Blue Hair and Pronouns

The school stood imposingly tall, with its deceivingly cheerful sign out the front reading ‘Meadows
Ridge Highschool’. Toby always hated walking through the cold hallways of the huge brick structure;
it made him feel claustrophobic. Since the school was somewhat older—constructed in the early
1900s—the staff frequently claimed they liked to be traditional and wanted to preserve its "charm,".
Basically, the place was a hellhole and stuck in the past. Toby took a deep breath before moving
through the door and into Meadows Ridge's congested hallways, glancing down at the ground to
avoid eye contact with his peers and his hands tucked into his worn-out jean pockets. He blew his
curly blue hair off of his face as it fell in front of his eyes again and his dirty converse squeaked on
the floor as he shuffled passed another student who was obstructing the hallway. After retrieving his
belongings from his locker, he kept an eye out for his best friend Reagen Hawks. Having seen him
first from further down the hall, Reagan hurried to catch up with Toby, her long braids bouncing on
her shoulders. She wore a khaki knit sweater that complemented her deep ochre skin nicely, and
Toby could hear the tinkling of the pins she wore on her long-legged overalls.

Reagen put her arm around his shoulders, and they headed off to class together. “So, compared to
last year’s dumpster fire, how do we think this year is gonna go?”

“Pretty good actually,” Toby replied. “Mum finally got my name and stuff changed on my school
records, so apart from the usual annoyances, it should be more bearable.”

“Mr. McKibbin allowed it?” Reagan exclaimed in surprise. “Wow, maybe things really will get
better.” The two stopped at the door to their classroom.

Together with the other students in the class, the pair entered the room and settled in. Mr.
McKibbin stood at the front of the class, his face fixed in a perpetual scowl, examining each student
as he took attendance. The students didn't speak until he called their names; otherwise, they sat
waiting silently.

“Reagen Hawks?”

Reagen responded by raising her hand. She received an irritated look from Mr. McKibbin before he
moved on to the next name.

“Ester Wingate?”

No response came.

“I said, Ester Wingate!”

Toby raised his hand uncomfortably. “Uhm Sir, it’s actually Toby.”

“My paper states, otherwise,” He glared at Toby. “If you so desperately want your name changed on
the register, you must fill in the proper paperwork.”

“We checked the rules and filled it in!” Toby cried. “My mum did it the other day!”

“Enough nonsense!” Mr. McKibbin exploded, his face going blazing red. “Detention, now!”

Without saying a word, Toby picked up his things and exited the room, wiping the tears from his
eyes. He could feel his classmates' gaze on the back of his head.

“Sir-” Reagen began.

"Miss Hawks, you can go with her." Mr. McKibbin snarled before turning to write on the whiteboard.
Reagan stormed out the door.

“Him, Sir,” Another student piped up.

Mr. McKibbin whirled around, searching the room accusingly for whoever spoke up, and although
the room fell silent, he was met with disgusted glares from his students.

Reagen caught up with Toby in the detention room, only one other student was inside, Taylor
Kellerman. She stood up, tying her red checkered shirt around her waist before moving to sit with
Reagen and Toby, passing them a note that read:

You’re going to do something about McKibbin, right?

The two looked at her puzzled. Taylor, noticing their confusion, turned the paper back to herself
before writing again, revealing that she had witnessed the entire incident when she was making her
way to detention herself. Toby looked at the ground as Reagen nodded in response to her question.
Sure, he wanted to take action, but what could he possibly do? He was just a student, Mr McKibbin
was a teacher

Taylor handed them another note:

We can’t just let him get away with treating students like that.

Reagen's eyes flashed, you could see the gears moving in her head as she reached for the paper. She
finished writing and repositioned the paper in the centre of the group.

We could start a protest.

They had a point. Mr. McKibbin might have been able to dismiss Toby on his own, but he wouldn't
be able to ignore the fury of numerous students who were eager to finally be heard. The school
would then be forced to act in response to the discriminatory behaviour Mr. McKibbin had enacted
against some of his students. They had printed numerous flyers advertising the protest by the time
their detention was complete, passing them out to any student who would accept one. It didn't take
long for word to spread like wildfire throughout the campus. Groups of furious students gathered in
the hallways as people recounted incidents involving Mr. McKibbin's treatment. As the students of
Meadows Ridge Highschool left at the end of the day they were filled with determination, but Toby’s
nerves only grew.

Walking to school the next day, he tried to ignore the doubt that pooled in his stomach and the
uncertain thoughts that swam through his head. His heart pounded loudly in his chest. But those
feelings all vanished as soon as the school came into sight. A wide grin spread across his face. Over
three quarters of the student body stood out the front of Meadows Ridge. Some students screamed
in outrage, through megaphones, at the school to make a change while others held up signs and
flags. The message was clear: Enough was enough. They stood in an act of solidarity against the
school’s discrimination, proving that if they stood together, they could achieve what others had
failed alone. Teachers rushed outside, doing whatever they could to try to disperse the crowd, but
the students refused to be silenced.

This was checkmate, the battle was already won.