I waved to David and his magical silent electric car after being dropped back to Cherrygrove. The black machine quietly vanished between the gate posts of the car park. I let out a sigh. Today had been stressful, and whilst getting some disability benefits was great. I'm still inherently worried about the media. I really want to stay out of the spotlight for now.

I turned back towards the dorms and made my way inside, only to be greeted by Erina who was sitting on one of the sofas, listening to music with earphones in. She hadn’t noticed me walk in so I drop into a crouch, silently moving around behind the fish tank behind her. I wanted to surprise her with a hug. Ignoring the odd looks from some of the other people, and the fish, I moved forwards until I was about a foot away. She seemed to be really into the music, which I could faintly hear was one of the songs I had recommended to her.

I get ready to pounce, one particular fish giving me the stink eye from behind. Then I launch myself at her, wrapping my arms around her soft chest.

*POP*

I’m tumbling over and over, floor-ceiling-floor-ceiling until I hit the chair opposite on the other side of the room. I feel dazed, unable to gain my bearings. I hear a gasp from somewhere in the room. “Nurse!” and then heavy footsteps reverberate the floor, heading away and towards the Nurse’s office. After a couple of moments I realised what I’d managed to do to myself.

My head had detached and kept on going, nearly becoming a projectile that had impacted the soft plush chair. I was lucky to have not hit a wall. My body was still hugging a stunned Erina.

“Sylvie!” she seems to recover from her shock and wriggles out of my body’s limp embrace, which then collapses into a heap behind where she was sitting. She stands and rushes over to my head. “What were you thinking?” I pout at her, embarrassed by my body falling apart again…

She places me down on the chair and goes to pick my body up off the floor, which she manages easily, with an arm under my legs and another under my back. I didn’t know it was possible to be jealous of your own body.

She sets it down next to me just as Nurse Jousset appears.

“Oh Sylvie not again..” The Nurse picks up my head and places it on my neck stump, which quickly heals together again, restoring my motor functions. I immediately duck my head.

“I’m sorry! I just wanted to surprise Erina with a hug! Sorry for scaring anyone” Some of the onlookers went away but a few remain, including a girl that I think had gone to fetch Nurse Jousset. There was something off about her, I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“You know that is a recipe for an accident like this Sylvie” Nurse Jousset scolds me. “Can you run through some movement routines for me. Your body had a fall so I want to know if anything is alright” I nod, moving out into the open and doing some stretches. Nothing untoward happens. She sighs and does a hand gesture for me to stop. “Be more careful please Sylvie. Anyway, I have another new student I’d like you to meet. This is Maeve, she is a Dullahan, of irish descent” The girl, who I now notice has a metal collar that appears to connect her head to her body gives me an energetic wave.

“Hi there! The Nurse has told me all about you” she has a wide grin that seems to come naturally to her, a bit like a carved pumpkin, her bright ginger hair not helping dissuade that impression. I nod and give her a small wave back.

“Also…” Nurse Jousset turns and pokes Erina in the rib, or tries to. I guess Erina was built too tough for that.

“Oh! Yes yes! In all that I couldn’t say it. I’m moving into the dorm too Sylvie. We’ll be neighbours!” she bounces forwards and hugs me gently. Just long enough for a knowing look to develop on Maeve’s face. The older Nurse coughs loudly.

“Er-hem One other thing Sylvie. I think I have come up with a solution to the Leo situation. Or rather at least a temporary push back to one of the problems regarding it. I’m going to go on a home visit and I’d quite like you to come with me Sylvie, Erina you should probably be there too”

“Sounds good, have you got permission from the Principal for it?” Erina asks, seperating from me slowly.

“Working on it, I’ll get back to you on that. Right, I'll leave you lot to it” she strolls off back in the direction of her office.

“How far are you two moved in?” I ask, breaking up the momentary silence that had developed.

“My stuff is being dropped off this evening sometime, after my parents are done at work” Maeve shrugs, “They’re pretty busy people so I don’t know when exactly that’ll be”

“I’ve not moved in yet either. I only just got the paperwork signed and submitted today. I’m really excited that we can see each other more often now” she does a little excited skip forwards, which was adorable.

“So are you two...that way? I guess” Maeve asks, with a curious look.

“I...suppose so. She saved my life”

“Oh?” she tilts her head slightly like an inquisitive animal, if not for the collar she’d probably be at a 45 degree angle, her grin returns.

“Its a-uh-long story” Erina coughs, her cheeks turning pink.

“We’ll tell you up in my room, if you want to hang out Maeve?”

“Sure! Why not?”

***

I scan my ID on the door and let Maeve and Erina in, Erina quickly grabs the beanbags out of the closet and places them down. “Maeve you into video games? Sylvie has a lot”

“Uh, sure! I’m not very good though” I close the door behind them.

“No worries, you can just play through some of the singleplayer stuff. I don’t think I can hold myself back. I know them too much” Erina nods

“I can play with you too, she likes old games” the dragon girl says, throwing herself on one of the beanbags. “Ones I’m not used to, I should see if I can get her a new console”

“You don’t need to do that!” I blush. I pull open a cupboard underneath the TV and the consoles. “Take your pick of these” A large variety of games stacked up, amongst some books and DVDs from the time. Maeve leans in and plucks a few.

“I think I recognise some of these, my older brother likes them”

“A man of fine taste” I attempt a chuckle but that just ended up in a gurgling noise. “Sorry...I still can’t speak…”

“Oh-uh, no worries. Guess you can only moan and groan? Like in the movies?” I flinch slightly, I don’t think she has much of a filter.

“Uh yeah. I guess so. I used to be able to sing, it was my main passion”
“Mind if I relax a bit?”

“Go ahead, Erina already has made herself well at home”

“Hey!” she looks up from her phone. “It basically is my home now! You know you don’t mind it either” she leans back to hide her blushing face, only to end up tumbling backwards off the beanbag. “I’m okay! I’m okay” She quickly crawls back onto the beanbag, face even redder. I turn on the console and place the disc from the game Maeve chose. I handed her a controller and placed the other in my pocket whilst I used the tablet.

“Scooch over Erina”

“Oh right, she shifts over and we sit on the beanbag together, her bigger chest brushing against my arm. I place the controller on her lap. “Oh no, I just had a great idea. You can have the controller Sylvie”

“But?”

“No buts girl. Its yours”

I started up the game and hit multiplayer, with the typical split screen setup of the period. I selected a track and a kart, leaving Maeve to peruse the options and eventually pick hers. It took until turn one of the track for Erina’s plan to unfold, unbeknownst to me her tail had snuck around behind me and was poised to strike. I was halfway through the drift, already in the lead when she began to tickle me, causing me to drop the controller on my skirt and thrive about.

“Grrrraaaaahhahaarrr” I tapped out and she picked up the controller, I had fallen to last and was sitting in the grass off the track. She began to drive. I wasn’t having that. It was my controller! I grabbed her tail and began to tickle back. She had declared a war that she wasn't equipped to win!