Stel sat in the uy louh her head in her hands, and her luneaten. Lunch breaks shouldn’t be this stressful. She was used to work being the stressful part, especially weekdays at the desk. Stel worked in a Litus Empiriiversity’s library, and front desk wenerally meant she’d be arguing with people about how long they could stay in a study room. But after her sister called asking for help after she, of course, fked out on doing her Fang Fair project, Stel felt flicted about how to proceed. She took her head out of her hands and picked up her phone.

  “This is for Zeta,” Stel muttered. “It’s just for Zeta. It’s for her, right? Because if she gets in trouble. Then we’re in trouble. Because that other school is the bad one. So it’s just a simple phone call. Just to help her. And not to talk to Dr. Diast. Definitely not to charm her, ugh. Who am I even talking to?”

  Stel looked through her tact list and found Dr. Diast’s number.

  “She probably doesn’t even remember you,” She said as she clicked the tad started the call. “It’s fi’s fi’s just a phone call.”

  Stel hung up instantly.

  “This is why I’m a librarian.” She said as she put her head ba her hands.

  “Phorouble?”

  Stel looked up to see an opossum Kanibari with round gsses and brown hair in a bob cut smiling as she stood with a tray full of Ultra Taco food. Crap, totally fot we were meeting for lunch today.

  “Hi, Pippi…” Stel said.

  “Fet we were meeting today?” Pippi said.

  “Yeah…”

  “Was I right about phorouble?” Pippi asked as she sat down. “Or is it library trouble?”

  Pippi was an IT te the library. She worked oop floor, so Stel didn’t see her much at work, but they sometimes met for lunch.

  “Because if it’s library trouble, I did get you this.” Pippi said, getting out some stapled papers and sliding them over to Stel.

  “Wait, you got them?” Stel asked, looking in wonderment at the papers.

  “Well, I was looking into a traoo, so…” Pippi said.

  “Thank you,” Stel said. “Maybe we’d have closer offices there…”

  “It’s no problem!” Pippi said. “But judging by your slouch that wasn’t the main trouble, was it?”

  “Yeah…you were right the first time, it’s phorouble,” Stel said. “Calling someorouble.”

  “Ohhhhh,” Pippi said. “Is this the one you met at that festival?”

  “No. What?” Stel asked, caught off guard Pippi even remembered the series of failures that was her ued affe for an amateur singer she met at a music festival. “That’s long dohis is the doctor that—"

  “Oh, hot doctor!” Pippi interrupted.

  “Shh!” Stel said, filing her arms to get her to stop, even though there wasn’t anyone nearby that was listening. “I didn’t say hot doctor…”

  “Yeah, but your tone when you talk about her does.” Pippi said.

  “She’s Zeta’s doctor and also her advisor,” Stel said. “So it’s weird. Zeta fked out on a project, and now she wants me to call to help her out. But…ugh. Let’s just eat first.”

  Stel somehow vinced Pippi to talk about her own issues while they fiheir food, which took her mind off the call. After some venting about the current issues both faced at the campus, Pippi sighed in relief.

  “So it sounds like we both really he transfers, huh?” Pippi said.

  “Maybe…” Stel said.

  “Well, think about it.” Pippi said. “Also, just call her already.”

  “Mmmm…” Stel winced. “Lunch is almost over…”

  “Then it’ll be a short call, eveer!” Pippi said. “If you don’t, yonna make yourself mope about it all day. Just get it over with. It’s for Zeta anyways, right?”

  “I guess…”

  Pippi got up and grabbed her tray.

  “I’ll leave you to it.” Pippi said.

  Stel sighed. She didn’t want to tell her out loud, but she was grateful to have a friend give permission for this. It made her sed attempt to call Dr. Diast easier, even if she did hover her thumb over the hang-up button the whole time. She heard the dreaded silence of the call being picked up oher end.

  “Hello?” Dr. Diast asked.

  Crap, it’s really her, I really should have rehearsed this, crap crap crap–

  Stel took a deep breath and finally answered.

  “Sorry,” Stel said. “My service er. Cut out. Earlier. Hi, hello. This is Stel Faleur.”

  “Oh, Stel,” Diast said. “I was w what that call was. I assumed butt dial.”

  “No, yeah, no. Yeah. No.” Stel said, and silently cursed to herself. How I recite the ey of Edwind’s Treatise pys on stage, yet talk this badly on the phone? “I’m just calling to–“

  “I’m gd you called actually, funny timing as Zeta just came down with some Feral Flu.” Diast said.

  “I know she should’ve…” Stel started before what Dr. Diast said started to sink in. “Wait, huh?”

  “Don’t worry, it’s all under trol, no real bad side effects, and she’s safely locked up in her room now.”

  Stel wasn’t sure whether to be furious at Zeta or impressed with her craftiness if she did what Stel assumed she did.

  “She didn’t…” Stel said.

  “She probably did, yeah,” Dr. Diast said.

  Now she was feeling more furious than impressed and wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Kind of a rite of passage though, right?” Dr. Diast said.

  “Huh?”

  “Feral Flu. Don’t tell me you never got it to get out of something.”

  Stel ughed, feeling some flutters iomach.

  “Oh my god, I remember I got it once because I didn’t want to be in a rey…” Stel said.

  “It was always gym for me too!” Diast said. “So I guess this Fang Fair is Zeta’s rey.”

  “Right…” Stel said. “So she’s not…in trouble?”

  “She’ll probably have some kind of punishment, but like I said you ’t punish too harshly for a rite of passage like this.”

  Stel giggled. “That’s true.”

  Now with the relief washing over her, she felt panic repce it because she was now on the phoh someone she’d wao speak to greatly sihey first met. If she waited too long now, the versation could just end there, and maybe that’d be alright. Diast probably didn’t want to be chatting while she was busy at school, especially that day. But she couldn’t deny how sad that’d make her afterwards.

  “Well, I’ll call her then to che ohank you, Dr. Diast.” Stel said. Alright, almost said 'hot doctor' there but didn't so if I stop now this could be a win. “I don’t want to keep you if you’re busy with Fang Fair stuff…”

  “Oh no, you’re fine,” Diast said. “I’m on my break.”

  “Me too!” Stel said, realizing that came out probably a bit too eagerly.

  Alright, please don’t screw this up now, Stel thought to herself. She wahe versation to feel how it felt whea had her first i appoi with Diast; where it felt like their words were flowing together, where they felt like perfect se partners.

  “I, uh…” Stel said, pletely blowing her end of the perfect se parthing.

  “Hey, so how have you been?” Dr. Diast asked, jolting Stel out of her silent self-deprecation. “It’s been a while since we talked.”

  “Yeah, too long,” Stel blurted out, then winced ahe phone away as she braced herself for Diast to the versation there. But even with the phone away, she could hear Diast ughing. She slowly brought the phone back to her ear.

  “Well, ferences are soon so maybe we’ll talk then.” Diast said. “Everything else going well for you?”

  “For the most part, yeah,” Stel said. “Everything’s pretty much always the same in the library here. I could really use a spa vacatiht about now.”

  “You ah,” Diast said.

  Stel eyed the papers Pippi had given her. She strummed her fingers on it. She’d only talked to Pippi about what was on them.

  “I’m actually…thinking about a transfer.” Stel said.

  “Oh?”

  “Not too far…or I mean, I’m not too far from Zeta right now, but I wouldn’t mind w at a campus closer to her. And si’s withiate, I’m thinking of transferring to one in Sky Cy.” Stel said. “Say, do you know anything about the Taramin college there?”

  “Hmm, ’t say I do,” Dr. Diast said. “But did you say librarian? There is an opening for one here if you wouldn’t mind going from a college oo a high school one.”

  Stel felt like a lightning bolt hit her.

  “Wait, here as in at Rising Shards itself?” Stel said, impressed she got the sente without squealing.

  “Yep, there’s a new wing that’s almost finished and they want to beef up staffing.” Diast said. “It’s internal right now, but I could pull some strings a you an application."

  “Wow,” Stel said. “Yeah, that’d be amazing if you could send that.”

  “Sure, I’ll get it to you.” Diast said.

  “Thank you!” Stel said. She saw the time on a nearby clock. “Crap, I better get back, my lunch break’s almost over.”

  “Oooh, same here, gd you said it, I wouldn’t have even noticed.” Diast said. “I’ll keep in touch about Zeta if anythis weird, but she should be good now.”

  “Great, thank you.” Stel said. “Alright, bye Dr. Diast!”

  “Yep, see ya.” Diast said. "Oh, and one more thing...you don't have to call me doctor."

  "Oh...sorry." Stel said, hoping she hadn't offended her.

  "No, no! Don't be sorry," Diast said. "Just call me Evy. Or Evalihat's the full...some people also say Eva, but it sounds a bit too...I dunno. Not my vibe, I guess? Yeah, anyways. It feels weird to have a friend give me the whole title."

  "OK," Stel said. "You keep calliel though. Because I uh, don't have...a title." She silently smacked her forehead at her failed attempt at a joke and desperately tried to think of a way to salvage it. "Unless you t library tech, which obviously isn't the same as doctor in...stature or..." She trailed off and decided she wouldn't bme Evy if she hung up there.

  "Of course," Diast said. "I'll let you go though, it sounds like a Fang Fair presentatioher just exploded or imploded."

  "Alright, good luck with all that!" Stel said. "I'll talk to you ter, Evy."

  "Talk to you soon, Stel."

  Stel sighed as the call ended. She felt exhirated just from the call alone, and the idea of a potential new position even closer to Zeta hadn’t even sunk i for her. On top of that, it took her a bit to remember she’d have to call her sister during worktime about her Feral Flu. She hoped there would be some dow the front desk where no one would bug her, and she hoped it’d take a little bit for that time to e so she didn’t sound too giggly while callia because of how well that call went. She had to sound somewhat authoritative, after all.