Chapter 1

At dinner, I had just cut into my chicken leg when my brother suddenly pointed at my nose and yelled:

"What gives you the right to eat my chicken leg?! You're a girl—you don't deserve the chicken leg!"

Without thinking, I kicked out.

He went flying, chair and all, crashing to the floor.

Mom and Dad dropped their forks in shock.

Before Riley could get up, I planted my foot on his chest.

Pinned to the ground, he stared up at me, stunned silent.

"Where did you learn to talk like that?"

His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

I pressed down harder with my foot."Who taught you that?"

Riley burst into tears, sobbing hysterically. "I was wrong! I was wrong!"

I didn't move my foot, staring down at him. "Say it!"

Riley's legs kicked wildly as he choked on his sobs. "Derek Walsh... Marcus and Jason... they all said..."

"Said what?"

Riley went silent. I applied more pressure.

"I'll tell you!" he wailed. "They said I was pathetic, worse than a girl, that only a worthless loser would let his own sister boss him around, that I wasn't a real man..."

I slowly lifted my foot.

The room went quiet for a few seconds. Mom stood nearby, still holding the broom she'd grabbed to clean up the mess, her eyes suddenly welling with tears. Dad walked over and crouched in front of Riley.

"Riley, tell Dad—how do they treat you normally?"

Riley sniffled, too scared to speak. Dad didn't push, just stayed crouched there, waiting.

"...They push me around," Riley finally said, covering his face, voice barely above a whisper. "They say I'm so useless I must be a girl, so when I use the bathroom they block the door and won't let me out. They like to pull down my pants and laugh at me... Derek makes me do his homework, or else he beats me up... I... I can't fight them... I'm sorry..."

Mom lifted Riley up tenderly, wiping his tears.

Dad stood, his face dark with anger. "Tomorrow I'm going to your school to talk to your homeroom teacher."

Riley froze, tears streaming down his face again.

"But Riley," Dad looked at him, "there's something you need to understand."

Riley sniffed, looking at Dad in confusion.

"How other families live is their business. In our family, if Madison wants to eat chicken, she eats chicken. If you want chicken, you eat chicken. It has nothing to do with whether you're a boy or a girl. Understand?"

Riley nodded, then shook his head. "But... but they all say..."

Mom wiped away his fresh tears, saying gently:

"What other people say isn't always right. I know a bit about Derek's family—he has three older sisters and him, and those sisters are treated worse than animals. That family isn't normal. In a normal family, all children are equal, regardless of gender. Got it?"

Riley nodded obediently.

I turned back to the table, picked up the chicken leg, and bit into it without expression.

Riley shuffled over to my side, eyes still red, carefully tugging at the corner of my shirt. "Madison... I was wrong."

I didn't respond.

His voice got smaller, tearful. "I shouldn't have said those things to you... I shouldn't have just listened to what other people said. I'm sorry..."

I chewed my rice and gave a noncommittal "Mm."

He suddenly ran back to his room, returning moments later clutching an action figure—a birthday present I'd saved up six months of allowance to buy him.

He placed it beside my hand.

"Madison, here—you can have this back."

I paused.

"You keep it for me," he sniffled. "When I prove I can behave, you can give it back. Or if I make you angry again, you can smash it."

I pushed the figure back toward him.

"No need. You keep it. Just don't let there be a next time."

He clutched the figure, tears falling again.

I kept eating, saying casually, "Stop crying. I'm just next door in 7th grade, room five. If things get bad in your class, you can come find me during breaks."

Riley nodded hard.