Waiting until Monday was a drag, but I kept myself busy by bemoaning over the annoyance that my black-eye was causing me. When I wanted to, I could be quite the hypochondriac. Compared to my first week back, the second week was nowhere near as eventful. If there's one thing I'd proven thus far, it was my ability to fall into a routine.

I was itching for lunch so that I could finally hang out with Lily again. Before my transition we had come to use our own silent form of communication, and after last Friday we had apparently taken it back up.

Kai sighed and picked at his food. "I guess we're back to this again huh."

Sadie nodded and gave him a pat on the back in camaraderie. Lily and I hardly seemed to notice through our incessant whispers and giggles.

"Just like it used to be," Sadie agreed.

School wrapped up and I began to get nervous during my bike ride home. Today was going to be my first day back at my old job. I dawned my old uniform, (which was rather tight in certain places), and headed to our local grocery store.

I walked in and made my way to the backroom to find my boss and let her know I was back. I knocked on her door and she answered, "Yeah! Come on in." I entered and she had her back to me as she was sorting through one of the tills.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm uh... here to report for duty...?" I said apprehensively.

She whirled around to face me. A look of utter confusion ran across her face, but it was quickly replaced with one of recognition and excitement.

"Damn! You clean up nicely," she said. I blushed, not knowing what to do.

She didn't let empty air hang for long. "You're on register six today."

I nodded and started to make my way out, when she said, "It'll be nice having you back Isaa--"

I chimed in, "I go by Amelia now..." She just gave me the look equivalent of a high five.

It was comforting to have my old job back. Ever so slowly, things were falling back into place. Manning the register was great for when I needed to take my mind off things. It took all of my mental faculties to focus on what I was doing, but it wasn't difficult in any way. Being a cashier was always at its most boring when things were slow. A booked store meant no boredom, and I could just concentrate on what I was doing. At least that's how it had been before.

On that particular day, Ross had been the only other cashier on duty. We'd always gotten along okay, but neither of us tended to say too much to the other. He was a year younger than me but was a good couple inches taller. While I worked here mostly for the extra cash, it was a full-time job for him, in addition to his school work. He was quite punctual, and when it was the right temperature you could tell he sped to make sure he kept that reputation as his dark black hair was constantly messy and windblown. And while I'd never noticed it before, he was pretty built.

He worked on the register in front of me, so I got a nice long time to take in his backside. The green polo t-shirt he wore showed plenty of his arms as well. As I said, we never really talked all that much, but during one of the lulls, he made a concerted effort to wave. I shyly waved back. A couple of customers began to line up at my register, so my mind snapped back to the task at hand. One customer in particular was causing quite a scene when I told her that her coupons were expired. Still, I noticed that my customers tended to be in better moods than before. I blamed it on my renewed enthusiasm.

Finally, the traffic was slowing up and we were beginning to wind down for the evening. At that point, Ross finally found time to turn around and strike up a conversation.

"So how you been?" he asked, "Long time no see."

"Well..." I stumbled unsure of how to answer, "I get to go inside woman's restrooms now, so there's that."

He let out a chuckle, "What!? No way. I thought that was for card-carrying members only!"

I could feel the tension relaxing. I mimed fumbling around my apron as though I were looking for something. "Darn! Must have left mine at home. It's standard issue."

"Ahhh!" he said through another couple laughs.

"So... Anything big happen in my absence?" I asked.

"Hmm... Well, the Halloween merchandise looked even weirder than last year and we overstocked turkeys during Thanksgiving, but other than that, nothing momentous."

I snickered at the line about the Turkeys. "What'd you do with the extras?"

"Monica handed out five turkeys per employee. Called it our holiday bonus."

Now I was beginning to break into full fits of laughter. I had to regain my composure as a customer came through my line. After her, Monica came out to tell us to lock up the tills and head home.

I locked up, pulled off my apron, and was getting my coat from the lockers when Ross shuffled over to his locker.

We both finished up and went to walk through the doorway at the same time, bumping into each other.

"Ooof! Sorry."

"No need to apologize, ladies first after all." I gave him a solid eye roll and stepped through. I was happy to be hanging with him again. He acknowledged what had happened to me, but didn't call ample attention to it, and treated me... normally.

As we were walking out the front he asked, "You scheduled for tomorrow?"

"Nah, and I think I've got a club, or else I might pick up that shift."

"Fair, well I'll see you... Wednesday?" he asked.

I nodded in agreement, "See you Wednesday Ross."

I rode home, crammed down my dinner, finished my homework, and hit my bed with barely any time to spare before falling asleep. I'd forgotten how drained I felt after work, in a good way though.

I woke up bright and early the next morning and went through my usual routine as I headed off to school. I got to the auditorium and plopped into my usual spot next to Lily. Sadie was in the middle of recounting her latest date with a guy she met on one of her apps. She finished leaving Lily and Kai in hysterics and me wishing I'd gotten there earlier.

"And the crazy part is, I think I'm going on a date with his cousin tonight!" she said, blowing everyone's mind.

"Well good luck," Kai said somewhat sarcastically.

"Speaking of tonight!" Lily said to me, "How about I come over and I help you with your Spanish homework."

"Anatomy homework is more like it," Sadie said under her breath, getting a fist bump from Kai.

Lily and I feigned a scoff at the two of them before breaking into smiles.

"I can't, I've got a meeting to go." The three of them raised their eyebrows. Up to now, I'd never really been one for school-based organizations.

"It’s uh... gay people club. Megan asked me if I'd come, and I said yes. You're welcome to join me," I offered to the group at large. I could tell Kai and Sadie weren't going to be takers, but I didn't want to go totally by my lonesome, so I did my best to bat my eyelashes at Lily. She was clearly reticent, and I could almost feel something deeper that kept her from wanting to, but she eventually gave in.

"Damn your newfound, but irresistible feminine wiles!" she said, "Alright. But Spanish after."

I agreed.

Classes were the same as they always were. I found that I was missing the photography class I'd taken back at the facility, and wondered if I might get into on my own time.

Class wrapped up and I headed to the drama studies room, which I thought was a fitting location. I could tell Lily was even more reluctant to be there than I was, but I was loads more comfortable with her next to me. We found spots towards the edges of the room, and Megan gave the two of us a big wave.

While the meeting was supposedly about a short film that had recently come out, a good portion of the session was clearly friends hanging out with friends. They did their best to keep us newbies from feeling alienated, and I could tell that it didn't take long for people to be accepted into the group. It was a club for/by the gays, if I do say so while currently claiming ownership over some, although as of yet ambiguous, part of that word. The meeting finished up and I scarfed down a couple of free slices of pizza.

As Lily and I were about to head out, Megan ran over.

"Amelia! Thanks so much for coming. And Lily, glad you finally made it over! We really appreciated having you two!" she said earnestly. I gave Lily a covert confused look. She raised her eyebrows indicating that we'd talk about it later.

"Thanks, it was fun. I'll try and make it a habit, and I'll do my best to bring this one along too," I said bumping Lily in her side.

"I enjoyed myself," she said, although I could sense the slight bit of force in her voice.

There was a moment of awkward silence before I spoke up.

"Megan, we should definitely hang out this weekend."

Her eyes lit up. "Totally! I'll give you some times later this evening."

"Awesome! See you around," I said.

"Bye!"

We waved and headed out to the parking lot. I threw my bike into her trunk, and we headed back to my house. Lily was uncharacteristically silent.

"So...?" I asked.

"It was good."

"Uh-huh," I said teasing her.

"What?" she asked.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were jealous," I retorted playfully.

She scoffed. "Of who?"

"I don't know, other people even gayer than you are."

This time she scoffed sarcastically. We had pulled up to my driveway and she put the car in park.

"I'd like them to prove it," she said as she leaned in to kiss me. I let it go on for a bit but motioned that we ought to head inside or my mom would wonder why the car was parked but we weren't leaving it.

True to her word, she really did help me with my Spanish homework. There might have been some playful banter thrown on top, but homework came first. After a while, Mom popped her head in, partially to (and I quote) "make sure nothing intense was happening", and to ask if Lily was staying for dinner. Lily took that as her cue to head out, even though I made clear it wouldn't be a problem.

Later, as I was about to call it a night, I got a text. It was from Kai and read, "Hey, can I talk to you sometime just the two of us. I've got some things I'm trying to work out and I could really use your opinion."

I replied back, "Sure, just tell me when and where."

A few minutes went by before he finally responded, "Thanks, you're the best."

We left it at that, and I went to bed wondering what was up with him.