"Alice Cooper?" - "Here"

  …

  "Charlie Thurber?" - "Here"

  …

  "Vanessa Wolfe?" - There was no response. "Oh, right…" grunted the mathematics teacher. He didn't share her reason for absence with the css. Alice turned to Charlie with a raised eyebrow. "What?" xe compined. "Where's Vanessa?" asked Alice. "How should I know?" demanded Charlie. "You're her roommate!" cried Alice.

  "Cooper, Thurber, silence!" snapped the mathematics teacher. "Sorry sir!" squeaked Alice sweetly. He eyed her for a moment before resuming his lecture on the area of a triangle. "Okay but seriously" hissed Alice. "What?" muttered Charlie. "Where did Vanessa go. She's your roommate, she has to have told you where she went" hissed Alice. "Oh yeah! Charlotte got sent to a budget troubled teens correctional camp for three weeks and Vanessa went along to keep an eye on her and make sure magic doesn't get exposed, dooming us all!" gasped Charlie. The teacher shot them both an angry gre. Alice raised her hands in surrender. Charlie either didn't notice or pretended not to notice.

  "Keep your voice down!" hissed Alice. "Why? He can't hear us!" snapped Charlie loudly. "Due to Vanessa's power! Who isn't here right now!" hissed Alice. There was an awkward silence. "Oh. Shit…" said Charlie. "Thurber, front of the css. You're not leaving until you solve every equation on the board" snapped the teacher.

  "5, 4.11, 27.8, 109.127, 3π, -x3y and pnck's constant" said Charlie dismissively. "Show your work" snapped the mathematics teacher. "Why, I'm right aren't I?" demanded Charlie. "I have no idea I haven't bothered to solve them myself yet!" he replied. "HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THEY'RE POSSIBLE TO SOLVE THEN!" cried Charlie. "I don't!" replied the teacher smugly. Charlie looked about ready to cry at that. Denied a chance to spend a css alone with Alice doing gay things, xe was instead forced to actually do xir schoolwork for once.

  Vanessa was back the next day. Alice greeted her with a hug. "Hey sweetie" smiled Vanessa. Alice didn't respond, too busy hugging. "Whoa, I was gone like a day, what gives" she chuckled. "I missed you. Can't I miss you? Is that so wrong?" Alice whispered. "I suppose not" ughed Vanessa.

  "So why are you back early. And why didn't you return to the house?" asked Charlie. "I did return. I just didn't feel like talking so I didn't let you see me" said Vanessa. "Rude!" excimed Charlie. Vanessa rolled her eyes and then returned her gaze to Alice. "As for why I'm back early… The camp turned out to be some sort of psy-op funded by the government. Apparently they needed a child army on call for who knows what. Anyway the director was a total psycho who struck children with whips for not kicking good enough. Charlotte was about to rip him a new asshole for attacking one of the other campers when I stepped in, and I badly wanted to let her" Vanessa recalled.

  "The government funds child soldiers?" gasped Charlie. "Yes, yes it does. That's not even the first time I have personally caught them doing it" noted Vanessa. "WHAT?" demanded Charlie. Vanessa ignored xir. "Now the real problem is that Charlotte is thoroughly convinced we were in Canada, and her delusions of being the only force standing between America and total Mapelfication are worse than ever. Going to that camp just stacked a whole bunch of extra work on her future therapist's desk. The elders said they're sorry but… ugh!".

  Vanessa buried her head in Alice's neck and hair. (Alice had never released the hug and Vanessa wasn't compining). "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE CAUGHT THE GOVERNMENT FUNDING CHILD SOLDIERS TWICE?" yelled Charlie. Even Vanessa's "ignore me" field couldn't hide that from the teacher. "Thurber!" he thundered. "WHAT?" xe yelled.

  Xe spent the lesson doing actual schoolwork while Vanessa and Alice made out near the back of the css. Was Vanessa making sure Charlie could see even though she was out of range to spite xir? "Yes, probably" Charlie decided.

  Leah and Rose joined them at lunch as usual. If they were surprised Vanessa was back early, they didn't show it. Vanessa mostly retold the same points she'd mentioned that morning about the further psychological damage the pce had done and how the fact they were legal proved America didn't deserve Charlotte's love. Charlie called her a siscon for getting jealous at a country for stealing her sister's attention. Vanessa threatened to kill xir, bury xir in shit for fifty years and then bring xir back to life.

  "She can't do that, can she?" demanded Charlie. "No, she says she can only revive people from death in the first fifteen minutes" noted Leah. "Hol up, she can revive people from death?" demanded Charlie. "Well yeah, its called CPR nerd" ughed Vanessa. "That's not… huh" grunted Charlie.

  After lunch was physical education. Today was pool volleyball. "Alright, we do five to a team, so that's you, me, Leah, Rose and Vanessa. Team lesbian lets Goooooo!" called Charlie. "Yeah. One problem, Vanessa doesn't do watersports" noted Alice. "What? Why not?" Charlie asked. "Something about drowning…" said Leah sardonically. "What sort of shenanigan riddled life has she led?" cried Charlie. "Her own" replied Leah shortly.

  Charlie walked over to Vanessa, who was as usual sitting a fair distance from the pool and reading a book called "Alien Superweapon Girlfriend". "Hey, Nessa, we could TOTALLY use a fifth team member for volleyball" xe said. "Then ask Riley or Jessica" grunted Vanessa. "But then we wouldn't team lesbian!" Charlie protested. "Do you even count as a lesbian?" Vanessa asked, not unkindly. "When I date girls I'm a lesbian. When I date boys I'm gay. NOTHING I DO IS STRAIGHT!" Charlie beamed.

  Vanessa smiled. "Sweet. But sorry, I'm not getting in the water" she said. "Awww! Come on! I wanna see you in a bikini!" Charlie pouted. "I don't own one. Why would I? I'm literally petrified of the water" said Vanessa. "Here, you can borrow my spare" smiled Charlie, throwing Vanessa a mismatched two piece from xir gym bag. Vanessa frowned. "This is your spare?" asked Vanessa skeptically. "Mm-hm!" nodded Charlie. "Charlie, this is specialized equipment for transfemminine people, from a company operating out of Canada with no stateside brick and mortar stores. Where did you even get it?" Vanessa demanded. "I dunno" said Charlie. "No kidding…" said Vanessa thoughtfully.

  "So will you py with us?" asked Charlie. "Having something to swim in doesn't change the fact I have trauma reted to water Charlie" said Vanessa. "Its okay, you don't need to swim. You can just stand on the bottom of the pool" smiled Charlie. "I… don't know if that will help…" said Vanessa. "Oh come on! Everything will be okay. I can feel it!" Charlie smiled.

  "Are you sure about that?" asked Vanessa. "Sure as getting screwed on tax season!" smiled Charlie. Vanessa stared at the mismatched swimwear for a minute. "Okay. I'll try for you. For the glory of team lesbian!" she resolved with a smile. She took the swimwear to the changing room and as was her fashion, returned in under sixty seconds. She was wearing the the bottom part but instead of the bra she was wearing one of her gym t-shirts.

  "What the hell Nessa?" cried Charlie. "I have like, proto boobs. Those won't go well in a bikini top. But I still need to cover my top half. Can't be showing off girl nipples no matter how undercooked they are. Hence, t-shirt" she said bndly. "But you'd look so cute in a proper bikini" whined Charlie. "I'm not comfortable wearing one. Deal with it" grunted Vanessa. "Won't your t-shirt get wet" moaned Charlie. "Its made of the same material as the bottoms. It won't take long to dry" she said dryly.

  "Ugh. Just get in the pool so we can py some volleyball" pouted Charlie. Vanessa walked over to the edge of the pool and began staring at the water inscrutably. "We don't have all day!" called Charlie. Alice elbowed xir. "OW! What?" xe compined. "She drowned Charlie. Like actually fully passed out and woke up to healers drowned. Maybe she's not like, ready" Alice said sensibly. "Oh. For real? NEVER MIND, TAKE YOUR TIME!" called Charlie. Vanessa smiled. "No. It was months ago. Five minutes more hesitation is a rounding error. Either I'm ready today or I'm not, and a little more time won't change that" she said. Then she took a step and vanished beneath the water's surface.

  Coldness. Coldness like Leah had never experienced before in her life, for beastshifters tend to be extra warm blooded. It did not creep nor crawl throughout her body. It kicked in the door and she skipped straight from human furnace to so cold she barely had the strength to kick. And she felt it. The water in her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Her head was not beneath the water, and yet every gulp of air just seemed to fill her lungs with water.

  "Its an illusion. Just like her meltdown in the carpark" she realized. Vanessa was under the water. Panicking. Here but not all there. She knew deep in her bones that if she dived beneath the water's surface, she would drown. No. That was Vanessa's fear, not hers. She dived. Reached Vanessa in three strokes. Proximity only made the cold stronger. She lifted Vanessa out of the water, one arm under her legs, the other cradling her upper torso. Then with a zy kick off of the bottom of the pool, Leah propelled herself above the water's surface and nded on the pool bank.

  She sat down, cradling Vanessa with her body. She let her true form out, wrapping Vanessa in all encompassing fur. "Its okay Vee. Its okay! You're not drowning. Its okay. I've got you!" she whispered. Vanessa remained in shock for a minute, then graduated to shivering, and finally crying.

  Leah held her as she cried. Held her tight. She felt the other girl's fear bleed through psychically. Her shame. "I'm… I'm sorry!" whispered Vanessa. "You're fine" smiled Leah. "They're looking at me!" she whispered. Leah looked out over the pool. Most of the css was staring at them in anger or horror or both. Leah shared a gnce with Rose. Rose nodded. "WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING AT? MIND YOU'RE OWN BUSINESS OR I'LL SHOW YOU NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE!" she threatened. That did not earn much privacy, though it did bring the teacher running.

  "What happened!" she demanded. "Vanessa got in the water and had a panic attack, and because of her powers everyone else felt it too" grunted Leah. The teacher stared on questioningly. Charlie, Rose and Alice had at this point climbed out of the pool and were approaching with the intention of a group huddle. "Vanessa, if that's what's going to happen every time you get in the water then I'm going to have to insist you don't do that again" she noted. Vanessa shot her a gnce with a crescendo of emotions and the teacher decided she had pces to be that didn't involve standing next to an emotional rollercoaster with feet.

  Alice came over and sat down on their right while Rose sat on their left and Charlie another space left again. "What the fuck was that?" cried Charlie. "Drowning I think" said Leah sardonically. "That was horrible" xe excimed. "No shit!" replied Leah. "… WHY?" xe demanded. "You were the one who pushed her so hard to get in the water dude" noted Leah. "BUT! I didn't think… She's always so calm, how was I supposed to know that would happen?" xe demanded. Leah chuckled. "I'd have told you if you asked. Or Alice. This isn't the first time something like this has happened her" she sighed.

  "I'm sorry". Vanessa didn't say it but they all felt it. "Its not your fault" smiled Leah. "I shouldn't have thrown myself in like that. I should have started with a toe and worked my way up but… But I couldn't! I couldn't just dip my toe. It was paralyzing. Like if I dipped one little toe I'd be back in the rapids. It had to be something I couldn't back down from. There was no other way to force myself in the water" she didn't quite say.

  "Its okay. You don't have to force yourself. If you're afraid of the water then that's okay. Nobody's making you go in there, and if they do I'll crack their skulls!" promised Rose. "I… I don't want to be afraid" they felt like a whisper on the wind. "Its okay to be scared" soothed Alice. "I know but… I don't like it" they felt like she'd have said. Alice chuckled. "I get it. I used to dread coming to school every morning before you came along" she chirped.

  Vanessa took a deep breath and let it out. "I want to go back in the pool" she whispered. "What? Are you nuts?" cried Leah. "I don't want… to be afraid" she said evenly. "You… nearly killed all of us. I'm not so sure that's a good idea" chuckled Leah. "Please!" she murmured. Alice and Leah shared a look. "I'll be careful this time. A little at a time. But please. I don't want to let it beat me" she said.

  "Sometimes losing is the smart thing to do" noted Rose. Vanessa smiled. "Sometimes its more important to do what makes you happy than what makes you safe. Humans can't live like that" she noted back.

  Vanessa approached the water with Leah and Alice as an honour guard. She tried to dip a toe in but kept flinching back. After her ninth attempt she sighed. She looked at Leah and said "if you please". Together they hoisted her and pced her feet in the water. For a few moments it looked like the horrors would begin anew. But Vanessa stood and breathed for a few moments and eventually they did not come.

  Her honour guard escorted her into the pool, and when they were sure she would not panic immediately upon being released, they let her go. She took a few shuddering breathes then smiled. "Okay. I think I can do this. Lets py some fracking volleyball!" she beamed. They could still feel the fear through the link to her mind, but they could also feel her belief that with her friends by her side, even the oceans couldn't break her.

  "Hey Leah, why are you pying with us today anyway? You haven't done that since I killed you" I noted. "Killed her? You don't mean literally, right?" asked Charlie. Nobody bothered to answer xir. "Didn't you hear? The elders have decided that beastshifters don't feel less pain than other witches afterall. As a result, all deliberate injuries in all beastshifter sports except combat sports will be treated as penalties. Certain someones did not like that and tried to ignore the new rules. So many beastshifters got themselves suspended from sports for the week they suspended beastshifter sports altogether and told everyone who wasn't banned from competing to py regur sports until we had the numbers for a dedicated league again" expined Leah.

  "That's great news!" I smiled. Leah shrugged. "I guess its nice that people aren't allowed hurt me on purpose anymore" she said. "Its kinda messed up that was a thing that was allowed in the first pce" I noted. "Eh, you get used to it" she sighed. "You really shouldn't have to!" I snapped.

  We pyed pool volleyball for a while. I wasn't very good. Hard to go for balls when you're too scared to put your head under the water. But I was in the water again. It had been so long. I never loved swimming but I vaguely remember liking it, and if I ever wind up on a beach I don't want to be the sadass holding everyone back from having fun.

  "Thanks Charlie" I called. "For what?" xe asked. "For pushing me. I'm… I'm having fun" I said. Never mind I thought I could feel death's icy grip upon my ankle. Leah and Alice and Rose wouldn't let it take me. "Um… okay. Sorry for forcing you to relive your worst trauma or whatever" xe said. I shook my head. "It was my choice to get in the water. You know if I truly didn't want to you wouldn't remember I exist at this present moment, right?" I pointed out.

  "Ugh! Your power is so cool. When do I get my own power?" Charlie pouted. "You can solve advanced mathematical equations in your head!" I pointed out. "That's a shit power" compined Charlie. "I cannot stress enough how much it isn't" I said. Charlie only rolled xir eyes.