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Terry shouldn't have gone home alone, and he knew it. Neo-Gotham was exceptionally dangerous, and his parents and teachers were never tired of talking about it, nor about the urban legend of the "bat-man" that once existed in that city. But he was already twelve, in middle school, and the older boys even greeted him occasionally. His father didn't like it when he hung out with the older boys, but his father had been very quiet lately. Much more so than usual.
His day had been normal, like all the others. He went to class – also exceptionally boring – and then Dana and Jackie convinced him to make “friendship bracelets” with them. They were cool. Jackie was shy but great at science, and Dana was very pretty. On his wrists was the bracelet he got from her, which he knew he would have to hide in his pocket or Matt would want it for himself, and everything that twip touched, he broke. Mom and Dad said he had to be more patient with him, but being patient was very difficult, although to his parents, it always seemed very easy.
“Terry!” Terry opened the door and was promptly greeted by Matt in his green pajamas and his numerous toy cars scattered on the floor. His brother hugged his legs, and he was surprised not to see Mom preparing dinner and Dad taking the boy off of him. Every day was the same. Why wasn't this one different? “Come play with me!”
“I’m tired, Matty. Maybe tomorrow.” He grumbled, throwing his backpack on the sofa and looking for his parents. The house was silent and that was strange. He always liked noise “Where are mom and dad?”
"I don't know... If I find them, will they play with me!?"
"As much time as you want."
Terry smiled when Matt believed him and ran to find their parents. The only advantage of having a four-year-old brother was that he believed everything you said. He walked to his room, bracelet in hand, intending to admire it for the rest of the day but something stopped him from continuing with his daily routine.
"Why now, Warren? He's already twelve!"
"I know. I wanted to believe you, I wanted to give you a chance when you got pregnant with Matt, but when he was born looking just like his brother… I realized something was wrong."
Terry stopped walking when he finally found his parents. They were in their room, and through the crack in the door he could see that they were standing on one foot, separated only by the bed. They seemed to be arguing with each other and seemed to be talking about him and Matt. That was weird. Mom and Dad had never argued before.
"Okay, I know it's not common... Blue eyes are really rare, but it can happen!"
"I know it's possible, but why should I believe it was really a coincidence? Matt has your eyes, great! But tell me, who does Terry look like!?"
"He always wanted to be like you..."
"But he’s not and you know it."
Terry felt a chill run down his spine as he realized he was the subject of the argument. It wasn't the first time his parents had argued about him, but this time it seemed different. Dad seemed to dislike his eyes and hair. Terry touched his hair and ran his hands down to his blue eyes while his dad complained about them. For the first time in twelve years, Terry realized that his parents were redheads and that he and his brother had black hair. If Jackie were there, she would say that this was "scientifically impossible."
"Let's not discuss this now, please. Terry will be home from school soon and I don't want the boys to hear us arguing."
"Are your boys really mine?"
Dad said it, and Mom froze. That was the answer he wanted.
Outside, Terry recoiled, feeling an imaginary knife piercing his chest. Dad didn't like him anymore because of his eyes and hair, and Mom seemed speechless, and she always had answers for everything. Why hadn't they said it before? He could wear glasses or cut his hair! They didn't need to fight... Terry didn't want them to fight.
He recoiled, feeling a torrent of tears wash over him, just like Matt did when he didn't get what he wanted. He wanted to run, lock himself in his room and cry, but he froze when he saw his little brother approaching. Matt couldn't see that. He would get sad and cry, and he never stopped crying when he was sad. Terry didn't want Matt to be sad.
"Matty!"
He called him, and when his brother's large eyes caught sight of him, he forced his biggest smile for him.
"Wanna play?"
The next day arrived quickly, but unfortunately for Terry, his routine wasn't followed. His mom wasn't helping him with his lunchbox, and his dad wasn't helping Matt put on his shoes. Dad had left early for work, very early, well before he and Matt woke up. Mom was packing his lunchbox, but she seemed to be thinking about other things while doing it and she didn't even use the heart-shaped molds to cut the fruit as she always did, even though he insisted he was a big kid now.
He wanted heart-shaped fruit shapes. He wanted to be a little kid again. He wanted to go back to when Dad still loved him. Rejuvenation wouldn't be possible, but Terry knew something that could help.
“Mom?” He called his mother, who was standing in front of him packing his lunchbox. She seemed too busy tidying things up and making sure Matt didn’t spill anything on the table to look at him “Can I ask you something?”
"Quick" She was direct, still not looking at him "Or you'll be late for school."
"Can I dye my hair?"
“Oh...” Mary finally looked at her son, not too surprised by his request. As a Gen Z mom, she had no problem with her son’s “pre-teen rebellion” “Yes, if that’s what you want… What color do you want to dye it?”
“Red! Just like you and Dad!” Terry smiled, like the little child he once was. Mary’s eyes widened “Then we can all be the same!”
Terry remained silent, watching his mother's wide eyes. She left the kitchen and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Matt wanted to follow her, but Terry thought it was best to distract the twip with the bracelet he had received, which was still in his pocket.
It was all very confusing. Dad didn't like his black hair, and now mom didn't want him to have red hair. Maybe children had an expiration date, and they wouldn't like him anymore, maybe only Matt. That stupid black hair. Those stupid blue eyes.
If he had red hair, none of this would happen.