Opposite of Nonbinary

Infinity. Every digit, fractorial, and irrational figure known to mankind.

Neon, tie-died, gammarays rocketing faster than an eye can register, making everything whole.

Taylor awoke with a grin. The infinite dreams were always their favorite. When everyone could appreciate the complexities of nature intertwined in a single breath, Taylor felt the most at home.

They stretched, threw on the clothes from the top of their dresser drawers, then hopped down the stairs for breakfast.

"Good morning!" called a voice from the kitchen. "Would you like milk or cereal?"

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Um, both?"

A snort of laughter came in response. "Both! Taylor you have the best sense of humor. Not like those kids who take things seriously. You're a funny one!" A box of Corn Flakes dropped unceremoniously onto the table in front of Taylor. They gave it a hesitant glance.

"Parents can be weird," they thought to themself. "And it's early." Not wanting to make too big of a deal out of it, they poured a handful into a Ziploc baggie before dashing out to the bus.

----------

On the bus, Taylor wedged into the seat next to their best friend, Brianna. "What are you wearing?" Bri asked, nose crinkling.

"Clothes?" Taylor replied honestly.

Brianne shook her long braids in disgust. "That combination, though?" She gestured at Taylor's black pants and white v-neck.

"We don't all dress like you," Taylor said, waving at Bri's usual get-up of black cargo pants, black suspenders, black crop top, and black hoodie, topped off with black eyeliner and black nails.

"Whatever," Bri shrugged. Taylor looked around the bus. A surprising number of their classmates were in fact dressed like Bri: black shirts, black pants. Even more surprising were the number of kids dressed in all white: white sneakers, white shorts, white polo shirts. Taylor never had anything against black or white. They assumed people always just wore whatever made them happy. This was... unusual.

---------

As they entered the school, Taylor's mind felt foggy. They dug their class schedule out of their bag and blinked. For the entire day, there was only one word written: "Science."

"Bri, this doesn't look right," Taylor said, passing the book over to her.

"Of course it does," Bri responded with a glance. "You're on the science track. What else would it say?"

Taylor grabbed their planner back and vigorously started flipping through the pages. "Science, science, science, science, science" each day was the same. "What if I don't want to be a scientist, Bri?"

"You're on the science track, Tay. What else would would you be?" Taylor thought of art, literature, math, gym, history, music and all the possible futures they'd imagined pursuing in each of them. Tears started to well in Taylor's eyes. They felt as if their entire world had been stripped away. They didn't oppose science per say; it just felt as if they were stuffed into a tiny box that didn't fit. "Hey, I'm here, Tay," Brianna consoled as she saw Taylor's lip start to quiver. "I don't understand, but whatever is going on, I'll be there." She gripped Taylor's hands.

Taylor looked at the polish beginning to fleck away from Bri's nails then up at mass of black and white uniformed bodies in the halls. They nodded. Their stomach grumbled, and they reached into their bag for the crumbled bag of Corn Flakes. "Come on," they said. "We need to go to the cafeteria."

--------------

Fishing coins from hidden crevices in their bag (and Bri's giant pants pockets),Taylor slowly fed change into the vending machine and typed in their selection. Out popped a carton of 2% milk. "Watch this," they told Bri.

Carefully opening all four corners of the carton, Taylor unsnapped their Ziploc and poured the cereal into the milk. Bri giggled, eyes wide with fascination. "Now this," Taylor said, retrieving a spoon. They cautiously dunked the plastic spoon into the milky, cereal goodness and offered Bri the first bite.

"Wow," Bri breathed after a gulp. "That was --"

"Delicious?" Taylor asked.

Bri nodded. "It was crunchy and juicy, sweet and refreshing. It was like the milk and the cereal, combined, both made each other better."

"I like combinations," Taylor said.

Bri smiled, and Taylor grinned back. Taylor reached into their backpack and pulled out a long, multihued hoodie with iridescent stripes, kaleidoscopic spots, and a shimmering checkerboard underlay. They put it on over their white t-shirt and black pants.

"Ready?" Bri asked. Taylor nodded Then, hand-in-hand, they walked to the guidance counselor's office to talk about diversifying their schedule.