The little café/sandwich shop that Jen led me to was definitely quaint. The brick storefront stood out from the sleeker glass and steel stores around it, and the bricked in patio dining area that took up a small amount of sidewalk space in front of it was well decorated with antique tables and chairs, and accentuated by various small topiaries. Inside, it was nice and warm, and smelled like great food. Jen and I ordered from a somewhat hefty man at the counter, and I wondered just where his facial hair ended, and his mouth began. I couldn’t even see his mouth moving while he was talking to us. Crazy, right?

The man with the talking beard handed us a table marker and told us our order would be brought to us, so Jen and I found a nice table by the window and took a seat. A few other tables were occupied by people that seemed to be local workers on lunch breaks, and a comfortable level of chatter filled the space.

“You seem much more relaxed after your massage, Kat.” Jen said, grinning at me.

“What? Uh. Yeah. Right, it was great, thanks Jen,”.I smiled uneasily. Was I more relaxed? Had I relaxed too much? Was I enjoying this girls day after all? Gotta be more aware. I straightened up in my seat a bit. Aware. Yeah. No more going with the flow for this girl.

...Guy! Dangit! 

“Think you’ll be ready to tackle the rigors of school tomorrow? It’s your first time back in a few years, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah… I haven’t been to school in ages. I don’t even know how I qualify, to be honest. I think I skipped all of middle school due to being, yknow, homeless.”

“I’m sure the Bureau is pulling strings, and from what I saw of your course schedule it seems they have you in remedial classes for every subject.” Jen tapped a nail on the table as she talked. I get the feeling she’s annoyed by that. Is it because she feels like I haven’t earned a spot in real school? I mean, she’s probably not wrong…

“Well… It’s only for three days, right? Then I won’t be around to bother the normal kids anymore.” 

“Don’t say things like that, Kat.” Jen said, her tone suddenly severe. Crap, now she really is mad at me.

“Sorry.” I apologized lamely.

“Just because you’re at a disadvantage in one way doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy of being around other people, Kat.” Jen said firmly, taking my hand in hers. “Understand? You are just as worthy as any other person.” 

I… but… I’m… I’m supposed to be worthless. People only throw things without value away. How could I be worthy of being with others?

“Kat.” She gives my hand another squeeze, pulling my mind back to the present. “Stay with me girl… You deserve this chance.”

I feel my eyes tearing up again. Dang It… I’m really, really not interested in crying in this little restaurant in front of a bunch of people. I manage to choke it back this time with only a couple tears escaping before I quickly wipe them away.

Jen smiles, and pats my hand in hers. “Now no more of that… It’s our first girls day, and you’re looking cute, about to have some delicious lunch, and who knows where we’ll go from here!”

I laughed to spite myself, and forced a smile. “Yeah… Thanks, Jen.”

“You’re welcome, hon. I know a little something about feeling worthless. You can talk to me, okay?”

I nod again. Maybe I can trust her? I want to trust her. I want to tell her that I’m terrified that this is all going to go away. That she’s going to get bored of me some day and get rid of me.

Just as I grasp for the words to approach that topic, a young guy who looks like a miniature version of the talking beard behind the counter approaches the table.

“Heeeere you go, Ladies!” he says, before he takes a quick step back.

I smile and thank him, as does Jen, and he offers a quiet “you’re welcome,” but his gaze lingers on me. My eyes meet with his, for a moment. Wow, they’re a really pretty shade of green. I feel my face start to heat, and quickly avert my gaze to the suddenly much more interesting topic of everything on my plate, and anything but his eyes.

I shift uncomfortably. Was he checking me out? Why are guys suddenly checking me out all the time, now? It’s not like I’m cute or anything. Wait a second. Was I checking him out too?

Nah. It was just his eyes. I didn’t even really notice anything else about him.

If he notices he doesn’t comment on it, and he hurries away to tend on other tables. Jen chuckles from across the table. “Well well… A certain young lady is popular.” She teased, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. 

I didn’t have a reasonable retort beyond the ever eloquent ‘shut up’, so instead I just shoved my own sandwich into my mouth to avoid the entire situation. Thankfully for my sanity, she let the topic drop and we returned to more casual things - like if I was excited to do anything fun today when we got home. I mentioned my experiences with the game I had played, and wanting to see a bit more of that story. She seemed pretty excited about that, and we talked back and forth about the story so far, until we were ready to leave.

Jen motioned for Son of Beard, who quickly brought her our check. When Jen picked it up, I noticed a smaller slip of paper was left on the table in its wake. I picked it up, thinking it might be something to give Jen as part of the bill, but there was only a simple handwritten note scrawled on it.

‘You’re very pretty. Call me. ~Charlie.’ He apparently had an interesting way of asking a girl out. I rolled my eyes and was about to crumple the note into a ball when Jen deftly snagged it from my hands.

“Hey!” I reached back for it, but she kept it out of reach, laughing softly. She read it quickly, and then smiled knowingly at me, before letting me seize it back.

“Cute, Kat… You have an admirer. You going to call him?” she teased.

“What?!” I was blushing again. What the heck, face!? “No! I mean, I don’t even have a phone.”

“But if you did…?” she leaned into the question.

“Uh- I- I don’t know! No!” I fumbled to save myself. He definitely wasn’t my type. I mean. Who goes for a guy that hits on girls at his job, anyway?! Definitely not me. I’m not that kind of girl.

Wait! Not what I meant! Forget that!

He did say I was pretty, though…

Ugh, no, bad Kat, stop it!

Jen stood and went to pay while I collected my fragmented sense of calm before joining her.

“You gave me an idea about what we need to do next though, so thanks for that!” Jen smiled as we started walking back towards where we had left her car parked.

“Oh?” Was she going to suggest some other ridiculously girly outing?

“I’m going to get you a phone. I won’t have my girl running around without a cell in case of emergencies. Besides…  How will you ever keep up with your friends on Snipchat and Binstagram without one?” She nudged me lightly, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of me of all people, the homeless gi— boy, owning a phone. 

==========

When we made it home that late afternoon early evening, I was the proud owner of a new oPhone. I rather liked the pastel blue color of the phone itself, but we put it in a case to protect it - which hid most of the base color. Why even bother having a base color then? Anyway, the case was black with a cool sort of punk rock gamer aesthetic that Jen picked out. I like it, even if there is some kind of low-key girliness to some of the designs. She’d also insisted on getting me a “Clutch” bag to keep in my backpack. Which we also stopped and picked up. The backpack was pretty gender neutral, so I was happy about that. The clutch definitely wasn’t though. I mean, it’s kinda hard to get a gender neutral purse, I guess.

I can’t believe I own a purse. A week ago I didn’t even own pants without holes in the pockets. Anyway, I guess I’m supposed to keep my phone and some money in it. Jen gave me $100 from my Bureau stipend (I guess I get one of those, whatever that is?) to spend on lunches and ‘anything else I want’ during school. Whatever that means. Who the heck needs $100 at school? Freaking rich kids.

Wait. Am I a rich kid now? Is Jen rich? If she… if she keeps me, am I rich by extension?

Since we grabbed dinner while we were out shopping, there’s not much else to do now that we’re home. I shower first, Jen goes second, and we settle in to watch a movie. It’s nearly 10 when Jen reaches over and taps my arm.

“Time for bed, kid.”

“Huh?” I blink, looking over at her. Nobody has told me to go to bed since… mom. I wince at the memory. 

“It’s a school night. Gotta get to bed so you can get up early.” She smiled and motioned to the hallway. “Make sure you brush your teeth and all that.”

“Yeah…” I stand in a bit of a daze, but before I can get away from the couch I feel a light slap across my butt, and let out a decidedly not manly yelp. Turning and shielding my backside, Jen is laughing and shoots me a good natured smile.

“Goodnight, Kat. See you in the morning. I’ll give you a ride to school until you figure out the bus schedule.”

“R-right… Thanks.” Still rubbing the spot on my butt I head back to my room. I don’t know why that smack stings so much. I’ve had way worse before now. Meh.

I nearly swing right into my room and then remember the mention of brushing my teeth, and go to the bathroom to do so. It’s still weird having my own toothbrush in someone’s bathroom… in a place that could be my bathroom, too. I go through the motions of brushing, rinsing, and then because my body complains, going to the toilet, before heading to bed. 

I guess I’m going back to school tomorrow. To high school. I haven’t been in school since I was 11. Five years ago.

I’m sure this will go perfectly with no problems at all.

==========

I’m standing in front of a familiar building. The tree house sitting in the tree, still half finished. One of the guys my mom was dating at some point started building it to try and win me over. When they broke up, it stayed half finished. I was 8. The front door was still dark green, with the patch of missing paint around the numbers. I felt myself crossing the lawn, then up the uneven wooden stairs to the porch. The telltale squeak of the board in front of the door hadn’t changed. I grabbed the handle and turned, stepping inside. I don’t remember where I’m coming home from, just that I’m coming home. 

Mom is standing there in the kitchen, wearing her favorite apron that she always wears when she makes Friday Leftover Surprise. I run up and hug her around the waist from behind, and she laughs.

“Woah, kiddo…” a man says. I feel a hand on my head, and he pushes me away not so gently. “I thought we said no hugging, right?” He looks like mom, but not. Bigger, broader, blockier. He has her reddish brown hair, and stubble that matches. Her green eyes look so out of place set into his face. I don’t like it. I don’t like him. I take a step back, and he rolls his eyes. He turns back to the fridge and grabs a beer, popping the cap off and tossing it into the sink instead of the trash. Mom wouldn’t do that. Mom didn’t even drink beer.

I feel my eyes stinging, and I take a step away from him. I won’t let him see me cry.

“Hey, kid, I’m heading out for a few days in the morning. You can take care of yourself, right? I’ll leave a couple bucks on the table to get yourself a pizza or something. Try not to burn the place down. Or go for it, if you want, I guess.” He shrugged and slunk off to the living room, clicking the TV on and blasting the volume.

I run upstairs, shoes slapping the stairs. Mom said not to wear shoes in the house, but mom is gone. I slam my door behind me and throw myself into bed, crying.

Time seems to fly, and someone is knocking at the door downstairs. I’m so hungry. All the food in the house is gone, or it makes me sick if I eat it. Shuffling from the living room to the front door, I see our neighbor, Mrs. Evans. I like her. She makes cookies sometimes. She’s really old though.

“Hello, dear… Is your mother home?” she asks.

I shake my head slowly. “Mom changed. She’s ‘Dad’ now. Dad left.”

She looks confused. “What do you mean, sweetheart?” She clutches at her necklaces.

“Mom became a boy, so… Dad. Dad left.” 

“The… Oh my…” She says, fidgeting more with her necklaces. “Are you all alone in there, dear?”

I nod. “Dad’s been gone since Halloween…”

She gasps softly. “Honey… It’s almost Thanksgiving… Have you been alone all this time?”

I nod again, and she frowns harder.

“Do you want to come with me, honey? I have some fresh cookies just baked this morning…”

I nod. I’m really hungry, and she makes really good cookies. I’m really hungry.

She takes my hand and walks me away from the house. I won’t go back there again.

Mrs. Evans promises she’ll take care of me, but it’s a lie. She makes a bunch of calls on her phone.

The next day, people will come for me. A nice lady in a suit. Except she takes me away to the orphanage, so maybe she’s not so nice. I didn’t like the orphanage. I didn’t like the people they sent me to live with.

That’s why I ran. That’s why I always run.

If you run, you get to choose when you leave. You don’t have to watch them leave you.