Orlando took a deep breath and held it and pressed his fingers into his temples. “Okay” he said, finally letting the air out of his lungs all at once. “Let me see if I got this right. Magic is real, and Eris is some kinda deity, or god, or whatever, and somehow she found herself 'bound' to you that day Sid knocked you into a display case and somehow when she was trying to heal you, you got turned into a girl. Have I got all that?”

Tyler gulped and nodded her head. Orlando didn’t seem to be taking the news all that well, and her worries grew even worse when he followed the question up with. “So, if she changed you once, she could do it again, right? Why not just go back?” Tyler felt her stomach tighten.

“I-. I don’t. Orlando, I don’t want to go back. This is me. I finally feel happy like this.”

Orlando sighed and slumped back into the seat of the bus. The only thing louder than the pothole the bus just ran over was Orlando’s silence. Thankfully, he didn’t press the argument any further and asked a different question, “So how did this happen in the first place?”

Eris chimed up for the first time in a bit. She clammed up quickly when other kids started to get on the bus, but seemed to relax as she realized everyone was too busy looking at their phones or sleeping to listen in. “I think I can help there. I’m not completely sure, but when I was healing her, I noticed the binding spell break.”

“What?” Tyler asked loudly. “Wait, if we’re not bound together, then why are you still stuck with me? You should be back to your own body, right?”

“I was getting to that, let me finish.” She admonished. “Anyway, while it is true, I felt the magical bond break, something else happened. I’m not sure what, but it feels like our souls combined a little. I think that’s why you also look a bit like me as well, and how you changed into a girl. Since you were able to access a bit of myself while I was performing a complicated spell, you altered it just a little and this is the result.”

“Wait, how would I even know how to do that, though?”

“I initially never thought that was a possibility because I was pretty sure it was impossible. I came to this guess when you did magic yesterday by accident. I think you have a natural talent for spell craft.”

“Natural talent? Why haven’t I accidentally done magic before this, then?”

“That’s where my guess hits a wall, and why I say it's just a guess. I think this world was cut off from magic somehow, and that’s why no one knows about it anymore. Talking with you, I’ve been able to find out that your written history only goes back a few hundred years and the ‘Dark Ages’ seem like it was able to lay the final semblances of magic in the minds of people to rest. Or at least it happened around that time, I think. It lines up anyway. As for your question about why I’m not back in my body again, the answer is quite simple. My body, or at least what you would call a body, died when I was sealed away. I could make a new one, but I wouldn’t be able to use it without breaking our connection, and I don’t know what would happen if I did that. I’d rather not risk it.”

Tyler was a little shocked to hear that. She didn’t know her friend had essentially died back then. She worried once more about her newest friend and how much she must have gone through all those years.

Between the two girls, Orlando was completely zoned out, and Tyler noticed he'd been quiet this whole time. “Orlando?” Tyler asked meekly, “Are you okay?”

Orlando chuckled a little, but the laugh held no joy. “Not really. I just found out the best friend I had a crush on since freshman year is a girl.”

Tyler sulked a little at that. Her worst fears seemed to be coming true, and they’re not even at the school yet. Her brain finished misfiring at the rejection when she realized what he had finished saying. “Wait. You had a crush on me?” Tyler could feel a little warmth spread to her cheeks.

“Yeah.” He said and turned a little to her. “Yeah, I was going to ask you this year, but I was still working up the courage to come out and ask. Not that it matters now.”

“Why wouldn’t it matter now?” Tyler was feeling such a strange whirlwind of emotions. From fear of rejection, nervousness at how poorly her friend was taking the news of magic being real as well has her being a girl, giddiness from realizing the feelings were mutual and dread for what he might say next. Would he hate her for being a girl? She hadn’t even realized it was a possibility until very recently, and she desperately hoped this wouldn’t also ruin their friendship.

“I’m gay, Tyler.” Orlando said with a finality in his voice.

“Oh.” was her only response. All the swirling emotions in her head suddenly cleared like a fog, and she was left with only the numb feeling you get right on the edge of waking up from a head cold. She couldn’t even figure out what to say next.

“I was so worried how you were going to take it that I couldn’t bring it up.” Orlando confessed.

Tyler thought back to the only time she ever went over to Orlando’s house. His parents seemed fine at first, but she realized over the course of the evening that they were anything but. They always found a way to criticize anything and everything. She remembered how they were made to say a lengthy prayer before and after dinner, and how the only TV they were able to watch was parent locked to some religious channel or other. When she thought of how Orlando would be terrified to tell his own parents, she started crying. Slowly and quietly at first, then all at once the tears ran down her face.

“Tyler? Are you okay?” Orlando asked.

“What did you do to her?” Demanded Eris.

“I didn’t do anything!” Orlando defended himself.

“That doesn’t look like you didn’t do anything.”

“Honestly, Eris, I swear I didn’t do anything!” Orlando pleaded.

Tyler wanted to tell her friends she was fine, that she was sorry his parents were so horrible, that she’s sorry in ways she’s not sure how to express or even why she was sorry in the first place, but she found her voice caught in her throat as she tried to hold back a sob. Instead, the only sound she could make came out as a small, high-pitched hiccup. Giving up on speech, she opted to just hug her friend.

Eris and Orlando shared a worried expression as Tyler’s efforts to comfort her friend turned into needing to be comforted herself.

◊◊◊

It was another beautiful Fall morning, and Art took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. The air here was crisp and clear during fall, though he was starting to shiver a bit and dreaded the coming winter months. He was already in his navy-blue parka despite everyone around him on the streets wearing a long sleeve t-shirt and pants, and decided he’d have to buy some long johns for underneath his jeans. The door opened and interrupted his train of thought.

“Art! So glad you could make it again today.” Cathy chirped happily. She held the door open for him, and he walked inside.

“Of course I came. Your cookies yesterday were to die for.”

“I’m glad you liked them so much. Don’t worry about the cold weather, you get used to it quickly enough. The first year is always the hardest.” She held out her hand for his coat and put it up in the small closet next to the front door.

“Speaking from experience?”

“I am. My family used to live down in Louisiana when I was a girl before we moved up here.”

“What a coincidence, my mother’s side comes from up there. Or I suppose from down there now.”

“Oh, that is a funny coincidence. What part does she hail from?”

“The southern parts, though I’m not sure from where, exactly. I got a good share of onions and celery growing up, that’s for sure.”

Cathy laughed at his small joke and motioned for him to follow to the kitchen, where they sat down to a pot of tea ready to drink and two cups set out. She had called Art over for tea early this morning and said that today she didn’t have any late afternoon classes, so instead they were having late afternoon tea. Art immediately picked up another one of the small cookies and enjoyed the flavor as he enjoyed a sip of tea. Cathy hadn’t moved yet, instead leaning over the table onto her hands and watched Arts movements. She wore a friendly smirk.

“Something on my face?” Art asked and used a napkin to wipe his mouth. It came away clean.

“No, sorry. It was not my intention to stare, but did you know you blush when you’re enjoying what you’re eating?”

Art did not know that. He coughed into a fist to try and clear the blush, but it didn’t seem to do much. “I uh. I did not.” He took a sip of his tea to calm down and followed up with, “I don’t suppose you asked me over just to tease me?”

Cathy’s smile warmed a little, “No Art, I wanted to know how you’re doing. Matthew told me a lot about how you were doing when he first arrived, and it sounded grim. No offense. I’m glad to see you looking healthy now, though you are still on the skinny side.”

Art scratched the side of his face with his index finger as he thought about that. She must be asking now instead of at the tea party, so he wouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about himself in front of his brother, and he didn’t really like thinking about that time in the first place. “I’m doing well, thank you for asking. I sorta let myself go, and I sort of feel bad to have pushed Matt into an early retirement over such a small thing.”

“I figured that was the reason. You know he made plans to move down there the minute he learned how you were doing on your own? Matthew wasn’t even planning on retiring last year. And I especially don’t think he would consider that a small thing, though knowing him he’d also say it wasn’t anything big either.”

Art smiled at that and remembered back to when they were kids. They had just broken a window playing ball out by the park, and Matthew took all the blame and even apologized for them both to the lady who owned the house. Later, he bought Art an ice cream on the way home. He felt a little embarrassed that he was always bailed out by his older brother, but also enjoyed the warmth of those memories. “Matt’s always been a good kid. Not like me at all.” Art chuckled.

“The way you phrase that, you sound like the older one.” Cathy smiled, and her voice made it clear she was teasing again.

Art smiled back. “Of course! If you’ve ever been the youngest of three, you gotta find little ways to needle at the others.”

Their banter faded quickly though when Cathy asked, “Youngest of three? I don’t think Matthew ever mentioned having a third sibling.”

“Ah.” Art replied, “Yeah, I can see why. He took the loss of Haley hard. I was young enough that I don’t remember her much. Just pieces of memories. She was the oldest of all of us by a number of years, and she loved to tease me.”

Cathy’s smile had long faded, and she only wore a pained expression. “I’m sorry for your loss. She sounded like a good big sister.”

“She was.” Art said and then tried changing the subject.

“How was work today? Matthew said he had a few things to take care of last night.”

“Work today was a little hectic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Matthew raise his voice to anyone, but the way he gave the principal a verbal lashing was a sight to behold. He was probably saving up all the anger from the years he couldn’t tell Mr. Wakefield off. He complained about him a lot back then.”

“That sounds like the Matt I know, alright. He always tended to be the protective type. What did he say to him?”

“I don’t quite remember exactly, but he mentioned something about a ‘ceaseless bulk of mindless crass’, and something about him being a ‘homunculus of bigotry’” Cathy did some small air quotes around each phrase that Art found endearing.

Art snorted as he tried to keep from laughing the tea out of his nose. “Ha! Did it work, though? Did they fix things for Tyler?”

“Oh, you know, Tyler? I didn’t know you two met. Yes, the system was updated that day.”

“Mhmm” Art replied affirmatively while finishing his last sip of tea. “We went over to the Underwood’s late the evening after we arrived in town. She’s a good kid.”

“That she is. I didn’t know she could be so animated during class. Normally, it seems like it takes all her effort just to show up, but today it seemed like she was doing well.”

“Yeah. It must be a nice feeling. Getting to finally be yourself.”

“What?” Cathy asked, a little shocked.

“What?” Art asked. Confused.