Working Together

Riding my bike turned out to be a mistake. Some jackass decided I was in the wrong for being in the center of the lane, instead of right next to the cars parked on the side that could open their doors at any time and kill me.

Before the Change, that stuff really got to me on a physical level. I would get so angry that it would feel like the only way to make things right was to break something. It was a deeply unpleasant feeling. Now, I feel more like crying than shouting.

I digress. I had forgotten about the promised text message when Jessica sent it. "Hi Noelle, this is Jessica from class. Montana says he can't work together this weekend. Are you free to meetup?"

I was dismayed by how she spelled my name, but I shrugged it off. Probably just autocorrect, I thought.

I looked over at my inanimate computer. Ordinarily, I probably would have said no and made up some excuse. But it was the only easy way to get away from my awkward home life.

I sighed. "Ok how about 10 tomorrow" I replied.

"Sounds good. Do you want to meet at the library?"

"Shore" I started typing, before shaking my head. We weren't quite to the level of puns just yet. "Sure" I finally replied.

It was a quiet and fast night of avoiding my father and stepmother. I ate a can of beef ravioli in my room and went to bed early. That didn't mean I woke up early, however. My sleep was intermittent and fitful. I took one of my patented showers in the dark, threw on some old, baggy clothes and walked toward the library.

When I got there, it was just before ten. I texted Jessica that I was there. There was no reply, so I figured she was traveling.

About ten minutes later, I saw Jessica turn the corner, slithering in my direction. It was slightly unnerving, but I held my own. She had a satchel tied to her body just below her head. Most interestingly, her head was close to the ground, in contrast from her usual regal appearance. The straight face of a reptile made it hard to tell, but her posture alone made her almost look sad.

"Hello," she sighed as she approached. I could tell there was definitely a sour taste in her mouth.

I pursed my lips. It was hard to broach the subject. Not to mention that I had few words of encouragement to give. I nodded. "Let's get computers."

The librarian at the front desk set us up with computers using our school ID's.

I sat down in the chair, my tail folding uncomfortably under me. I grimaced and fiddled around with it, trying to lace it through the area under the arm of the chair.

Jessica forewent a chair entirely. She held her head up to the screen, scrunched her body up into a W on the floor and pecked at the keys with her own dexterous tail. It was a strange and somewhat amusing sight. Again, the fluidity of her motions made me think it had always been this way.

I unintentionally stared at her, failing to get to work. She noticed before I did. "Need sss—something?"

"Ah, no, sorry," I said, flustered. She turned back to the computer.

It was a normal work session. We whispered to each other, asking for opinions about our sections—the asking being mostly me, as she seemed to have it under control. Montana was MIA, but we figured we would worry about it later.

And then, our work came to a natural conclusion. It was just past one. I was surprised how the hours had flown by.

"Well, I'm basically done with my section, I think," Jessica said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "What now?"

"We have to practice. But let's do that tomorrow or Monday."

"Okay," I said.

She went to log out of her computer. But I realized I wasn't ready to go. There was little for me at home. Carelessly, I asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

She hesitated. "Why do you ask?"

"You… uhm… seemed sad earlier—when you got here, I mean."

"Oh," she said with a huff.

"Sorry," I said reflexively.

"No, it's alright."

"Uh… you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Sorry."

She said nothing nor made any motion for a long time. She was stiller than any human I'd ever seen. Which made sense, because she was a snake. Finally, she broke the silence. "It's just… people… treat me differently now."

"I know what you mean so much," I divulged emphatically. "Ah… sorry."

Her eyelids parted ever so slightly. It looked like she was trying to smile. "Yeah. I mean, so many people are just… scared of me,” she said, looking past me. "Even my friends."

"That's terrible," I tried supporting her.

"You?"

I was glad for my blood red skin for once as it could hide my impending blush. "People… treat me like… a girl, I guess."

"I'm guilty of that myself," she admitted shyly. "I didn't know you really before the Transformation. It's honestly hard to think of you any other way."

"I can tell," I said snarkily. "Eh—sorry, I think that might have come out wrong."

"No, it's fine."

"Oh, and my name is spelled N-o-e-l, by the way."

Jessica's eyes widened in fault. "Oh."

"So that wasn't autocorrect?" I teased. Luckily, I was able to find the humor in it.

"Oh, uh, yeah, it was totally autocorrect," she joked. "Darn thing!"

It was nice, that little bit of extra we shared. But I was far too awkward to try extending it myself. "Well, I'm sorry people have been sucky. I always thought snakes were kind of cool," I boasted.

"Really now?" she patronized.

I was starting to realize how corny I sounded. "Uh… yeah."

"Thanks," she said sincerely.

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Well, until we realized we were headed in the same direction. "What street do you live on?" she asked me.

"Uh… Belmont," I recalled.

"Oh, we're pretty close then. I'm on Jackson."

"Oh, cool," I said, having no clue where Jackson street or avenue or whatever was.

And then, we actually said our goodbyes as we approached a corner. In all, it was a good day.