not for me to decide i

Shelby, Katherine, Gem, and Pearl have had plenty of sleepovers, but this one feels different.Shelby isn’t sure what’s so different about it. It’s a cloudy night, but it’s not dark enough to feel scary. They’re all in Pearl’s bedroom, curled up on sleeping bags on the floor like usual. Gem is telling a story from Hermitcraft that day. Katherine is half-asleep already, while Pearl is listening intently and clicking the button on a small fidget she carries with her.Shelby, meanwhile, can hardly think straight.She’s suspected something for a long time, but today, she can’t ignore it anymore. Everything about her — her hair, her body, her mind, everything — feels so wrong. She’s trying so hard to hide it, but she can’t stop thinking about it.or: Shelby comes out as genderqueer to her best friends.