After a while, I shimmied out from under the computer. I couldn't stay under there forever, I knew that, and I'd need to talk to Henri eventually if I wanted to ever see Missy again instead of just living in the small, hidden places of my former room. I carefully walked around the tower to the front of the desk to see Henri hugging her knees to her chest and staring at my old dollhouse, a single doll in the middle of the floor in front of it. She'd calmed down a little since her meltdown, and was just looking at the doll, rocking back and forth slightly, her breaths uneven and catching from her freakout.
I turned on my tablet, still looking at Henri, and opened the message from Kensey. She'd sent the address and time of the 'hot tub party', and had asked (practically begged) me to come. She really needed more help easing into her new life, and if I could be there for her, I wanted to be. Henri was scaring me a lot, but she had kind of proved that she wouldn't hurt me, even if she was trying to convince herself otherwise for some reason, so I just had to trust she'd be stable if I showed myself...
"Uh, H-Henri?" I said, my voice wavering.
Her breath caught and her head snapped around, not looking at me, but still focusing on me. Her breathing quickened and I rushed to keep talking before she decided to grab me or something.
"Kensey w-wanted us to come to a party for her tonight, I- she needs our help, and I'd like to go, please..." I said quickly
Henri slowly rotated until she was looking at me, her face expressionless.
"...I thought you... ran away?" she said, unsure
"I was hiding from you." I said "You scared me, Henri."
"I- I- you said- you like scary, though..."
"I like it when Missy plays with me, sometimes." I said, sitting down on the edge of the desk "Not when my supposed friend is trying to sexually assault me or throwing my stuff around the room trying to find me."
"I was- it was not sexual!" Henri protested
"Then why did you stop?" I asked harshly "If there was nothing wrong with undressing me by force, why did you start crying?"
I was pushing harder than was really wise, but I really didn't want that to happen again...
Henri clenched her teeth and her hands balled up into fists.
"You are so frustrating!" she said, shaking her head "I try so hard, I do things I do not like, I make myself be who you say you like, and then you say I did it all wrong and you run away and hate me? For doing what I thought you wanted?"
"Why would I want you to strip me?!" I asked incredulously "When have I ever implied I wanted that?"
"You want a bully!" she yelled back, waving her hands "You just want to be bullied! You're so insecure and sad that the only way you can imagine being with someone is if they treat you like trash! I can do that, I can treat you like trash!"
I hugged the tablet to my chest, her words stinging. Was I really only with Marissa because I thought I 'deserved' her? I liked Marissa, it couldn't just be my insecurities, right?
"...I'm not... that insecure..."
"You are." she said, sounding exhausted "Please, Klein Fee, just... let me bully you, ok? Let me be the person you need..."
"That's what this all is?" I asked "All the talk of cutting my leg off, making me disappear, faking my death, trying to force me into the shower, it was so I'd see you as a bully because that's what you think I need in a partner?"
"It is what you need." she said sadly "You need someone to bite you and to squish you and to be rough and bossy. I have seen how you cuddle up to Marissa whenever she is being horrible to someone, you like it."
"...I like it when she does it." I said "It makes me feel safe, somehow."
"Then let me make you feel safe, ok?" Henri asked, crawling up to me on her knees "I have tried everything I know to get you to love me, this is all I have left..."
"Henri, I just don't love you." I said plainly "I thought I maybe could at one point, but after everything, I just don't ever see that being possible."
She stared at me, her eyes dry and her face plain. I swallowed and shifted in place, had she not heard me? Or was she planning something?... Her blue eyes watched me, tracing me up and down, soaking me in. I tried not to squirm, why wasn't she saying anything? Should I say something? Was she waiting on me to keep talking?
"...Well." she said after an eternity "I cannot accept that. I am going to keep trying, Amber."
I groaned, slightly relieved she'd finally answered "Henri, I'm dating someone, You can't just 'not accept' that, it's a fact, and what's more, if I really do 'need a bully' like you think, your subby ass is the worst possible option."
"I can fake it!" she protested "And you will break up with her eventually, I can wait."
"You can't fucking fake it!" I shouted "You trying to fake it almost made me call the cops on you, and you know how much I hate the cops!"
"Ugh, fine!" she said "Then we do it the other way, you are insecure, and I was supposed to help with that by being your maid, right? So you bully me! Just- bully me and be mean and I will just take it and you'll get more secure and be happy, with me!"
"You were supposed to be my maid because you weren't treating me like a human, not because I'm 'insecure', what?"
"...That is the same thing." she said, frowning
"You just want me to bully you because of your kinks." I said
"Ja, no, wow, really?" Henri said sarcastically, her eyes widening "You are a tiny psychologin or something, aren't you?"
"Can we just be normal? Please?" I begged "I can even ask Missy if she'd be ok domming you or something, and I can be there too to keep you company? But me and you, can we please just be normal?"
Henri fell over with a thump, and my heart jumped as the cheaply made desk rocked at her impact, threatening to knock me off "...I am just so tired, Klein Fee, I just... I just want to forget the whole thing... The confession, competing with Marissa for you, trying to find ways for you to love me... I just want it all to be over..."
"Me too." I sighed "Can we just be friends for now? Until you give me back to Marissa at least? Just drop all this, and stop trying?"
"...Ja, that is ok with me." Henri said "I am so tired.. Mm, I- mm... What were you trying to ask me about a minute ago?"
"Ah, um, Kensey wanted to invite us over to Quince's house for a party so it's not just her and the girls..."
"I do not have the energy for that..." Henri said "When is it?"
"She wanted us to get there in like three hours..."
"...Ok, I will get a nap in, and pick up an energy drink on the way. I will bring you."
"Thank you..." I said, feeling like I'd just run a marathon myself "She really needs us there, I appreciate you taking me."
"Ja, whatever, just... do not expect me to talk much." Henri said, her voice hollow.
She got up and poked on her phone, setting an alarm, and got onto the bed, rolling up in the blankets once again. I fought off a yawn and glanced at my little case. The bed wasn't the most comfortable, but it'd do for a quick nap. I'd stayed up listening to Missy breathe most of the night, so I should get some rest too... I grabbed some of my extra clothes to use as blankets, and stepped into the case to get some rest.
~~~
We stood in front of the giant house, looking up. It was the exact opposite of Marissa's house in almost every way but the size. Where hers was a sleek, sharp, grey toned example of modern design, this one spoke of opulence and showmanship. The walls were white with gold accents, there were pillars on either side of the door, and the whole thing was lit up with yellow lights to give it a 'pop' against the night sky. It was borderline garish, but not to the point it looked tacky, it came across as... bragging, if anything.
"What is this unholy mix?" Henri whispered, aghast "It is all the worst parts of a temple styled neo-clasical design slapped onto a french renaissance base, this is... an affront..."
"I'm guessing they designed it themselves?" I asked "It looks impressive at least."
Henri snorted "Maybe to someone who didn't grow up in a beautiful Bavarian gothic revival styled manor. I love big fancy homes, and this one is even more disappointing than the Lund home."
"...You don't have to make fun of me for being poor, you know." I said, feeling hurt
She glanced at me, her eyes wide "I did not! I- oh... I see, yes. I am sorry, I was not thinking..."
"...ok." I said "Let's just go in."
She pursed her lips, but nodded, and walked the remaining steps up to the front door and pushed the button. A loud, melodic chime sounded out, and a shape moved in front of the frosted glass a few seconds later, before the door swung open. A tall, bald man with a leisure suit was standing in front of us, grinning wide. He nodded at Henri, then his gaze fell on me in her hand and his already wide smile got even bigger.
"I take it you two are Henri and Amber?" he asked in a rich voice "The other girls are out back, the hot tub is behind the pool, and the pool house has a changing room, of course."
"Yes sir, I am Henrietta." Henri said "Are you Quince's father?"
"I am!" he said, nodding and shutting the door behind us "Please, call me Cal, it's nice to meet you! If you'll excuse me though, I have a guest myself, make yourselves at home, there's liquor in the poolside bar!"
"Thank you Cal!" I said "Just make our way to the back then?"
He pointed to the bifurcated staircase that wrapped around the sides of the grand entrance and nodded "Just take the door there, between the stairs. It leads to the kitchen, and the back door is just through the mud room. Have a good evening!"
He waved at us and made his way to a door on the side, smoke curling out as he went through. Henri took a breath, and carefully walked to the door, slipping through it into a long corridor that ended into a brightly lit, yellow toned kitchen. A middle aged woman with Quince's hair texture stood at one of the counters, her tight curls pulled back into a single low bun. She was wearing a yellow dress that matched the walls of the kitchen, with a crisp white apron over it. There were rows of ingredients on the counter in front of her, and she was was mixing them into a bowl by hand, humming as she worked. Henri cleared her throat slightly to let her know we were there, and she turned, beaming at us as she did so.
"Ohhh! Quince's new friends!" she exclaimed "I'm so happy you could make it! She hasn't made any new friends in ages, it's so nice to see her get out there!"
"Ah, we- yes." Henri said "We just started... hanging out on Friday, really."
"Of course, of course." the lady said "My name is Ayana, I'm Quince's mother. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Henrietta, ma'am, and this is Amber." Henri said, holding me out so Ayana could see
"Oh! It's so nice to meet the both of you! I was worried when Quince brought home her little friend, Kensey? I assumed she'd be lonely by herself, but I'm happy to see she'll have a friend too."
"I'm looking forward to being her friend, she's a very kind person, and she's very mature!" I said, nodding
"Mm, not things you could say about my Quince, I'm sure..." Ayana said, raising an eyebrow
I blinked "Um- well, I wasn't thinking about-"
"Oh no no, it's ok." Ayana laughed lightly, if a bit forced "I know she's a terror, she always has been. It comes with getting everything she could ever want, I suppose."
She looked at me and Henri appraisingly "It'll be good for her to widen her friend group, hopefully you two can ground her. And hopefully Kensey can help her learn some compassion, while we're at it..."
"I think she is already learning to care for her, ma'am." Henri said, nodding "She has improved a lot just since yesterday."
"Well, I'm happy to hear that." she sighed "Amber, I heard Marissa is your... person?"
I held back a wince at how she'd just stopped short of saying 'owner' and nodded "Yes, she's taking care of me, I live in a little house in her room."
"...I'm sorry to hear that." she said, her eyebrows drawing together "If you need anything, or if you need somewhere to stay for a while, please let me or my husband know."
"She's not that bad..." I said "But thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
Ayana waved towards a wooden door at the back of the room "The pool area is out through there, I'll be out soon with scones for everyone, so don't fill up on the junk food Quince bought, ok?"
Henri smiled and nodded "That sounds lovely, thank you so much Miss Ayana!"
We headed through the door into a strange room with a low to the floor sink and benches along one wall. It had tiled floors and a drain in the center, and what looked like a shower with a basin in the corner. The door to the back was heavy wood, and Henri had to lean against it to get it to open, and she stumbled through as it swung.
The back yard area was paved with wide, flat stones, and there was a large stone pool in the center that looked like it'd been carved out of one giant rock. Off to one side on the porch was a grilling area, on the other side was a conversation pit with a massive TV over it, and on the far side of the pool was a small building with a porch around it, rocking chairs lining the walls. The hot tub was directly across from the back door, and there was a covered path leading from the back of the porch above us to the hot tub itself, making a roof over it.
"Hello Henri!" Tracy called out from the hot tub "Get a drink and get changed, we've got snacks!"
"Hurry up, I wanna see Amber and Kensey in the mini hot tub!" Quince added on "She's been waiting on Amber so we can get the temperature right!"
"Oh- ja! I will change right away, sorry!" Henri said, and jogged over to the pool house.
The inside of the pool house was a lot less opulent than the main house, it was comfortably warm and there were a few changing booths to one side, as well as a wide table in the center of the room. There was another TV in here with a weird plastic couch in front of it, most likely waterproofed in some way in case you wanted to watch TV in here instead of in the pool for some reason. Henri stepped over to one of the changing rooms and set me on the seat, digging in her bag. She pulled out a small plastic bag with my swim stuff in it and passed it to me.
"I will be in the changing room next to you, let me know if you need anything, ok?" she said, and stepped out, closing the door behind her.
I changed quickly, putting on the swimsuit that'd come with the rest of my clothes, and pulling my hair back with a headband that was just ever so slightly too tight to be comfortable. I looked down at myself and sighed, the suit was a two piece, and while it looked cute, my tummy did poke out a little. I preferred the high waisted kind that went over my belly button, but these were lower, around my hips. It was a light blue and white checkered swimsuit with frills along the edges, with a sports bra styled top. I'd have to see if Marissa would be interested in finding me one with more coverage. I got the feeling she'd jump at the chance to pick out new outfits for me, no matter what they were.
Henri knocked on the door and stepped in, picking me up. I was pleased to see that she was wearing her own swimsuit, a red one piece with cherries on it, instead of one of mine. Not that she'd fit in one of mine, it'd hang loose in all the wrong places and be tight in even worse ones. She bit her lip and I could see her fighting off an 'aww' at the sight of me. I rolled my eyes and sat down on her palm as she walked outside. She waved to the girls with her free hand and made her way over to the bar under the porch to get a drink. Looking at the bottles lined up along the wall, she frowned and shook her head.
"I... I do not know what to do, how do you make a drink?" she asked, setting me down on the slightly sticky marble "I do not want to get drunk..."
"I don't know either, just... mix stuff that looks good?" I asked "Look, there's an ice box, just put ice in the cup, and do what Missy did, right?"
"Ok, um..." she put a lump of ice into a tall glass and picked up a vodka bottle "Ok, so this...."
She poured half the glass of vodka "Then... this?" She added sugar syrup most of the rest of the way "And... lime, I think..."
I watched her put the lime in and mix it up with a spoon "That sounds about right... It should be fine, it's only one glass, right?"
She sipped and wrinkled her face slightly "It's... strong, but sticky, all at once. It kind of tastes right though?"
She picked me up in her free hand "Anyway, let's get over to the others..."
She carefully walked over to the hot tub and stood awkwardly over it, a thin smile on her face.
"Hello, we are ready, thank you for inviting me." she said politely
"Yeah, whatever, just get in, ok?" Quince said "You're not as boring as I thought you'd be, and anyway, you had Amber with you."
"You're nicer than Marissa, at least..." Tracy said, rubbing the side of her head where a small scratch was visible against her pale skin
Henri set me down on the side of the hot tub next to Kensey and carefully lowered herself in, holding her drink over the side in case it spilled. Quince's eyes locked on me and she did not stop herself from 'aww'-ing at my outfit.
"Aww! She's so cuuute!" she whined "Her lil tummy and the frills, gaahh, I want to squeeze her!"
She poked me in the stomach with a finger, knocking me on my ass and I flushed, crossing my arms over my midsection in embarrassment.
"It's wild how on a full sized person, a little meat makes them look sloppy, but on a class B, it's just... a cuteness enhancer!" Tracy giggled "Gosh Amber, you're making me want a class B, even..."
I curled up and brought my knees up, even if they were saying 'nice' things, it still felt wrong and gross for them to be talking about my body like that. I tried to come up with a good response, but anything I could think of sounded childish or rude... I felt strong hands under my armpits lifting me up, and I turned to see Kensey giving me a wry smile as she put me on my feet.
"They've been doing the same to me all night, don't take it seriously." she said, patting me.
I looked her up and down, she had the tan lines of someone who usually wore a one piece, but Quince had put her in a fluffy orange two piece with a big bow on the front and bottoms that looked more like bloomers than a swimsuit. She stepped over to the little hot tub, the one I'd seen in the store with Marissa, and slapped the side.
"Come on, I wanna try this thing out. I wasn't sure how hot you could stand, with you being as small as you are, so I just set it to 96. We can raise it higher if we're ok with that, sound good?"
I took a breath and smiled "Y-yeah, let's do it! Sorry, I'm just insecure about some things is all."
"You don't get to be insecure anymore." Quince said "You're a class B, you just get to be cute and fun, no insecurities."
"She can still be insecure..." Henri said "Just because she is small does not mean she lost all her body issues."
"It's like, a proportions thing." Tracy said as she put stuff from the big pile of candies and cheese squares onto a plate "Or, I don't know, my dad was telling me about it. Because class Bs are so small, we don't notice their flaws as much, and they look more proportional to us because they're already a smaller size, so we don't notice the things we'd usually notice about a full sized person."
"Does that mean they see us as uglier?..." Quince said, frowning
"I didn't notice you guys looking uglier." I said "I just notice people's pores and body hair more, I guess."
"So... I need to start waxing everything, got it." Quince said nodding
"If you don't want us noticing stuff like peach fuzz, yeah." I said "Everyone has it though, it's not a big deal. What's a bigger deal is smells, especially on your hands? Mis- Marissa uses lotion every half hour to stay smelling clean, and she uses breath mints and stuff constantly too."
"...Have you noticed me smelling bad, then?" she asked, looking uncomfortable
"Every time you hold me I can tell what the last thing you ate was, it's not a big deal, but it's something to consider." I said
"Oh... ok, yeah, I'll get more lotion or something. I already use some, I'll just have to use it more." she said, looking at her hands "I have been eating cheese tonight, I guess that's something that sticks to your hands..."
I felt good about that, I'd made her insecure now, I'd never imagined being able to do that to her of all people... I climbed over the edge of the little hot tub and slipped in, instantly falling under the water. I burbled and stood up, my face just clearing the water on my tiptoes.
"What?" I croaked, kicking my feet to swim up "How is it so deep?!"
"Oh, sorry..." Kensey said, helping me onto one of the seats "The hot tub is in a cupholder, I thought you'd seen..."
I pulled myself up onto the seat and took a breath, the water now just up to my chest "It's fine... I wondered how you'd fit, I just didn't think about it..."
A shadow fell over us and I looked up to see Henri staring down at us worriedly "Are you ok Klein Fee?" she asked, reaching out for me
I leaned away "Yeah, geez, just go sit down, I'm fine..."
She tightened her mouth, but nodded and went to go back to her seat. I could see all the other girls from where I sat, and Kensey was across from me, on a much lower seat, so we were almost eye level with each other for once. She smiled at me gently.
"Thank you for coming, Amber." she said "It feels so much better to have someone else like me here, it's less... scary."
"Aw, I'm not scary, Kay..." Quince said, sounding slightly hurt "Am I?"
"N-no!" Kensey said quickly, doing a poor job of convincing anyone she wasn't scared of Quince "Not at all, you're sweet! I just- it's more like, it feels better socially, you know?"
"I get it." I said "I haven't been around a lot of class Bs, but it always feels nice when it happens. There's a meeting for people like us a couple towns away, that's where I met Nada? The one I was texting? It was very nice to get to chat with them about class B stuff."
"A meeting?" Tracy asked "Like, class Bs anonymous?"
"I mean, kinda, yeah." I said "We sit in a circle and talk about being a class B, and the guardians have a separate room to do the same in."
"That... sounds nice, yeah." Kensey said, nodding "Quince, do you think we could?..."
"Uh, fuck, that's a lot..." Quince said "I don't know... Will Marissa be there?"
I shook my head "She didn't like it, we... most likely won't go back..."
Quince sighed "When is it?"
"Tuesdays and Thursdays, at around six thirty." I said, and gave her the name of the community center it was at
Quince looked at Kensey closely, and her hand drifted to her, rubbing her cheek with a fingernail. "...Maybe, I don't know, maybe."
Henri spoke up "If I still have Amber by then, I would be more than happy to meet you there?"
"You won't though." I said defensively "I'm getting back with Marissa on Monday, remember?"
"Unless Miss Lund wants you two to stay separated longer, of course." Henri pointed out "She may make Marissa wait until Wednesday, or even Friday."
I shook my head "No! No, just- I want to get back with her, if she tries to do that, just- just sneak me over there or something, I need to be back with her..."
"Is Henri really that bad?" Tracy asked, looking between us "I thought you'd like staying with her, since you're best friends and everything."
"Henri is-" I started to complain, but thought better of it "...I just miss Marissa."
"Why does Miss Lund want you two separated so badly anyway?" Tracy asked "Marissa said she wanted to kill you or something, that's pretty extreme..."
"Well..." I said "It's... got to do with you, actually."
"Me?!" she asked, her eyes widening "I don't even have a class B, what?"
"She thinks if Marissa gets close to Amber, she will not be willing to do what she needs to when she is running your father's company." Henri explained "She thinks Amber will make her soft and cripple her."
Tracy shook her head "That's stupid, we study class Bs at the lab, we're helping them get better food and care. If anything, caring for Amber would make Marissa better at that."
"...Miss Lund is changing the focus of the lab, Tracy." I said "She used the term 'eradicate' when referring to class Bs. She's trying to stop us from existing, either by vaccinations, or by eliminating the virus altogether, and she needs existing class Bs to do that."
"Holy shit, that's like, super villain stuff..." Quince said, impressed
"No-I- no! My dad wants to help class Bs!" Tracy said, her face stricken "We're trying to help m- I- We- We need to, it's important!"
"Well..." Henri said "Miss Lund wants to use their cells to make vaccines, so... You may need to find another way to help them."
Tracy clenched her teeth and glowered "I- she- fucking- gods... Does the bitch have no empathy?"
"Not much." Henri said, rolling her eyes "She said even if Marissa was compressed she'd still use her as a test subject, she'd just change her focus from turning class Bs into vaccines to trying to reverse the compressions."
"Calling it now, she's going to have a big evil queen speech the day she takes over the company." Quince said, shaking her head "I'm not letting her do experiments on Kensey, that's for damn sure."
"W-well thank you for that." Kensey said, smiling nervously "I know you wouldn't, but- thank you for saying it."
"I'm not letting her do experiments on any of the class Bs, especially not the ones at the lab..." Tracy said darkly
"How are you going to stop her?" I asked "She's going to own it all outright soon, so unless your dad gets the shareholders to sell him back the shares, I think they're fucked..."
"I don't- fuck, I don't know." Tracy said, her usual air headed attitude replaced with a serious one "I- I have to think about this, this is important..."
"I didn't know you cared so much about class Bs, Trace." Quince said "You always seemed weirded out by them before."
"They're still people." Tracy said, crossing her arms "They... they all mean something to someone, they're all someone's family..."
The group went quiet at that, looking over at Kensey and me solemnly.
"So... Who cares about you, Kensey?" Quince asked gently "Who do you mean something to?"
Kensey looked up at her and her face crumpled for a moment before she caught herself and answered in the chipper, happy voice she'd been using since the hospital "W-well, my co-workers and I got along well, we'd go out for drinks sometimes, and... I'd visit my dad once a week to eat dinner with him... I have a few old friends, but we hadn't seen each other in a while, we mostly talked online... Oh, and I had a book club I was part of too, every other week, we'd drink wine and chat about romance...."
"You had a whole like, network, huh?" Tracy said sadly "It's easy to see class Bs as just... little friends, who popped up to live with you, but they're all people, and that's so, so horrifying..."
"What do you mean horrifying?" Henri asked, confused
"Well- I mean, they're people. But, like, not really anymore, right?" Tracy said "It's like, they're not people anymore and they know it and they have to live with not being people forever, and there's nothing they can do about it. It's so scary to think about..."
"It sounds like you thought about it a lot more than the rest of us have..." Quince said, frowning
"My- I work with them." Tracy said, frowning "I have to watch them run on treadmills and eat weird things and get stress tested, and then there's all the psychological tests and interviews... That's where it comes out, how human they are I mean, in the interviews..."
She looked over at me and Kensey "I know you're humans, but... it really is so much easier to pretend you're not sometimes. I don't have that luxury, I guess."
"I understand." I said "It hurts when people don't see me as a person..." I glared pointedly at Henri "...but I can understand it at least a little."
Quince sank down into the water up to her chin "I just wanted a new pet, not a... philosophical debate on the nature of humanity..."
She patted Kensey's head with a dripping finger "You're still my pet, just so you know, philosophy aside."
"Y-yeah, I know." Kensey said "I don't mind, I do appreciate this conversation, though, about me still being... human..."
"...Mm, it's important to keep in mind..." Quince said quietly
"You are both so... reasonable tonight." Henri said "I am happy to see you two acting so, I am not sure, normal, I suppose?"
"We're not around Marissa." Tracy said "When we're around her, or in her bubble, like at school, it's a big performance. We have to play our roles, and do what she expects, like a stage play."
"It's exhausting" Quince agreed "I feel like my guard is up around her all the time."
"Well- you were still mean to me when she was doing her tennis practice and it was just us." I pointed out "Was that an act?"
Quince rolled her eyes "I wasn't being mean, I was playing with my friend's new toy, just get over that."
"So you're still a bitch, then." I said, raising an eyebrow "Marissa just makes it worse?"
She reached over and knocked me off my seat, plunging me into the hot water. I swam up, but her finger poked me back down, and I spun, trying to find a way up. Kensey's hand grabbed mine, and hauled me up and to the side and I gasped for air and shook the water off my face. I glanced over to see Quince holding Henri off of her with a foot as Henri flailed and tried to get to me. I coughed and squeezed Kensey's hand to thank her and carefully made my way back to my seat.
"Does that answer your question, Amber?" Tracy asked, waving a hand at Quince and Henri, now wrestling in the center of the hot tub, Henri's arm around Quince's neck and Quince yanking on Henri's hair
I coughed again, and took a deep breath "Yeah, I get it." I said
"For the record..." Tracy said as Quince dunked Henri "I'm pretty much only a bitch performatively. At least, that's what I tell myself."
"Is that why you were looking forward to getting away from Marissa?" I asked
"Kinda, yeah." she ate a bite of cheese as she thought about it "I... just wanted a low social stakes position where I don't have to like, tear everyone to bits all the time. If she's there, I gotta keep it up or I'll be a target myself..."
"That's got to be so stressful..." Kensey said as Henri drug Quince under the water with her "I don't remember the social game being nearly this cut throat when I was in school, and certainly not in college..."
"Marissa built an empire of power." I said "These are her generals, plus one you haven't met yet, but like, there's absolutely a tiered hierarchy, and she sits at the top of it all, making sure the empire stays intact. She'll most likely even bring it into the workplace when she gets her degree."
Henri and Quince burst up out of the water, glaring at each other.
"You got my hair wet, bitch." Quince growled
"You tried to drown my friend!" Henri protested "That is far more important."
"I dunked her, that's not drowning. Plus, I bet Kay here knows how to do CPR, even if Amber did get a little drowned."
"I... Yes?" Kensey said, surprised "I'm CPR certified, but please don't drown anyone..."
"Don't touch my friend again, or I'll do a lot more that get your hair-" Henri started
"Giiiirls!" a voice called out, and I looked at the house to see Quince's mom in the doorway holding a tray of steaming hot triangles
"Ok, stop, truce. We gotta get out while we eat." Quince said to Henri "The candy and stuff I bought is ok in the tub, but crumbly scones aren't."
"I needed a break anyway." Tracy said, standing up and picking up a towel "I was getting a little floaty there."
"I will carry Amber." Henri said firmly, plucking me out of the hot tub and picking up her drink "I do not trust anyone else to handle her..."
"Yeah, whatever." Quince said, huffing "It's a truce right now, just go eat the scones, god."
Henri looked at me and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she watched me. She stepped away from the hot tub, setting me and her drink on a table as she toweled off.
"Amber, are you enjoying this?" she asked
"I... I think so?" I said "It feels kinda like hanging out with friends, just, you know, a little strained."
"I am enjoying this more than the sleepover." Henri admitted "But I do not like Quince and her apparent lack of care."
She handed me a corner of the towel for me to use.
"Well..." I said "She's learning. It's important for us to be here and talk to her about this stuff. I think she's already seeing Kensey different just since before we got here."
Henri wrinkled her nose "It should not be our job to-..." she sighed "...You are right. We need to show her the right way to be."
"It sounds ominous when you say it like that..." I said, stepping onto her hand.
She picked up her drink and made her way towards the conversation pit where the other girls and Ayana were already sitting.
"If she keeps taking the safety of class Bs lightly..." she muttered "It very well may be ominous..."
~~~