since I can't sing."
"Really? That's an awesome dream. I happen to dance myself and perform in competitions." He held out his hand with a smile. "May I?"
With a blush, she took his hand and stood in ready position. The two rocked back and forth a bit before he pulled her out and spun her back inside. She lifted her legs into his arms, and he spun her around his back and landed her on her feet. He pulled her out once again, and when he brought her back, he dipped her in his arms.
"Wow," she whispered as she stood upright. "I have never danced with someone like that before." Her face fell. "Or with anyone really."
"Hard to believe since you seem to be quite the natural."
"Yeah, well, you see, at my old school, I didn't have any friends. I would watch a lot of YouTube dance videos in my own time and would do partner dances with my chair." Biting the inside of her cheek, she crossed her arms over her chest nervously. "That makes me sound like a freak, doesn't it?"
"Not at all. I get it. Some kids can be mean. I understand more than you may know," he replied, sharing a small smile with her. "But all your practicing sure has made you a skillful dancer. I've actually been looking for a dance partner for the upcoming competition season. If you don't mind, I'd love to dance with you again."
"I'll think about it," she replied with a smile. "I would like to get into the swing of the school year first, if you don't mind," she quickly added, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "So many curriculums to catch up on, you know?"
"Hey, no problem. I plan to start work in the middle of October. You let me know before then, and we could start early," he replied, waving it off.
"Sounds good," she agreed and waved goodbye as Tyler walked over to where his class was heading off to.
Spencer stepped up to Zora with his mouth agape. "What was that?" he asked in amazement.
"I told him how I like to dance, and he asked me to join him for competition season," she explained, giggling softly.
He wrapped his arm around Zora's waist and led her to the yoga room with the rest of their class. "You are just adorable, you know that?"
Blushing at his comment, Zora giggled under her breath. Spencer was thrilled to know he could tease her enough to make her flustered. After seeing her with Tyler, he knew he was jealous. The two seemed to fit well together as they danced superbly. It made him feel inferior. Just one look at their chemistry and he could tell she was in a whole different league than him, one much higher than he believed he could obtain. There was nothing he wanted more than to prove himself worthy enough to be her partner, but he feared it would be too much of a stretch.