Interlude 2 – Strange Clients (Elena’s POV)
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This takes place from Elena's POV, during the meeting scene in chapter 4.

Hmm… she’s late…

Tapping my fingers against the desk behind me, I glanced back and forth between the door, and the clock mounted on the wall. My office was relatively bare otherwise, save for a single motivational poster mounted opposite the clock, and a few soft chairs across from me. Sunlight shone inside through the small, lone window high up on the wall behind me, illuminating the vase sitting across from the computer on my desk.

Those daffodils are starting to wilt–what flowers would be good, this time of the year?

I grumbled somewhat as I waited for the familiar sound of footsteps heading down the hallway to my office, only hearing the hum of my computer interspersed with the faint sounds of teenagers playing football on the nearby oval, muffled through the closed window.

Would it kill them to give me just a little bit more funding? My office is supposed to be comforting–not barebones and… clinical. They could at least give me a window that opens, too.

Swivelling my chair to the side, I fidgeted with the petals of a daffodil that drooped out of the tall, thin vase. It disintegrated somewhat between my fingers, leaving a small pile of brown petal fragments on the desk just below it.

Oops. As I reached over to the nearby tissue box, sitting just behind my keyboard, multiple sets of footsteps echoed through the door. I hurriedly gathered the remaining fragments together with a tissue, dropping into the bin next to my feet.

That sounds like Zoey… and two other people? Her friends?

Three knocks resounded on the door to my office, a familiar signal that we had worked out beforehand between us.

“It’s me, Zoey.” Her voice floated in through the door, slightly out of breath. “I’m here for my meeting.”

“Come in,” I responded. Did she run here?

The door slowly opened to reveal Zoey standing just outside, accompanied by two other girls. That looks like Emily–I think I’ve talked to her once before. Why is she wearing a hoodie? With the hood up too, no less.

Zoey stepped forward, gesturing for her two companions to follow her, but she halted as I held my hand up.

“I didn’t know you wanted to bring visitors. Sorry, but they’ll have to wait outside.”

She seemed slightly crestfallen as I addressed her, glancing back and forth between me, and her companions.

“Can I bring them in?” she asked, her voice hopeful. “I need to talk to you about the small girl.”

Peering behind her, I glanced at the ‘small girl’ in question, hiding a slight smile as I watched her eyes widen at Zoey’s comment, and she slumped forward dejectedly.

I don’t recognise her… and I’m pretty sure I’ve at least seen all the students before. Is she a new transfer? I’d probably be informed if she was–so that she could check in with me occasionally, to see how she’s doing. She has a uniform, though it looks a little too big for her.

My gaze flicked over towards Emily as I investigated a hunch that I had, and I briefly inspected her, standing next to the mystery girl wearing a thin black hoodie with the hood pulled up.

I can’t quite tell thanks to that hoodie, but their uniforms look almost exactly the same size. Did Emily lend one of her spares to her? The three of them look close enough to do that, so are they trying to sneak her into the school? Or maybe show her around to see if she wants to transfer here?

“Sure, but only after our check-in,” I said, lowering my hand. Zoey’s not the sort of person to do this without a reason, so let’s find out what it is.

 

Switching the monitor on my computer off, I swivelled my chair around to face Zoey, watching as she slowly closed the door behind her.

“Alright, fine.” She paused for a moment to talk to the two girls accompanying her, who were leaning against the wall just outside. “Wait here for a bit, I’ll come get you once I’m done.”

Turning back towards me, she flopped down into one of the soft chairs in front of me with an exasperated sigh. She slowly sunk further into the cushion as she shuffled around, trying to make herself comfortable.

“...I know I’ve said this before, but it’s actually really nice in here,” she said, staring at the flowers just to my side. “It’s quiet, and–homely. I kinda wish I could just stay here during lunch.”

“Thanks,” I replied, glancing back as I followed her gaze. “I do try to make it at least somewhat calming here.”

“You’re the one that has to deal with students having panic attacks, after all.”

Originally, our meetings were weekly check-ins for Zoey, as she tried to adjust to attending a new school where no one knew she was transgender. Over time, however, they devolved into something more closely resembling a friendly chat, as she seemed to be coping well enough with her situation.

Though I’m guessing you still haven’t come out to anyone other than Emily, given that you’d rather stay here than hang out with your friends at lunchtime. Knowing what high school is like, though, that’s a fairly reasonable call.

“Right, anyway,” Zoey slapped the arm of the chair, “I need to talk to you about Flora.”

“Flora?”

“The small girl that came with me. Her situation is… unique, and I don’t know who else to talk to about her.”

A unique situation? Is it something she can’t explain?

“Alright then. If there’s nothing else we need to chat about, then bring her inside.”

Zoey grumbled a little as she slowly lifted herself out of the chair, muttering about how comfortable it was. Making her way to the door, she opened it halfway, peering outside.

“Alright, we’re ready for you now–what are you doing?”

Without waiting for an answer, she backed away from the door, making room for the brown-haired mystery girl to lead a pale-faced Emily inside. Emily immediately made for the side of the room, her hands shaking slightly as she held her arms. I turned towards Zoey and the mystery girl, apparently named ‘Flora’, as Zoey gently guided her to the front-most chair in the office.

“Now, what can I help you all with?”

 

“This girl needs to be able to attend school,” Zoey began, standing next to the chair that the girl in question sat in, “but there’s a big issue with her enrolment.”

“Oh? What issue are you speaking of?” The way she’s phrasing that makes it seem like she’s already enrolled here. If that was the case, I would at least recognise her.

“Currently, she’s enrolled under the name Felix… what is your last name?”

Felix? My brain kicked into gear as I looked through my memory of the people in both Emily’s and Zoey’s year levels, trying to figure out who she was referring to.

“Caldwell,” Emily spoke up from the corner of the room, cutting off my thought process abruptly.

“Right, Felix Caldwell,” Zoey continued. “She needs her registered gender changed to female, and her first name changed to Flora.”

So she’s trans? Flora Caldwell… wait, I remember them. Weren’t they a lot taller, beforehand?

“Alright then. Can you explain the situation for me, and why you need to change your details?” I need more information.

Flora gaze flicked all around the room, her mouth opening slightly as if she was still trying to form the words she needed. She glanced back towards Zoey and Emily, seemingly looking for guidance, before facing me and taking a deep breath.

“Umm…” she began hesitantly, “would you believe me if I say that I just woke up like this?”

...Huh? What did she say?

“Flora?” Zoey interjected, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”

“She’s the guidance counsellor, so I don’t want to lie to her.” The look in her eyes was serious as she spoke. “She’s the best chance we have at actually letting me attend school again.”

Zoey’s not denying it, either… I leaned back in my chair, taking a moment to try and make sense of what she was saying.

My first thought is of that piece of advice that’s often given, about how you sometimes need to lie to medical professionals. I’ve told Zoey about that previously, and Flora seems to be close to her. If she’s trans and just wants to get back into school… no, that’s way too out there. Saying that you suddenly woke up one day as a girl–that’s not the sort of thing people say, in those circumstances. But all three of them seem serious about it… if it’s somehow true, though, I can’t really do anything about it, honestly.

“Presuming that what you say is true, and you really woke up one day like this, then can I assume that you haven’t seen a doctor yet?” I have no way of knowing if what she says is true, but right now my best option is probably to treat her as if she’s telling the truth. With no concrete proof, however, I can’t make decisions in any official capacity regarding her enrolment. 

“...no, not yet,” she replied, her eyes downcast. She really is acting as if she’s telling the truth. But still…

“Then that would be the next thing you need to do, as without proper proof of the circumstance, such as a doctors’ note, I can’t change your registered details.”

My gut twisted slightly as I tried to visualise Flora’s potential options for the future. I don’t know if this is honestly the right call, but without at least something to work off of, I can’t do anything from my position. Unfortunately, though, I don’t think any doctors are going to believe her… maybe if she pretends to be DIYing hormones,  she might be able to–

My train of thought was cut off as Emily stepped forward, taking a deep breath and locking eyes with me.

Her eyes look strange–is she wearing contacts?

“Would you believe us if you saw this?” Slowly reaching up, she lifted off her hood, revealing a sight that I could never have expected.

...fur? Furry ears–are they a costume? The fur looks so… lifelike.

Zoey immediately rushed to her side, excitedly looking at the furry ears on Emily’s head from every angle.

“Fox ears!” she exclaimed, a slightly manic look on her face. “Are they real?”

“Yup.”

Any possibility that the ears were simply a costume disappeared as Zoey reached out to poke Emily’s left fox ear. It twitched as she touched it, flicking back in a manner identical to that of a cat or dog. Emily flinched uncomfortably as she ran her fingers along the fur while babbling about how soft the fur was.

She’s not faking it. I can tell–I’ve seen people trying to fake those kinds of sensations. That’s real.

Emily stepped forward, locking eyes with me again as she tried to cover her ears, blocking Zoey from messing with the fur.

“Yesterday morning, Flora woke up as a girl. Today, I woke up with fox ears and a tail.” She lifted her dress up somewhat, exposing a large, furry tail, the same colour as her ears.

“We both saw similar dreams before transforming,” Flora added, hopping out of her chair to stand next to her.

“Is this enough proof for you?”

Emily’s eyes were deadly serious as she stared at me, and I flinched upon noticing why they looked strange.

Her pupils are–slit? They look like the eyes of a real fox… I don’t think she’s wearing contacts, either. It’s too difficult to get contacts like that here.

A slight headache began to form as I tried to make sense of their situation, keeping a lid on my emotions as best I can.

What happened to them was real… at this point, I don’t think I could plausibly deny it. What can I do… from my position, there’s not a lot of options.

I took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose briefly before turning back to the group.

“I don’t know if I can do anything immediately, especially without the proper documents. Come and see me tomorrow, all of you, and I’ll see what I can do.”

I need time to think about it. Hopefully a good night’s sleep will give me a few ideas.

“Sorry about all this,” Flora apologised, her eyes downcast. She looks like she’s placing all the blame on herself.

“No, don’t worry about it.” I tried to give her a gentle smile, doing everything I could to stop my emotions from showing. “It’s my job to help people like you out.”

As the three of them slowly walked out of my office in single file, Zoey turned back towards me and waved.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

 

As soon as the sound of their footsteps disappeared down the hallway, my brain kicked into overdrive. I leapt up out of my chair, locking the door to my office from the inside, before sitting back down at my computer and switching the monitor on.

What can I do to help them? I’m not sure I can get away with changing Flora’s details without any official documentation… can I forge a doctors' note? The school would probably regard that as a conflict of interest, though. I might be able to get Miriam to make one, then. If I either explain the situation–or lie and say that Flora DIYed hormones… I’d rather not lie to her, though.

Opening the student records on my computer, I scrolled through, trying to find Flora’s details.

The two of them looked so stressed–have they told anyone else about what happened? Emily’s situation is, well… awkward, but Flora’s circumstances could be outright dangerous. If she hasn’t told her family yet–does she have somewhere she can stay? Right now the only allies the two of them have are Zoey… and me.

Leaning back in my chair, I sighed, pondering my options.

Okay–tomorrow, I need to ask Flora about her home circumstances, and whether she’ll be safe. Emily, too–at a guess, she’ll either have to keep hiding her ears and tail, or somehow explain it to her family. I know Zoey’s had people crash at her place before, so if Flora isn’t safe at home, she might be able to stay there for a while.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I opened up a note-taking app, writing down my plan for tomorrow.

Right, first I need to make sure the two of them are safe. If either–or both of them can’t stay at home, they can go to Zoey’s place. Failing that, I can probably let one of them stay at my house. Next, I need to sort out Flora’s enrolment. The priority is getting a doctors’ note–without that, there’s not much I can do. My current options are to write one myself, or ask Miriam to. She trusts me enough that I might be able to get her to write it without asking too many questions, but it’s still a risk.

Right now, I think that’s all I can do to help them.

 

Despite spending so much time planning out what I could do to help them, all of my carefully laid plans were thrown out by a strange dream, and the appearance of two black, feathered wings on my back.

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