So as you can probably tell by the title, I've discovered that I'm not as straight as I originally thought.

I went to band camp (yeah, yeah, everything happens at band camp) and suddenly realized: Hey that guy's cute! Ooh, that girl is cute too!! Wait a minute...

Anyway, so I don't entirely know what my sexuality is but my poorly informed brain says I'm bisexual. I'm still trying to discover if it stops there or if there's more to know about me, but I digress.

This is about me coming out to my mom.. Accidentally.

Let me set the scene for you: My mom, myself, my 6 year old brother, and my 10 year old brother are all swimming in our pool behind the house. Now, my 10 year old brother, we'll call him "M" had recently finished his first year of public school. Fourth grade. Up till then, he had been homeschooled. Protected by my helicopter mother from all the horrors of the world. In other words, living under a rock.

So my brother marches into fourth grade and comes out with new knowledge. And he also has some questions.

"Mom? What's puberty? What's it like for boys?" M follows her around the pool, showering her with questions such as these.

So she explains, carefully. Answering all of his questions. Then she says it: the statement that was the beginning of the end.

"When you go through puberty, you start liking the opposite sex. A lot."

"Girls!" I exclaim, grinning at my brother.

"Well, for him," my mother gives me a look as if to say, "Not you silly. You're straight!"

Yeah, that's what you think.

Without missing a beat, I reply, "Yeah... About that." I grin apologetically at her.

My brother looks from me to our mother, confused. "Mom? Mom, what does she mean? About what?"

My mom blinks a couple times, slowly. She turns away from me and wades carefully around the pool, clutching the noodle for dear life. She avoids me the rest of the time I'm in the pool and once we're out, she gently explains to me that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I ask her why she thinks this and she says, "Well, you can't possibly know how you feel about that! You're just a little kid."

Mom, I know how I feel about a lot of things. I know about a lot for a 16 year old.

"Besides, it's a sin! Boys love girls and girls love boys! That's how it works!"

On the contrary, girls love girls and boys. And for your information, love is not a choice.

I got frustrated and went upstairs and she didn't come after me, which I appreciated. She hasn't mentioned it since and it's been about two weeks now, but every once in a while, I'll catch her giving me weird looks. Like she pities that fact that I'm so "confused."

I about lost my mind that day. Though, to be fair, there wasn't much for me to lose.

Thanks for reading guys (and gals and non-binary pals) and if you want, maybe place your own coming stories in the comments. This is a safe space.

-Serena