Melody

Melody is a child who felt she was born in the wrong body.

History
Melody came into the practice with her parents. She'd been miserable all week. First, she said her throat hurt, then she stopped eating, then she said her ears hurt. Cooper took her in for an exam. Her mother, Pam, tried to join her, but Melody said she didn't need her mom to come. Cooper said they'd come get her if they needed her.

Cooper did the exam and said it kind of seemed like Melody just wanted to skip school. Melody confessed that she was boy and her parents wouldn't believed her. She said she'd felt like that forever.

Cooper asked Violet to talk to Melody and those feelings.

Violet talked to Michael and Pam about it and they brushed it off as Melody playing pretend. She asked for their permission to talk to Melody about the situation and assess what was happening. Michael was receptive to the idea, but Pam immediately shut it down and told Violet and Cooper to leave.

During the school day, Melody took the bus to the practice and Violet and Cooper went in to talk to her. She said her parents had argued the night before. Michael wanted to know more about the medicine that could help her, but her mother refused to hear anything about it. Melody said that in her dreams, she was always a boy. When she wakes up, for a second she's still a boy and then her mother comes in and lays out her clothes. She refuses to wear the clothes, they fight, and she loses TV. She hates wearing girl clothes and acting like a girl because it feels like she's pretending all the time and no one will let her stop.

Mason came in with Charlotte and told Melody his mom died. Melody said she was a boy and no one believed her. Mason invited Melody to play. They played with a paper football on a tabletop.

Michael and Pam arrived at the practice and Violet said that they couldn't berate Melody into changing her mind. The most they could do would be to support her. Melody refused to go with her parents, but Pam tried to drag her out. Cooper stopped her and said they needed to try to understand Melody. Pam started to cry and say that Melody was her little girl. Melody hugged her as Violet explained that they could help them all adjust as Melody became the person she was meant to be.

Familial
Melody's mother refused to believed that Melody was actually a boy, while her father was slightly more supportive and willing to hear about options for them.

Friendships
Mason invited Melody to play for a while at the practice.

Notes and Trivia

 * Melody was ten years old at the time of her confession.
 * Melody had been seeing Cooper since the age of two.