Wear - Chapter 29

“So, what’s it like being a half?” Jessica asks. “I-I imagine there’s a lot of troubles”.

“Sorry, I can’t keep Mr. Maloney waiting for too long” Catherine says. “I’ll make a deal with you. You guys were nice enough to hear me out without judging, so I’ll tell you guys about all of that later. I don’t think it’d be fair to Mr. Maloney if I just have him stand there for a while. I’ll be right back here when I’m done, alright?”.

“Oh, sure!” Jessica says. “No problem”.

“Thanks guys… see you later, Jessica” Catherine says as she walks away.

“Later!” Jessica says as she waves at Catherine.

“So… now we’re doing this?” Jackson asks. “Are we just… waiting now?”.

“I haven’t seen her in ages” Jessica says, “of course I’m waiting for her!”.

“Alright” Jackson says, “fair enough”.

“Still though…” Darren says, “a half human, half laibah… Do you think she can shapeshift?”.

“No idea” Aeris says. “Which is why I’m waiting here too. I really want to know now”.

“Yeah, I must admit” Wyatt says, “I’m rather curious”.

“Mhm, me too” Emma says.

“You’re just interested for other reasons, aren’t you?” Jackson asks.

“Hm?” Emma asks.

“Nothing…” Jackson replies.

After a long while of waiting, Catherine eventually comes back out of the main doors of the school. “I know the school isn’t much” Refus says, “but do you think this is the type of school you’re interested in?”.

“Yeah” Catherine says, “and sorry I couldn’t bring my parents to speak with your principal today… my dad has troubles coming into the city”.

“Don’t worry about it” Refus says.

“Oh, hey guys!” Catherine says as she looks at The Rejects. “Before I go” Catherine says as she looks back at Refus, “thanks again for everything”.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s no trouble at all” Refus says. As Catherine runs off towards The Rejects, Refus says to himself “A lot of students have been leaving the school lately, but it also looks like a bunch of other students are coming in next year. A lot of them are laibah, but we’re also getting human students that are aware of the laibah and seemed to have no problems with them. Maybe Ryan was right… maybe the world is slowly growing out of this age of fear and embracing a new, better tomorrow. Oh that’s right, speaking of Ryan…”. Refus then walks back inside the school, to go to Ryan’s office.

“So, do you like the school so far?” Jessica asks.

“Well… it’s still a school” Catherine says. “There’s still work involved and all that usual tiring stuff, but other than that I think this place is fine. Your principal is really nice too”.

“Yeah, some of the staff here are surprisingly accepting of laibah” Darren says. “The Principal is always talking about helping the laibah get a fair chance in life and all that”.

“It’s a good thing this school is on the outskirts of the city” Catherine says. “Otherwise, I don’t think I’d be able to go here. It would be too far away if it were in the middle of the city, as well as all the humans… oh! N-not that there’s anything wrong with you guys, J-Jessica! I-I mean-“.

“Pfft- ha ha! Don’t sweat it!” Jessica says. “We totally get it. Most of the humans stick to the innermost areas of the city, and I’ve had my fair share of getting pushed around by them too. It’s not that all humans are bad, it’s just that those people in specific are bad”.

“So which one is a laibah?” Aeris asks.

“Huh?” Catherine asks.

“Out of your parents, I mean” Aeris says. “Which one is which?”.

“W-well” Catherine says, “my dad is a laibah, but my mom is a human”.

“What’s it like?” Jessica asks.

“W-well… it’s not anything special…” Catherine says. “My mom and dad are pretty average people. I have a little brother, and that’s about it for our family”.

“Can you shapeshift?” Aeris asks. “Do halfs have that ability?”.

“I-I do…” Catherine says, “but I only have two forms… this form and my half form. I don’t have a fox form”.

“Interesting…” Aeris says.

“Come to think of it” Jessica says, “I’ve never seen any laibah use their fox form”.

“You probably have” Darren says. “If you’ve seen a fox with a weird coloration of their fur, that was probably a laibah”.

“I’ve lived in the middle of the city before coming here though” Jessica says. “Almost no laibah even set foot there”.

“That’s also true…” Darren says.

“Anyways” Catherine says, “since my mother is a human, I was born in my human form. I’ve also always had trouble shifting back and fourth between my two forms”.

“Do your ears or tail pop out at random?” Aeris asks.

“No, nothing like that…” Catherine says. “Wait, is that the problem she has with her forms? Is she also a half?”.

“I-I’m not a half” Emma says.

“She has… a different problem” Aeris says.

“Well, my problem is I have to focus very hard to shift forms” Catherine says. “What troubles does she have with her forms?”.

“Emma?” Aeris asks. “It’s the same reason she has purple fur and purple eyes. It’s a part of her bloodline. The bloodline she came from had more than three forms, and were the dominant race of laibah a long time ago. However, she has less control over her human forms. So when she gets too nervous, excited, scared, et cetera, she’ll sometimes accidentally slip into her half form. It’s a survival instinct, I think”.

“More than three forms, huh?” Catherine asks as she looks at Emma. “When you have kids, will they also have more than three forms?”.

“I-I-I don’t know!” Emma says. “H-how would I know that!? Why are we bringing up having kids!?”.

“Hm…” Aeris says as she brings her fist up to her chin and thinks. “That’s a good question. Things such as their eye color, fur color, and abilities ARE dominant genes… but there’s no way to know for sure how many of those genes could translate to a human body. Say, Wyatt, do you guys plan on ever having kids?”.

“W-WHAT!?” Wyatt panics. “I-I d-d-don’t know! W-we haven’t talked about anything like that!”.

“Can we not bring that up!?” Emma asks.

“Geez…” Aeris says, “it was a simple question. You guys need to think more logically. Anyways, if you guys make up your mind, let me know. There are a few things I want to learn about this… dominant genes subject”.

“These two are red like a couple of tomatoes…” Darren says.

“You guys have no sense of decency” Jackson says.

“That’s rich, coming from you” Aeris says.

“Hey, at least I’m not the one asking two people my age to have kids for the sake of science!” Jackson says.

“When you break it down like that…” Emily says, “it sounds worse than it really is”.

“Jessica?” Catherine asks.

“Yeah, Cat?” Jessica responds.

“Your friends are weird” Catherine says.

Jessica sighs and says “I know…”.

Meanwhile, in Ryan’s office. “You wanted to see me when I was done, Ryan?” Refus asks as he enters the room.

“Yes” Ryan says, “I wanted to make sure you knew what is going on with the board of education”.

“What do you mean?” Refus asks.

Ryan pauses for a moment, then says “After many of the students decision to leave, the board of education wants to shut down the school. I’ve told them that their decision to leave is based purely on the bias against laibah, and that shutting down a school for that reason is unjust”.

“Oh no” Refus says.

“You needed to see me, gramps?” Rose says as she enters.

“Yes, I needed to talk with both of you” Ryan says. “Don’t take this too lightly. I trust you two very much, which is why I’m telling you this. I stand firm in my decision to help humans and laibah indiscriminately. However, the board of education wants this school shut down for refusing to kick out the laibah. I’ve told them the situation at hand was caused because some of our human students are offended by the presence of laibah, and that their decision to try and hold action against us for that is unjust”.

“Oh no” Rose says. “You yelled at them again, didn’t you?”.

“Wait, the board or…” Refus asks.

“The board of education” Rose says. “Ryan is notorious for having conflict with the board of education”.

“Preventive measures have been taken” Ryan says. “In order to prevent the board from getting away with trying to shut us down for refusing to kick out laibah students, I’ve proposed a bill”.

“A bill?” Refus asks.

“In hopes of becoming a law” Ryan says. “Currently, I’m trying to find support for this bill. Contrary to what I had expected, people have been picking up the bill rather quickly. If we can gain enough support, this bill can reach the mayor’s office and hopefully be passed as a law”.

“What is the bill?” Refus asks.

“Simple” Ryan says, “the bill proposes that any discrimination based on difference of the two species, laibah and human, is an offense punishable by law. Long story short, we can reserve the right to kick students out for laibah raising problems against humans, and humans raising problems against humans, simply for the fact of being different from each other. If this passes, the board can’t go forward with their decision to close off the school for its support of the laibah community!”.

“When’s the deadline?” Rose asks. “How long do we have?”.

“Until the end of the school year” Ryan says. May 22nd, 2020 is our deadline. That’s when the board will move forward with the closing of Harrison University”.

“That’s not a whole lot of time” Refus says.

“Don’t worry” Ryan says. “Even if we can’t save the school, this bill will give those laibah students a fighting chance for their future still. Other schools won’t be able to deny them solely for being laibah, nor will any part of the city be able to push them out for being laibah. Even if my career ends here, I want you two to lead those kids in a better school in place of me”.

“But Ryan-” Rose says.

“Promise me” Ryan interrupts, “that you’ll do it. Those kids still deserve the future they strive for. Promise me you won’t let this city take that away from them”.

“Y-Yes sir…” Refus says. However, Rose was silent for a few seconds.

“Alright” Rose finally says. “Fine, you stubborn old bastard…”.

Ryan smiles and says “You let me worry about handling the bill, and you two make sure these kids succeed. Deal?”.

“Deal…” Rose says.

After Rose and Refus leave the office, Rose says “You think it’ll help if we put our names on the list of supporters for that bill?”.

“I thought Ryan said not to worry about it” Refus says.

“And you really think I’m going to just listen to that stubborn old man refuse the necessary help?” Rose asks. “Do I look like a joke to you?”.

Refus smiles and says “That’s actually the kind of response I was hoping for”.

“So we have the same plan?” Rose asks.

“Yeah… yeah, I guess we do” Refus says.

“No chickening out now” Rose says. “If you want any amount of respect from me, you’ve gotta stay committed to the part”.

“I didn’t plan on chickening out of it” Refus says. “Though, I am relieved I won’t have to say those same words to you”.

“What do you mean?” Rose asks. “Do I look like a coward to you?”.

Refus smiles at Rose and says “No, I guess not. It’s a good thing you are who you are though”.

“Now you’re making less sense than Ryan” Rose says.

“What I mean is” Refus says, “it’s a good thing you’re not a coward. I always hoped to work side by side with someone who knows how to get things done”.

“By ignoring your superiors?” Rose asks with a laugh.

Refus laughs back and says “You said it, not me”.

“So, what do you think the next semester will start off like?” Jackson asks as he, Emma and Wyatt sit in their dorm room.

“What’s with the sudden curiosity?” Wyatt asks.

“Well, I mean, a lot of stuff has happened lately” Jackson says. “Students are leaving, more people are getting interested in coming to this school in particular, then there’s the club… it just seems like life is currently just… all over the place”.

“Your life, or ours?” Emma asks.

Jackson shrugs and says “I dunno… life in general, I guess”.

“Well, there’s only one way to know for sure” Wyatt says. “We just have to wait for the next semester to start. From there, we just do what we can, take care of what we have to, and move on one day at a time”.

“Yeah…” Jackson says. “Well, anyways, I’m calling it a night. Mind hitting the light?”.

“Oh, sure” Wyatt says as he stands up.

“Thanks” Jackson says as he climbs up to his bed and rolls over on his side.

“Was Jackson just… polite?” Emma whispers to Wyatt.

“I heard that” Jackson says. Jackson then leans up in bed, hangs his head off of the edge of his bed and looks down at Emma and Wyatt on the bed below his. “Did you forget I sleep in my half form? You know, extended hearing range and all…”.

Emma shifts into her half form as well and says “You know, if you were polite like that more often, it’d be easier to talk to you”.

Jackson sighs and says “Yeah… guess you’ve got me there”.

“Goodnight, Jackson” Emma says as her and Wyatt lay down.

“Mhm…” Jackson responds.

“Rude…” Emma says. Emma then turns over in bed and says to Wyatt “Goodnight, Wyatt”.

“Goodnight, Emma” Wyatt says.

“Oh my god” Jackson complains, “it won’t be a good night if you guys keep freakin’ talking all night!”.

“Goodnight, Jackson!” Wyatt says.

“Shut it, Wyatt” Jackson says as he rolls back over in bed.