She took a deep breath, unlocked her door, and stepped into the hallway. Each step toward the stairs felt heavier than the last.
"This is it. No running anymore."
She walked down into the living room.
"Uhm… Mom? I need to tell you something."
Her mom was folding laundry on the couch. Dion was leaning against the armrest, headphones hanging around his neck while scrolling on his phone.
They both looked up.
And froze.
Her mom's hands loosened. The neatly folded clothes scattered across the floor. Dion's phone slipped from his fingers and smacked him straight on the forehead.
"Ow!"
"…Who… who are you?" her mom whispered, her voice trembling, eyes locked onto the unfamiliar girl standing in their living room.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. "W-Wait! Mom! Calm down! It's me! Denver!"
Her mom stumbled backward, grabbed the nearest weapon a broom and held it like she was about to duel a burglar in a low-budget action movie.
"DION! CALL THE POLICE! NOW!" she yelled, voice cracking.
Dion blinked, his brain clearly rebooting. "…W-what? Oh yeah, right! On it!" He scrambled for his phone, fingers shaking so badly he almost dialed the pizza place instead.
"Hey! Hey! Dion, stop!" she shouted, waving her hands frantically. "I'm not an intruder! Look at me! I'm your brother! I'm Denver!"
Her mom screamed again. "DON'T LIE! My son is a BOY! You're a GIRL! Unless you're a very convincing criminal with a very expensive disguise!"
"I AM YOUR SON!" she cried.
Dion stumbled backward and bumped into the table. "No, no, no, this is a prank, right? Hidden camera? Social experiment? YouTube content? Where's the camera?!"
She spun around, looking for imaginary cameras too. "There is no camera!"
Her mom jabbed the broom toward her like a spear. "Stay where you are! Don't move! Don't blink! Don't do anything suspicious!"
Her mom gasped and pointed the broom at her like a spear. "Don't move! How did this happen?! Prove it! Prove that you really are my son!"
She swallowed hard.
"Okay, Denver. Time to convince your own family that you didn't get replaced by a shapeshifting alien."
She raised both hands slowly, like she was held hostage trying to negotiate.
"Okay okay! I'll prove it! Just… don't poke me with the broom mom!"
"Don't call me mom you thief" she said in a agitated tone.
Her mom didn't lower the broom. Dion's finger hovered over the call button like he was about to summon the SWAT team.
"Talk fast," Dion said, eyes narrowed. "Aliens can talk too, you know."
"HEY! I'm not an alien!" she snapped, then calmed down.
She took a deep breath. "Okay. Remember when I was nine and I tried to microwave a metal spoon because I thought it would charge it with electricity and make it a lightsaber?"
Her mom gasped. Dion's jaw dropped.
"…You almost burned the house," Dion muttered.
"And blamed it on a power surge," her mom added.
She nodded vigorously. "YES EXACTLY! And remember when Dion was twelve and he cried because his crush called him bro and I recorded it and used it as a ringtone for a week?"
Dion's face turned red. "Hey! I thought you promised to delete that stupid ringtone!"
"Well sucks for you cuz I didn't," she said proudly. "I still have it on my old phone backup."
Dion slowly lowered his phone. "Okay that's enough that is definitely him. No one else knows that."
Her mom still didn't put the broom down. "Anyone could know embarrassing stories! Give me something only my son would know!"
She thought for a second, then snapped her fingers. "You hide your emergency money inside the rice container because you don't trust banks after that scam documentary!"
Her mom froze.
The broom clattered to the floor.
"…I told no one about that," her mom whispered.
Dion stared at her like she had just confessed to being a time traveler. "That's… actually true. I saw her take money from the rice once and thought she was stealing snacks."
Her mom slowly sat down, staring at the girl in front of her like reality had personally betrayed her.
"…Denver?" she whispered.
She gave an awkward thumbs up. "In the flesh or… in a girl version, I guess?"
Dion rubbed his temples. "So… my brother is now a girl."
"Correct." she said in agreement.
Dion ran a hand through his hair, jaw tight. His eyes darted between Denver and their mom. "Okay… this is insane. You… you're literally… a girl now. My big brother… turned into a girl, I-I don't get it?!"
"I-I woke up like this! I don't know how!" Denver shouted, panicking.
Dion's face went pale, and he sank onto the edge of the couch, still staring at her. "…I-I can't even… how is this possible?"
Dion leaned back, staring at her, still trying to process. "…Okay… I mean… you're… Denver. But you're… you're… female Denver? I-ugh, my head hurts."