Eli couldn’t sit still as he waited in the waiting room. He bounced his knee over and over as he tried to calm his nerves while Rachel and Amy sat on either side of him. It wasn’t working. Over the st week and change, he had tried multiple times to escape coming to this appointment, but nothing had worked. In the end, Eli barricaded himself in his room but Rachel just removed the pins in the door and removed it while Amy slung him over her shoulder before she carried him out to the car. Eli had resisted, of course, but between Amy and Rachel each alone was capable of taking him wherever they wanted, so when they combined their efforts, resistance was futile.

  Eli appreciated the company at least. The three of them had been spending alot more time with each other over the st week since the blood appointment. Rachel had started walking him to his next csses on Mondays and Tuesdays and brought Amy with her when she sat in on art css. On one hand, Eli wanted to compin about the two of them, but Eli really enjoyed the feeling of the two trying to be friends with him. Eli hadn’t had friends in a long time, so it was a welcome addition to his life.

  Other than that life had mostly resumed as normal after the events of the blood appointment. While Eli couldn’t remember anything between getting out of the car and waking up afterwards, the only other thing of note was that he kept having moments where he felt that his body didn’t fit right. For example, he kept hitting his hips off of everything. If there was a sharp corner sticking out and Eli walked past it, he would wack his hip off of it. While Eli found the whole situation odd, he didn’t believe it was worth mentioning.

  Amy’s hand nded on Eli’s shoulder. “Hey it’s going to be alright. There’s no need to get nervous. You are just going to sit down and have a nice conversation with the doctor, that’s all. The two of us are right here, if you need we can sit in on the session with you, this is only an intake afterall. Would you like that?”

  “I know, I know, it’s just… What if it is a repeat of st week? What else do i have hidden away in my mind that is waiting to cw it’s way back to the surface, I don’t want you to have to save me, again. I feel like i am a ticking time bomb that could go off at any minute. What if i hurt someone this time? Even if I don’t go crazy like st time, what do i say? How much should i say? What if i say the wrong thing?”

  Rachel pced her hand on Eli’s other shoulder. “Hey, there’s no wrong answers in there, just have a nice conversation and answer the doctors questions honestly and you will do just fine. As for what happened st time, that was crazy but this isn’t something that is fixed overnight. It is a process. Just know that Amy and I are here for you.”

  Eli couldn’t help but smile. He felt like he had grown closer to the two of them since st week. He still felt he wasn’t worth their effort, but he continued working on it. “Thanks Rachel. Thanks both of you for your help. I know it’s only been a two weeks, but I still feel like I don’t deserve all of this.”

  Amy had a kind smile on her face as she spoke gently. “That’s why we’re here Eli, to get you the help you need to start feeling better about yourself.”

  “Yeah don’t worry about it Eli, we are here for you, no matter what.” Rachel couldn’t help but chime in.

  Eli had noticed before, but especially over the st week that Amy and Rachel were quite close with one another. They seemed to agree on most things and had a great understanding of one another, they really were great friends. Rachel had said that they had dated in the past so it made sense. Rachel also had said that they were real Gal Pals. Eli still hadn’t looked into what that meant, though Rachel was always smirking when she said it. Eli still hadn’t gotten around to looking into the resources that Rachel had sent him, he kept putting it off for ter. Eli felt a sense of almost dread when he tried to look into things. He felt like he shouldn’t do it, as if that was forbidden knowledge.

  The three of them had only been in the waiting room for 15 minutes before the secretary sent them into the doctors office.

  Walking into the office, it was neat and tidy, with soft green walls and a dark hardwood floor. Sitting at the desk was a familiar figure in casual attire: brown scks and a white blouse. Eli quickly perked up at seeing the faceless figure behind the desk, their white smooth pearl-like skin glistening from the small amount of sun light that filtered through the blind into the office. A comfy, brown leather couch sat beneath the window off to the side.

  “Professor Cyton! What are you doing here?” Eli was intrigued, what was his art teacher doing here?

  The professor looked between Amy and Rachel before what could be assumed to be their gaze settled on Eli. “Hahaha, seriously, did those two not tell you? While I am an art teacher, I am also one of the registered counselors and psychologists employed by the school.”

  “Oh.” Eli looked to the floor embarrassed. Why else would the professor be sitting at the doctors desk?

  “Do not worry, I get that all the time. Alright, first off this appointment is your intake, you can bring as many supports as you need, within reason of course, but it will center around you Eli. Do you two understand?”

  Rachel and Amy quickly nodded in response as the three of them sat down on the couch together, the two of them forcing Eli to sit in the middle.

  “Alright Eli, let’s get started. First i want to establish that anything you say or do in this meeting is purely confidential and none of it will leave this room unless you agree to it. The only mitigating circumstance is if I believe that there is an immediate risk to your life in which case i will and am capable of notifying the relevant authorities. Do you understand?”

  Eli could only fidget nervously, sure the files were apparently confidential, but what if his parents found out? Eli still wasn’t 18 could they get his records released? What would his father say? Eli shuddered in his seat. What would his father do this time? Eli needed to ask the doctor but as he opened his mouth to ask, the words just wouldn’t come out. What would happen when his father found out? He always did somehow.

  Amy quickly gave Eli a little shake. “Eli, take a nice deep breath for me, okay?”

  Eli slowly met Amy’s gaze as he fidgeted. Eli tried to get his breathing under control before he finally whispered. “what about my parents?”

  The doctor opened a drawer on his desk an pulled out a notebook as he began to write in it. “What about them? When i say confidentiality, I mean it. For me to share your files requires your explicit written consent, mitigating circumstances withstanding of course. If you parents storm in here tomorrow and demand to know what happened I can’t even confirm that you were here. You are safe here Eli, they can’t hear you or judge you. As long as you answer truthfully and honestly you will do just fine. Most of my questions are to just establish a baseline of how you feel in day to day and to shine some light on how you feel about certain things, we will use this information form today to determine how to move forwards with your care.”

  Eli could only weakly nod his head. “Oaky.”

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  The rest of the appointment went by quickly enough, it only took another half an hour after that point. Eli spent most of the time diving into how he felt, how often he felt those things but never delving into the why. Eli was told that that was going to be the first thing that was covered in there first session. After Eli was finished with the appointment Amy led Rachel and Eli out to her car.

  On the way out of the building something caught Eli’s eye down a random hallway and he went to investigate. What he found was a rge dispy showcasing a variety of different moths. Eli couldn’t help but stare at it for a while, he had always loved moths, they were such cool creatures. Various species were on dispy from some rare african moth variants but what caught Eli was what was featured right in the center, a gigantic silk moth. The were such cool creatures and were really cute, to think that what started out as a caterpilr could transform into such a beautiful specimen, it was easily the size of Eli’s hand.

  A hand nded on Eli’s shoulder causign him to jump as he was lost in his thoughts. “Oh, what seems to have caught your eye?”

  Staring down at him was Amy, her smile and emerald eyes were filled with warmth as Eli tried to come up with an answer. “Um… uh… I saw the dispy and wanted to see.”

  Rachel slowly made her way over. “What are you two looking at? Ew gross. Are those moths?”

  Eli quickly turned to Rachel. “Hey moths aren’t gross, they’re really cute. Did you know that a rge variety of moths don’t actually have mouths and only live for a few days after they emerge from their cocoons. Silk moths are just the cutest, look at the one in the case, they are so big and fluffy. I used to have a rge stuffed silk moth…” Eli’s face fell. “Sorry, you probably didn’t need to here that.”

  Rachel and Amy looked at one another before Amy walked in front of Eli and pce her hand under his chin and raised it. “Hey there is nothing wrong with having a passion, we are not weirded out or anything by you sharing something you have a genuine interest in.”

  Rachel awkwardly rubbed the back of he head. “Sorry Eli, i didn’t mean to sound like i was making fun of something you love, i’m just not a fan of moths. I think they look kind of creepy but it is really cool that you have such an interest in them. You mentioned that you used to have a stuffy?”

  “Yeah when i was seven i had a bunch of stuffies but that one was my favourite until....”

  Amy looked at Eli with concern. “Until what Eli.”

  Eli tried to think back to when he was seven. Something big had happened, something on his birthday.

  H??????????????e??????????????? ??????????????h???????????????a????????????d?????????????????????????? ??????????????????????r???????????????????e?????????????????????????t????????????????????????????u????????????r???????????n????????????????e????????????d?????????????????????? ???????????????h?????????????o???????????????????m???????????????????????e???????????????????????? ??????????????????????f????????????????????????r????????????????????o???????????????????????????m???????????? ?????????????????s?????????????????????????????c?????????????h????????????????????o??????????????????o????????????l???????????????????????? ??????????????????a??????????????????n??????????????d??????????? ?????????w????????????????????a???????????????s?????????????? ???????p???????????????l????????????????????a??????????????????y??????i??????????????????????n??????????????????????g?????????????????????????????? ???????????w??????????????????i????????????t???????????????????h???????????? ????????????????????????????h?????i????????????s??????????????????????????? ?????????s????????????????????????i??????????????????s????????????????????t??????????e???????????????????????????r????????????????????????? ?????????????L??????????????????i?????????????????????????z?????????????????????z???????????????????i???????????e?????????????.????????????? ??????????E???????????????????????????l????????????????????i????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????h???????a????????????????d?????????? ????????????????a???????????????????l?????????????????????w??????????a????y?????s??? ????g??????????????????o???????????????????t?????????t????????????????????????e???????????????n??????????? ??????????????????????a?????????????????l???????????????????????o????????????n????????????????????????g????????????????? ???????????????????b?????????????e?????????????????t?????????????????t???????????????????e?????????r??????????????????????????? ??????????????????w?????????????????????i???????????????????????t???????????????h???????????????????????? ????????????????????h????????????????????i????????s?????????????? ???????????????s???????????????i?????????????s??????t??????????????????e??????????r????????????????.?????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????T??????????????????????h?????e?????????????????????????y????????????????? ????????d?????????????????????????????e????????????????????c?????????????i?????????????????d????????????????e????????????d?????????????????? ?????????????t??????????????o?????????????????? ????????????????????p????????????????????l??????????a?????????????????????????y??????????? ?????????????h??????????????????????o???????????u???????????????????????s???????????????e?????????????????,???????? ?????????????????b??????????????????u?????????????????????????t????????????????????? ????????????????????????E????????????????????l??????????????i????????????????? ?????????????????????w?????????????????????a?????????????n????????????????????t??????????e?????????????????d??????????????? ????????????????????????t?????????????????????????o???????????????? ????????????????????b?????e?????????????? ????????????????t??????????h?????????????e???????????? ??????????????m????????????????????o?????????m???????????????? ???????????????????????????t??????????????????????????h?????????????????????????i????????????????????s?????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????t????????????i???????????????????m????????????????????e??????????????????,????????????????? ????????????????????s?????????????????????o????????????????????? ???????????????????????????L???????i????????????????????????z??????????????????z???????????????i????????e???????????????????? ???????????????s???????????????h???????????????a??????????????????r??????????????????????e?????????????????d???? ???????????o???????n???????????????????????????e???????? ?????o????????????f???????????????????? ????????????????????h?????????????????????e???????????????r?????????????????? ??????????????d??????????????r????????????????????e??????????????s??????????????????s?????????????????????????e??????????????????s?????????????????????????????? ??????w??????????i????????????????t???????????????h??????? ???????????h???????????i??????????????m??????????????????????.?????????????????????????? ???????????????????T??????????????h????????????????????????????i???????????????????s?????????????????? ??????????????w????????????????????????a??????????????????s????????????????? ??????????????????????w?????????????h????????????????????e?????????????????n??????????????????? ?????????????????????t??????????h??????????????????e?????i?????????????????????r????????????????? ??????????????????f???????????????a?????????t?????????????????????h?????????????e?????????r??????????? ????????h?????????????????a??????????????????d??????????? ?????????????????????w???????????????????a???????????l????????????????????k????????????????????e??????????????d?????????? ????????????????i?????????????????????n????????????????????????????? ???????????????????o????????????????n??????????????????? ????????????????????????t????????????????????h????e?????????????? ??????????????????????t????????w????????????????????????o???????????????????? ????????????????????????o???????????????????????????f????????????????????????????? ????????????????t??????????????h??????????????????????????e?????????????????m???????????.??????????????????????? ??????????????????????????H???????????e?????????????????????? ????????????????b???????????????e????????????c????????a??????????m????????????????????e?????????? ???????????????????????e?????????????????n???????????????????????????r???????????????a??????????????g???????????????????????e?????????????????????????d?????????? ????????????a??????????????????s???????????????? ????????????h?????????????????????e?????????? ????????????????????????c???????????u?????????????????????r??????????????????s????????e?????????????????d??????????????????? ????????????????????a????????????n???????d????????????????? ??????????s??????????????????w???????????????o????????????r????????????????e???????????????????? ?????????????????????????a?????????t?????????????????????? ????????E???????????l?????????????i????????????????.????? ?????????H???????????e?????? ???????????t??????????????????o????r?????????????????e???????????????????????? ???????????????????t????????????????????????h?????????????????????????e???????????????????????? ????????????????d??????r????????????????????????e????????????????s?????????????????????????s???????????????? ???????????????????????o????????????????????f????????????????????????f???????????? ?????????o????????????f???????????????????????????? ??????????????h???????????????????????i??????????m????????????????????????????? ?????????????????a??????????????n????????????????????????d??????????????? ???????????????b???????????e????????????????g????????????????a???????????????????n?????????????????????????? ????????t?????????????????????????o???????????????????? ????????????????????????r????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????l??????????????e????????????????????????????n????????t??????l?????????????????????e???????????????????????s?????????s?????????????????l????????????????????y???????????????????? ??????????????p???????????????u??????????????????m??????????????????????m????????e??????????l??????????? ?????????????h???????????????????i?????????????????????m???????????????,?????????????????????????????? ????????????????c?????????????????????????a????????????????????l???????l???????????????????i????????????n???????????????????g??????? ?????h???????????i??????????????m?????????????????????? ??????????????????????a???????????????????????? ??????????????????d????????????????????i???????????????s????????g??????????r??????????????a?????????c????????????????????e???????????????????????????? ???????a???????????????????n????????????????????d????????????????? ??????????????a??????????? ???????????????d???????????????????????i???????????????????????s????????????????????????????g????????????u??????????????????????????s???????????????t???????????????????????i?????????????????????????????n?????????g???????????????????????? ????c???????????h??????????????i??????l?????????d??????????.????? ????????????H?????????i???????????s??????????? ?????????????????????m????????????????o?????????????????t????????????h?????????????????????????e?????????????r?????????????? ????????q????????????????u??????????????????????????i?????????????c????????k??????????l????????????????????y??? ?????????????????????????r????????????????????a????????????n????????????????????????? ?????????????????t????????????????o????????????????? ?????????????h??????????????????????i???????????????????????????s???????????????? ????????r??????e??????????????????s????????????????????????c????????????????u?????????????????e?????????????? ????????????a???????????????????????????s?????????? ????????????h???????????????????????????e?????????????????? ????????????c?????????????????r???????????????????????????????i????????????????????????e??????????d????????????,??????????????????????? ?????t?????????????????????r??????????y?????????????????i?????????????n????????????????????g??????????? ????????????????????t????????????????????????o?????????????? ??????????????????c?????????r?????????a????????????w?????????l?????????????? ?????????????????????a?????????????????????w?????????????????????a????????????????y??????????? ?????????f????????r????????????????o???????????????????????m???????????????? ?????????????????h????????????i??????????s?????????????????????? ?????????????f??????????a????????????????t??????????????????????h???????e???????????????????????r?????????.???????????????????????? ???????????????????

  ???????????

  ??????????????????H??????????????i????????????s?????????????????? ??????????????????f????????????????????????a????????????????t???????????????????????????h?????????????????????e????????????????????????????r??????? ??????????????????????w???????????????????????a?????????????????s???????????????? ??????????????????????t????????e??????r???????????????????r????????????i??????????????????????f??????????????y??????????i?????????????n????????????????g??????????,??????????? ??????????????????????h??????i?????????s???????????????? ??????????????????b?????????????r????????????????????i?????????????????g?????h???????????????????????t???? ??????????????y???????????????????e????????????l???????????????????l???????????????o?????????w???????? ??????????????????e???????y?????????????????????????e?????????????????????s???????????????? ???????????????????????w??????????????h?????????????????e?????????????????r????????????????e????????????????? ??????????????????????t?????????h?????????????????????e??????????????????????????? ????????????i????????????????????r?????i???????????????????????s??????????????? ????????????????????s????????????????????e??????????????e????????????????m?????????????????e???????????????d????? ???????t???????????????o?????????? ?????????????s???????????????????????????w??????????????????i????????????????????r????????????l?????? ?????????????????i????????????????n??????????????????? ??????????????????????????????a??????????????? ??????????????????s???????????????????????p?????????????i???????????????????r??????a??????l??????????????? ?????????a?????????????????s???????????????????????????? ???????????h?????????????e????????????????????? ?????????s??????????????t??????????a??????????????r?????????????????e???????????????????????????d???????????? ??????????????????a????????????t??????????? ??????????E?????????????????????????????l????????????????????i???????????????????????’???????????s????????????????????? ????????????????????????m??????????????o?????????t?????????????????????h??????????????e??????????????????r?????????????????????????.?????????????????????????? ???????????????????????S?????????????h????????????????e??????????????????? ???????????????????????b??????????????e????????????c?????????????????????a?????????????????????m??????????????e???????????????????????? ????????????????????????d???????????o???????????????????????????c??????????????????????i????????????????????l??????????????????????e????????????????? ?????????????????????????a????f???????????????t?????????e??????????????????????r???????????????? ????????????????t???????????????h??????????????????????a?????????????????????????t????????????????? ?????????????b?????????????????e??????????????????????f??????????o???????????????????r??????????????????????e?????????????? ????????????q?????????????????????????????u??????????????????????i?????????????????????c???????????????????????k??????????????????????l???????y??????????? ?????????l????????e????????????????????????????a??????v????????????????????????????i??????????n??????????g????????????? ?????????????E????????l?????????i????????? ?????????????t????????????????????o??????????????????????????????? ????????????????????h???????????i??????????????????s?????? ?????????????????f???????????????a????????????????t??????????e??????????????????????.?????????????????? ??????????????T?????????????????????????h???????????????e?????????? ???????????????????b?????????????????????e??????????????????a???????????????????????t????????????????????????????i?????????????????????n???????????g???????????? ?????????????????c???????????o?????????????????????n??????????????????t????i????????????????????n????????????u???????????????????????????????e????????????????d??????????? ????????????????a?????????????????????s?????????????????????????? ?????????????E????????????l???????????????????????i??????????????'???????????????s???????????????? ??????????????????????f??????????????????????????????a????????????????????????t????????h???????????????????????e??????????????????r??????????????????????? ???????????????d???????????r??????????a????g?????????????????????????????g??????????????e?????????????????????????????d???????????????? ???????????????????????????h????????????????????????i???????m???????????????????? ??????????????????????????u????????????p???????????????? ???????????????????????????t????????o????????????????????????? ??????????h????????????i???????????????????????????s?????????????????? ????r?????????o??????????????????????o?????????????????????m????????? ????????????????a????????????n???????????????d???????????????????????? ??????????????t????????????i??????????????????????????e??????????????d???????????? ?????????h????????????i????????????????????m????????????????? ?????????????????t??????????????o??????????????? ??????????????????????????a??????????? ????????c?????????????????????????h???????????????a????i??????????????????r????? ???????????????????????a?????????????????s?????????????????? ?????????????????????????h????e??????????????????? ?????????????f???????????????????o????????????r???????????????????c??????????????????????e?????????????????????d????????????? ???????????E???????????????????l??????????????????????i?????????????????????? ??????t?????????o??????????????????????????? ????????????????????????l??????????????o??????????????????o??????????????????k????????????? ??????????????i????????????????????n??????????????????t?????????????????o??????????? ??????????????????h?????????????????????????i????????????????????s??????????????????? ????????????????s?????????????????????w????????????????i???????????????????????????r?????????????????????????l?????????????????i????????????????????n???????????????????????????g?????????????????????????????? ???????????y???e????l????????????l????o??????????????????????w????????? ??????????e?????????????????????y???????????????????????????e????????????????s???????????????????.????????????? ??????????????????????????“??????????????L????????????????????????????i???????????s????????????????????????t??????????????e????????????????????????n????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????h?????????e?????????r??????????????e??????????????????? ??????????????????b??????????????????????o???????????????????????y???????????????????????,?????????????????????? ??????????????y????????o???????????????????????u????????????????? ??????????????????????a????????????????????r?????????????????????????e?????????????? ????a??????????????????? ??????????????????b??????o????????????????y???????????????????????.????????????????????? ???????????????????Y?????o?????????????????u????????????????????? ????????????????????????????a?????r?????????????????e????????????????????? ?????????????????????????g??????????????o???????????????????????????i???????n??????????g?????????????????? ?????????????????t????????????????o????????????? ????????????b?????????????????????????????e??????????????????? ??????????????????????a??????????????????????????? ?????????m???????????a?????????????????n??????????????? ????????????????????????????s??????????????????????o????????????????????m????????????????e???????????????????d???????????????a?????????????y?????????????.????????????????? ????????????????????Y????????????????o??????????????u?????????????????????? ?????????????????????????w???????????????i?????????????????????l????????????l?????????????????? ??????????????????????n??????????????o??????????????????????t????? ???????????????w?????????e??????????????????????a????????????????r?????????????????? ???????????????????g???????????????????i??????????????????????????r????l????????????????????????s????????????????? ?????????????????c??????????l?????o?????????t????????????????????????h??????????????????e?????????????????s????????,???????????????????????????? ??????y???????o???????????u????????????? ?????????????????w?????????????i?????????????????l??????????????l????????????????? ????????????????????b????????????e?????????????????????? ??????a???????????????????????? ???????????????????????m??????????????a?????????n???????????????????????,??????????????? ?????????????????????????????d???????????????????????o?????????? ????????????????????y?????????????o???????????????u?????????????? ????????????????????u??????????????????????n??????????d??????????????????e???????????????????r???????????????????????????s????????????????????t??????????????a?????????????n??????????????????????d??????????????????????”????????????????

  ?????????????

  ????????????????E???????????????????????l???i????????????????’??????????????????????????s????????????????????? ??????????f??????????????a??????????????????????t????h?????????e????????????????r????????????????? ???????????r?????????????????????e???????????????p???????????????????????????????e??????a???????????????????????????????t??????????e?????????????????????d?????????? ?????????????????????????t????????????????????????h?????????????????????i????????????????????s?????????????? ?????????????o?????????v??????????????????e???????????????r??????????????????? ?????????????????a???????????????????????????n?????d????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????o???????????????????????v????????????e???????r????????????????.?????????????????????? ?????????E??????????????????????????v???????????????e??????????????r??????????????y???????????????? ?????????????????t?????????????????????i???????????????????????m?????????????e?????????????????????????? ???????????????E???????????????????????l????????????????????????i????????????????????????? ?????????t???????????????????h????????????????????????????o???????u?????g?????????????????h???????????????t?????????????????? ?????????????????????t???????????????????h?????????????????????????a??????????t???????????????? ?????????????h??????????????????????????????i????????????????????????s???????????????????????? ????????????f?????????????????a?????????????t????????????????????????h??????????????????????e?????????????????r????????????????? ??????????w??????????a????????????????s???????????????????????????? ???????????????????d????????????????????????????o??????n????????????????e??????????????????????????,??????????????????????? ???h????????????????????????????e??????????????? ???????????????????????w??????????????????????o?????????????????????u????????????????l??????????????????????????????d????? ?????????????h??????????????i???????????????????????t??????? ????????????????????????????h????????????????i???????????m????????????? ??????????????????a???????????????g??????????????a?????????i????????????????????????????n??????????????? ??????????????????a?????????????????????????n?????????????????d????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????a??????????????g??????????????????a????i???????????n???????????????,??????????? ???????????????r???????????????e???????p?????????????????e?????????????a??????????????t???????????????????i???????????????????????????????n????????g??????? ???t????????????????????h????????????????e?????????????? ?????????????????????s???????????a????????????????????m????????????????????e?????????????? ???????????????p????????????????????h??????????????????????????r????????????????????a??????????????????????????s???????e???????????? ??????????o?????????????????????????????v????????????????e????????????????r???????? ????????????a???????????????????n???????????????d???????????????????? ??????????????o?????????????????????????????v????????e?????????????r??????????? ????????a?????????????g???????a??????????????????????i?????????n?????????.?????????????????? ??????????????????????????T????????????????h?????????????????????e?????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????w????o???r??????????????????????????l???????????????????d?????????????????? ????????????????s????????????????????????e????????????e?????????????????????m???????e?????????????d?????????????????????? ??????????????????????t??????????o??????????????????? ?????????????g???????????r????????????????????o????????????????????w?????????????????? ????????h???????????a?????????????????z????????????????y????? ????????????????????????t???????????????h????????e???????????????????????? ???????????????????????l????????????????????o?????????n???????????????????????g??????????????e???????????????r???????????????????? ??????t?????????????????????h???????????i??????????????s????????????????????????????? ?????????????w??????????????????????????????e??????????????????????????n???????????????????????????t??????????????????? ????????????????o??????????????????????????????n?????????????????.??????????

  ??????????????

  ?????????????????????????E?????????????????l??????????????????????i?????????????????????? ???????????r???????????????????e??????????????????????m??????e??????????????m????????????????????????b???????????????e???????????????????r??????????????????e?????????????????????d?????????????????? ??????????????????????h????????????????????????i??????????????????????????s???????????????? ???????f???????????????a?????????????t???????????????????h??????????????????e???????????????????????????r?????????????????????????? ?????????????????????s??????????????????????????c????o????????????????????u??????????????r??????????????????????????????i???????????????????????????n????g??????????????? ?????h??????????????????i???????s???????? ?????????????????????r?????????o???????????????????o???????????m???????????????,??????????? ?????l????????????????????o??????????????????????????o??????????????k??????????i???????????????????n???????????????????????g?????????????????????? ????????????????????????f?????????o??????????????????r?????????? ?????????????????t???????o????????????????y?????????????????s?????????,????????????????? ???????s??????????????????t????????u?????????????f?????????????????????????f???????????????????????i???????????????????e?????????s??????????????????? ?????????????????????????o???????????????????????r????????????????????????? ??????????????a??????????????n??????????????????????????y????????t?????????????????h?????????????????????i???????????????????n?????????g????????????????????????????? ????????????t???????????????h????????a????????????????t?????????????? ???????????c????????????????o?????????????????u???????????????????????l???????????????????d????????????????? ????????????????????b????????????????e??????????????? ??????????????????a????????????s??????????????????????????s?????????????????????o??????????????????c???????????????i???????????????????????a?????????????????????????t????????????????????????e????????????????d?????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????r???????????e??????????????m?????????????o??????????????t?????????????????e?????????????????l???????????????????y???????????? ??????????????w???????????????????i???????????????t????????????????h???????? ??????????????????????????f????????????????????????e??????????????m??????????????????i???????????????????????n????????????????i?????????????????????????n?????????????i??????????????????t??????????????????y????????,?????????? ???????????????????????a??????????????????????l????????????l?????????????????????? ?????????????o???????????f???????????? ?????????????????????i???????????????????t???????????????????????? ????????w?????????a????????????s???????????????????????????? ????????????????????p???????????????????i???l??????????????????e??????????????d??????????? ??????????????????????i????????????????n??????????t?????????????????o????????????????????? ??????????????????a????????????????? ????????????t????r???a???????????????s????????????????????h???????????????????? ????????????????????b??????????a??????????????g???? ???????????b??????????????e?????????????????f??????????????o???????????????????????r????????e????????? ???????????????h??????????????i????????????????????s???????????? ??????????????????f????????????????????a?????????????????????t?????????????????h????????????????e??????????????????????r??????????????? ???????????????h??????????????????a?????????u????????????????????l??????????????e?????????????d??????????????????????? ????????????????????h????????????????i?????????????????m???????????????? ??????????a????????????n??????????????????d??????????????????? ????????t?????????????????????????h????????????e????????? ??????b?????????????????a??????????????g???????????????? ?????????????????????o????????????????u???????????????t???????????????????????????s???????????i???????????d???????????????????????e??????????????? ??????????????????b???????????????????e??????????f?????????????o??????????r????????????e?????????? ????????t????????????????????????o???????????????????????????????s?????????????????????s?????????????????i????????????????????n????????????????????g????????????? ????????????????t???????????????????????h??????????????e??????????????? ?????????????????????b????????a???????????????????g??????????????????????? ???????????????i????????n??????????????????????t?????????????o??????????????????? ???????????????t?????????????????????????????h??????????????e????????????? ??????????????f?????????????????i????????????????r????????????e?????????????????????? ????????????????????p??????????i????????????t?????????????????????? ??????????????????a??????????????????n????????????????????d????????????? ????????????????l??????????????????i????????????????????????????g??????????????????h?????????????????????t???????????????????i????????????????????n????????????g???????????????????? ?????i????????????t??????????????????? ?????????????????????a????????????b???????????????l?????????????????a???????????z???????????????e?????????????????.?????????? ????????????????S??????????????o????????????????????????m??????????????e??????????? ????????????????????o??????f???????????????????? ??????????????????????h??????????i??????????????????????s???????? ??????????????????m???????????????o????????????s????????t????????????? ????????????p???????????????????r???????????e?????????????????c?????????????????i??????????????????????????????o??????????????u????????????????????????s?????????? ??????????????t???????????h??????????????????????????????i?????n?????????????????g??????????????????????s??????????? ????????????????a???????????????????????r??????????e???????????? ???????????????????g????????????o???????????????n?????????????????e?????????????????? ????????????????????????i???????????????????????n?????????????? ??????????????????a?????????????????? ???????????b????????????l??????????a????????????????z?????????????e????????????????? ???????????????????o?????????f??????????? ????????????f??????????????????????????i??????????????????r???????????????????????????e???????????.??????????????? ????????????????????????????B????????????????????????u?????????????????t???????????? ?????????E?????????????????l?????????i???????????????????? ??????????????c??????????????????o???????????u?????????????????????????l?????????d??????????????????????n??????????????'????????t??????????? ????????????????c????????????r?????????????????????????y??????????????????.?????????????????????????? ?????????T????????????????h???????e????????????????????????? ?????????m???????????????????o?????????????????????????r??????????????????????e??????????????????????? ???????????????h????????i????????????????????s???????????????? ??????????????????f???????????????a???????????t????????????????h??????????e?????????????????????????r?????????????????? ???????????????????r???????????????e??????????????????????????p?????????????e???????????????a???????????????????????t??????????????????????e???????d???????????????????????????? ?????????????????t???????????????????h???????????????????????o?????s??????????????????e???????????????????? ???????????????p??????h?????????????r???????????????????????????a?????????????????s???????????????????e???????????????????????s???????????????,??????????????????????? ???????????????????t???????????????????????????h???????????????e?????????????????? ????????h????????a????????????????????r???????????????d???e?????????????r??????????????? ???????????i?????????t????? ?????????????????w???????????a??????????s????????????????????? ??????????????????f???????????????????o?????????????????????r??????????????? ????????E????????????????????l????????????????????????i??????????????????????? ?????????????????t??????????????o??????????????????? ?????????????????c??????r???????????y?????????????? ????????????????a??????????????????n???????????????????????????d??????????????? ?????????f?????????e?????e????????????????l?????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????t????????????????????????????e???????????????????r????????????r??????????????i????????????????????????b?????????l?????????????????????????????e?????????????.?????????????????????? ????????????????E?????????????l?????????????????i?????? ?????????????????????????????b???????????e????????????????????????????g???????????????????????a????????????????????n?????????????????????? ????????????????t????????????????o??????????????????????? ????????????j???????????????u???????????????????s??????????????????????t???????????? ???????????????????f?????????e?????????????e??????????????l?????????????? ??????????????????????n??????????????u????????m??????????????????b???????????????????????.??????????????????????????

  ???????????????????????

  Eli couldn’t remember. No matter how much he tried to think back, he couldn’t remember anything. It was just a blur filled with static and noise. He couldn’t make sense of anything. Eli’s head began to ache. He tried to put his hand against the dispy to steady himself, but he missed. Eli’s legs quickly gave out as he began to feel dizzy, hitting his head against the dispy case before hitting the floor. The world seemed to bleed together as colours seemed to blend before everything went dark. Eli could hear someone shouting?

  “Eli…ld…on”

  “E…d…n”

  “E………”

  “...”

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  Eli’s head was pounding as he darkness slowly faded around him. Light nced into his eyes as he slowly cracked them open a white ceiling above him. The room was bright and warm, so very warm. Eli closed his eyes again due to the light and tried to drift off. Eli felt something stirring beside him.

  “Eli? Eli! Oh thank god you’re awake.” It was Amy, she was kneeling beside his bed, her long white spyed out on the bed.

  “Oh, hey Amy. Why does my head hurt so much? And where are we?” Eli grabbed his head, it was hard to move and he felt sluggish but the pounding in his skull just wouldn’t abate.

  “We are in the hospital. You colpsed at the office and hit your head really hard. So we brought you here.” This time it was Rachel who responded. She was sitting in a chair against the wall.

  Eli looked around in confusion. “How long was I out? I don’t remember anything, just standing in front of the moth dispy and trying to remember something but then nothing.”

  Amy looked at Rachel with concern before looking back to Eli as she slowly cupped his face with her hands, Eli noticed a ring on her left hand. “Eli, it’s been six years.”

  Eli sat back in shock as he looked at Amy before he turned to look at Rachel, seeing a matching ring on her finger. “No, this can’t be happening. Six years, I… I’m so screwed.” Tears began to run down Eli’s cheeks, and he began to cry.

  Rachel and Amy quickly raced to wrap Eli in a hug. “I told you this was a dump idea, Rachel. Look at what we’ve done.”

  “Yeah, but I got a ring on you, didn’t I?”

  Amy could only blush in response as Eli began to look between the two of them in confusion. ““What… What’s Amy talking about.”

  Rachel looked at Eli before turning away, guilt written on her face. “Sorry Eli, I thought it would be funny to pretend that you had missed a rge chunk of time. It seems that you took it quite hard, and for that, I can only apologise.”

  Eli looked back and forth between Amy and Rachel while he sniffled as he tried to get his emotions back under control. “You’re both terrible, but I am happy to think that you cared enough to stick around for six years. There’s no way I could have earned that much affection from you in such a short time. Also, Rachel, you said that you and Amy were just really good friends. What’s this about putting a ring on Amy?“

  It was Rachel's turn to blush this time as she looked over to Amy’s blushing face and back to Eli. “God, you can be so dense at times. Yes, we are really great friends, Gal pals even. At one point, we were roommates.”

  “Okay, how does that transte to marrying one another.”

  Amy finally looked up from the bed. “Eli it’s a saying used by lesbians when talking about being in a retionship with another woman.”

  “Oh.”

  “Aww, come on Amy, couldn’t you let him be in the dark for a little longer, it was quite cute.

  Eli could only blush at this. “That…That doesn’t make any sense how does being roommates correte with being lovers? Also if you two are so involved with one another why are you wasting your time on me? I can tell you are close with one another, it’s not like you’ve been hiding it over the st week.”

  Amy sighed while looking at Rachel before back to Eli. “It’s because”

  This was the moment when a nurse decided to knock on the wall. “While it is nice that you are getting along after such a cruel prank, which I told you would go wrong. Now that the patient is awake, we really must make sure that he is doing alright. Concussions are a very serious injury to suffer from and we do not want to discharge him before we make sure he is getting better.”

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  It turns out that while a bunch of preliminary tests had been done when Eli had first arrived, they wanted to do a bunch more after he woke up. After a few hours of being loaded into a variety of different machines, Eli was finally released from the hospital. At this point, it was getting dark so the three of them decided to head back. Well, Eli said he wanted to go back to the college and then Rachel smirked at Amy before climbing into the driver’s seat. Eli should have known something was wrong when he saw that smirk, but he was ready to get out of the hospital so he hadn’t cared at the time. When they pulled into the driveway of a house a few blocks away from the college, Eli finally realized that something was wrong.

  Eli looked out the window from the backseat. The house was a compact bungalow with neon green siding. “Um… what are we doing here? This isn’t the dorms.”

  Rachel turned around and looked at Eli with a rge grin on her face. “You're right this isn’t the dorms but you didn’t say that. You said that you wanted to go back to the college and since my house is considered one of the college residences, we are still on college property.”

  “Y-y-y-you… your house! Why are we at your house?”

  It was Amy’s turn to turn around. “We figured that after the craziness of today, we would bring you over and have a nice movie night and rex. There’s not enough room in our apartment so Rachel said we could host it at her pce.”

  “O…oh, thanks Rachel,” Eli muttered while staring at the car upholstery.

  Rachel beamed in response. “No worries Eli, we’ve had a long day. I figured you needed the tiem to rex just as much as we did.”

  Once they had made their way into the house and settled in the living room, Eli tried to sit on the chair instead of on the couch with the other two but they were having none of it and quickly pnted him on the couch.

  Rachel stood up from the couch while Amy wrapped her arm around Eli to prevent him from scooting over. “I’m hungry, i’m going to grab some snacks, you guys want anything to drink? I got booze, cocktails, more booze and coke.”

  Eli realized that despite the te hour, he hadn’t eaten that day. Eli knew how to cook, despite certain circumstances, but there was no way he was just going to stroll into the kitchen and make food for everyone. That would be just rude, maybe he could offer? Eli opened his mouth, but once again, the words escaped him.

  Rachel opened the fridge with a flourish. “Let’s see what is there to scrounge some food up hmm… And there’s nothing, guess i forgot groceries again.”

  “Seriously Rach?” Amy stood from the couch and walked over to the fridge, Eli slowly following behind. “How many times have i told you to keep your fridge stocked, you have to stop ordering take out all the time. Besides there is a decent amount of stuff here, though i don’t know what you could do with it…… is…… is that an 4kg wheel of Parmesan?”

  “Listen… I can expin…… it was on sale”

  “How much”

  “...... it was on sale.” Rachel wouldn’t meet Amy’s gaze as she dragged her foot on the floor in circles

  “Rachel”

  “45 dolrs”

  “You spent 45 dolrs on a wheel of cheese!”

  “It was on sale!!”

  While the two were still arguing about the price of cheese, Eli took a peak into the fridge, it was pretty barebones, but there were some nice things to work with: some fresh produce like onions and garlic as well as some cream, eggs and the big wheel of cheese. Eli turned to look at Rachel “Um… Rachel…”

  The two finally stopped bickering about cheese when they heard Eli. Rachel turned her head to look at Eli, Amy still looking at her in disappointment. “Yes Eli.”

  “Um… i don’t mean to sound presumptuous but do you have any pasta or flour?” Eli immediately regretted speaking. She could afford this big house, of course she would have those things. How could he be so rude? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude…I’ll just go”

  Amy turned to Eli with a sigh. “Eli you are not being presumptuous, you are asking a basic question. Well Rachel, do you?”

  “I mean, i don’t really buy dried pasta, if i’m craving pasta i can always just order it. I do have some flour though from a cookie experiment a few weeks back.”

  Eli looked to Rachel “Cookie experiment?”

  “Don’t ask,” Amy and Rachel responded simultaneously

  “Well if you don’t mind waiting, there is more than enough stuff here to make some nice pasta, do you have a rolling pin?”

  Rachel looked at Eli like he was some kind of alien. “You know how to make fresh pasta?”

  “I know how to do alot of cooking, despite how much my father disapproves the profession enttirely, somehow being to feminine to learn but a mans job that women have no business in. I had to learn to cook growing up to feed me and my sister. My mom never noticed the missing ingredients and if i didn’t cook, me and my sister wouldn’t eat.”

  Amy quickly wrapped Eli in a hug. “That’s terrible, as long as you are around us you will not have to worry about that okay?”

  “Thanks Amy. Though if you don’t mind me cooking, it’s probably not that good and it will take at least an hour and a half but i can make some… somewhat decent pasta”

  Rachel smiled in response before looking over to Amy. “As long as Amy doesn’t mind waiting and we are allowed to help, I don’t see why not.”

  What followed was a solid 2 hours of chaos of epic proportions. Somehow, flour ended up everywhere despite them making the pasta and rolling it by hand. Eli bmed Rachel for getting a bit too excited and punching the dough when they started kneading the dough, creating a rge cloud of flour. It was messy and silly and fun, but eventually, there was a nice pte of pasta infront of all three of them as they finally sat down in front of the tv in the living room.

  “You know this isn’t that bad all things considered.” Amy said this while slinging her arm around Eli.

  Eli squeaked in response.

  “You’re right Amy, i have definitely had worse, i bet if Eli had a bit more time and some better equipment he could have done even better.” Rachel said this while also slinging one of her arms over Eli’s shoulder, trapping him in pce.

  Eli’s face was glowing with embarrassment at this point, not just from the compliments but from how closs the other two were to him. “Wha…what um…movie do you want to watch.”

  Amy perked up at this. “Ooh, they just released a tv show that is an adaptation of this old manga called Boku Girl, it’s a really good manga and i have waiting to watch it.”

  “That sounds awesome, isn’t that the manga you showed me a while back”

  “Yeah”

  Eli looked back and forth between the two girls as he tried to speak up. “Um… uh… I’ve um… already seen it…and read it… several times.”

  Amy and Rachel looked at each other before looking down at Eli with a rge smile on their faces. “Oh really, I never knew you read that kind of fiction.” Amy added.

  Eli could only look down at the couch as he didn’t know where to look to hide his embarrassment. Eli decided then and there that there was no way that he was going to tell Amy about his moderate-sized collection of gender-bender manga hidden in his drawer back at the dorm.

  “I mean… it’s a good story if you guys haven’t seen the show yet… it’s a faithful adaptation.” Eli grew quieter and quieter the longer he talked as he saw the rge smile on Amy’s face.

  Rachel leaned over to Amy. “I know you showed me the manga a while back but i don’t remember. What’s got Eli so embarrassed.”

  Amy turned to Rachel. “Oh nothing much, just a gender bender manga from around 60 years ago”

  “Huh, that sounds kind of obscure thing to know about.”

  “Yes, yes it is.”

  Eli could only hold his face in embarrassment as the two talked amongst one another. Why had he exposed himself like that? Now they probably thought he was weird. Eli stood up and tried to leave but didn’t even make it off the couch.

  “Oh no you don’t. Now that I know you’ve seen the show, we are definitely watching it.” Amy’s eyes seemed to glow for a minute as she stared down at him

  Rachel now seemed to have a gleem in her eye, and her arms were covered once more in armour as she held him in pce. “Oh we are definitely watching it.”

  Eli could only try and look at the floor in shame.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  Despite Eli’s hesitance and embarrassment, the three of them actually enjoyed their evening together. While they had these mischievous smiles on their faces at the beginning of the evening, Amy and Rachel soon became just as wound up in the story as he did. Soon, the three of them were just huddled under a bnket on the couch as they watched the show until te in the evening.

  Eli woke up the next morning, still on the couch with the other two. Eli looked back and forth between Amy and Rachel before bedding back down and going back to sleep. Maybe he could be a bit more open with these two after all.