The following morning, Heidi took a deep breath as she stepped onto campus with Thomas at her side. She had been dreading returning to school all weekend, but there was no more avoiding it. She didn’t want to fall behind in her classes. She adjusted her bag as they followed the sidewalk towards the lecture hall. She could feel eyes on her as people watched them from across the courtyard.

“Well this isn’t too bad.” Thomas said quietly with a grin. “And here you were all worried.”

“Yeah, well it’s not over yet.” Heidi muttered as Thomas opened the door to the lecture hall, holding it open wide for her.

As soon as they entered, the room grew quiet. Heidi sighed as she crossed the room to her usual spot, trying not to pay any attention to the people who whispered about her as she passed.

“Hey, don’t pay attention to them.” Thomas said as he sat down at the table next to her. “Focus on me. Let’s just talk about something else, are there a lot of places like this now?”

Heidi nodded as she turned in her chair to face him.

“Yes, there's hundreds. Weren’t there colleges way back then?” She asked as she set her bag on the table, opening it to pull out her notebook.

“A few, Harvard was the most prominent, but people like me didn’t go to places like that.” He told her.

“People like you?” Heidi echoed, asking him about his past.

“Farmers.”

“Good morning kids!” Pharaoh said grasping their attention as he sat down next to Heidi, dramatically tossing his notebook on the table with a loud slap. “Miss me?”

“Terribly.” Thomas said sarcastically as he leaned back in his seat.

“Hey, Tommy Boy, we got off on the wrong foot, what do you say we take the whole hospital meeting and forget about it.” Pharaoh asked as he leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table.

“My name is Thomas. Not Tommy Boy.” Thomas told him flatly as Pharaoh shrugged.

“Where’s Ren?” Heidi asked as she realized that Pharaoh had come alone.

“Oh, he’ll be here soon, I came a bit ahead of him.” Pharaoh told her, pulling out his phone to check for messages from his Ward.

“You left your Ward?” Thomas asked, concerned for Ren’s safety.

“Yeah, unlike you, I dealt with Ren’s threat instantly. My Ward is safe.” Pharaoh said almost accusingly.

“Pharaoh.” Heidi warned.

“Hey, I tried the whole olive branch shit.” Pharaoh muttered holding his hands out in his defense. “It isn’t my fault if he doesn’t accept it. Oh, by the way, I brought you something Wendy’s.”

Heidi watched as Pharaoh fished an iPhone from his pocket, sliding it across the table to her. “I got an update, so I figured you could use my old one.” He offered. “It beats having to pay a couple hundred for a new one.”

Heidi picked up the phone from the table, looking over to Pharaoh in surprise.

“Are you sure? It looks brand new?” She asked as she unlocked the phone, noting that it had been restored to factory settings.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. You needed one and it’s not like i’m gonna do anything with an extra.” He said as he messed with his own phone.

“Thanks, I really appreciate that.” Heidi said with a smile.

“Don’t think about it too much Wendy’s, it isn’t much.” Pharaoh muttered as he watched Ren walk into the classroom, smiling at a group of girls who greeted him as he made his way to where his Familiar sat.

“Well look here, the Prodigal Son returns, how was your night, sunshine?” Pharaoh asked with a smile.

Ren sighed as he sat down, fishing his notebook out of his bag.

“About the same as any other night, thanks for asking.” He responded as he looked past Pharaoh to the phone that sat in front of Heidi.

“Did you finally get a new phone?” He asked, nodding at the small machine in front of her.

“Oh, yeah, Pharaoh just gave it to me.” She told him as she picked it up.

“Did he now?” Ren muttered as he glanced at his Familiar who simply smiled at him. “But hey, let me get your new number.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Heidi agreed as she opened up her contacts, looking for the number to give him. She smiled when she noticed that Pharaoh had already saved his number in the device. Once Ren had saved the number, they grew quiet as the lecture started. Heidi glanced to her right, smiling as she noticed how closely Thomas listened to the professor as he spoke of the beginning of the Revolutionary War. When Thomas was still alive, the colonies had still been a part of England. She was curious to get his thoughts on the split from their mother country. She glanced to her left, rolling her eyes slightly as Pharaoh played Candy Crush behind his notebook, not paying the lecture any attention at all. She wondered how much will power it took for him to write her notes the day before; she was surprised that he showed up to the class today at all. Past Pharaoh, Ren leaned forward on the table, paying close attention to the lecture as he took notes in his neat handwriting. She felt her heart thump when she remembered the last time she had sat in this class with him, sliding notes across the table as if they were just kids in grade school. She looked back down at her notebook, sighing when she realized that she had yet to take any notes on the lecture. She took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind as she struggled to pay attention, watching the slideshow in the front of the class. She jumped as the feeling of Pharaoh’s elbow against her arm brought her attention once again from the lecture. She looked at him in the dark as he slid his notebook across the table towards her, the only thing on it an empty Tic Tac Toe field. She gave him a look as she pushed it back towards him, trying to focus on the lecture. He pulled a pen out of his pocket, quickly scribbling on the paper and poking her with it once again.

“I’m bored.” It read.

She let out a huff of a laugh as she quickly placed an X in one of the spaces. Pharaoh followed suit, placing his own O, poking her with the notebook when it was once again her turn. She once again drew an X, following the pattern until Pharaoh crossed a straight line through his O’s, winning the game. Heidi hesitated, wondering how she failed to notice his winning. He redrew the field, raising an eyebrow, silently offering a rematch. She placed her X in the middle, this time paying full attention to the game, resulting in a tie game. Once the game had tied, Pharaoh drew out another familiar game, Hangman, with 9 spaces underneath, with a space in between, separating them out to 4 and 5. She drew an A at the top, frowning when he drew a head on the gallows. She worked her way through all the vowels, thinking hard when only the E and U had made it onto his secret phrase. She wrote an S at the top, smiling when he added two S’s to the spaces. Several wrong guesses later, she sighed when she realized that she only had one guess left before she lost. She wrote an M at the top of the page, pressing her lips into a thin line as he added the last arm to the hangman, winning the game. She leaned over as he filled in the remaining letters of his phrase, letting out a quick laugh as she saw the answer.

“Send Nudes.”

She shook her head in disbelief as she once again looked forward, trying to catch at least a little bit of the lesson. She felt him nudging her arm once again, looking over as he held up a closed fist over his palm, silently asking for Rock Paper Scissors.

“Pharaoh, no, I need to pay attention.” She whispered. She couldn’t help but smile as she looked forward again. Pharaoh leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he listened to the Professor, clearly bored, but allowed her to focus. Once the lecture had ended and the lights turned back on, he stretched his arms high above his head, happy to be out of the stiff chair.

“You guys wanna go grab something to eat after this?” He asked, looking from his Ward to the others.

“I wish we could, but we have to meet with our Familiarism Counselor.” Heidi told him. “It’s apparently mandatory.”

Pharaoh let out a laugh as they packed their things.

“What are they gonna do if you don’t go, repossess the guy?”

“The counseling is really helpful for assimilation.” Ren said in their defense. “I say you take advantage of it. I remember how difficult it was for Pharaoh to grasp at first.”

“Hey, all you need to do is watch a bunch of movies, I thoroughly suggest The Godfather, Rocky, Saving Private Ryan, and Lethal Weapon 2, just skip the first one altogether.” Pharaoh instructed him.

“I haven’t watched any movies yet.” Thomas admitted. “I read about them in one of Miss Grey’s pamphlets, they seemed interesting.”

“Try life changing my friend.” Pharaoh told him. “Hey, we should get together at our place soon and pick out a couple. Sister Act is one of my favorites.”

“Sounds fun.” Heidi admitted. “Maybe tomorrow?”

“I’m free.” Pharaoh said looking to his Ward, “Are you free?”

“Yeah.” He said simply, checking his phone.

“Tomorrow it is!” Pharaoh said with a clap of his hands. “I’ll provide popcorn and beer.”

Heidi smiled as she pushed in her seat.

“Sounds like a plan. Just text me the time. But we do have to get going, we’ll see you tomorrow.” She said waving goodbye.

“Later Wendy’s!” Pharaoh said as they left the classroom.

Miss Grey’s waiting room was brightly colored, decorated in a very contemporary fashion. Fresh tulips sat on a glass coffee table that had several magazines laid out over it. Thomas picked up a National Geographic and thumbed through the pages, flipping through the pages.

“Miss Butler? Mr Wardwell?” Miss Grey called out as she entered the waiting room with a smile. The duo stood as they followed their councilor down the hall to a small office with a modern little couch.

“Please, have a seat." She instructed as they did so.

“So Thomas, how are you handling everything? I know it can be quite a culture shock.” She asked, crossing her legs as she rested a clipboard on her knee.

“There are plenty of things to get used to, for sure, but Heidi has been very helpful in explaining things.” He told their counselor.

“I’m glad to hear that. Has anything been particularly difficult for you?” She asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.

“It is strange, knowing that everything that was going on in my lifetime is over; knowing that my family is gone.” He told her quietly.

“That is completely normal, sweetheart. But if it offers any foothold for you, I’ve signed you up for Ancestry.com, it’s a website that allows you to track family trees and see your distant relatives. She told him, handing him a laminated print out of a family tree.

“You’ll see that your younger brother, Sam, went on to have a family, as did your sister; you still have several living relatives. Distant, but alive nonetheless.”

Heidi watched Thomas’s face as he studied the chart closely. He smiled as he recognized the name of his younger brother’s wife, remembering her faintly.

“Tell me, Thomas, how do you feel, having another chance to walk on this earth?” Miss Grey asked quietly.

“Thankful.” He said almost immediately. “There hasn’t been a moment since I arrived that I haven’t treated this as a blessing.”

“Well I’m very happy to hear that young man. You certainly seem to have your head on straight.” Miss Grey told him with a grin. “Now Miss Butler, How are you adjusting to having a Familiar?”

“Hmm?” Heidi asked, looking up to the councilor, unaware that she would be questioned during these sessions as well. “Oh, better than I thought I would, honestly.” She said truthfully. “I’ve never been one to feel especially close to people, but with Thomas, it’s like he’s always been there.”

“Good. It’s a natural reaction for Familiars to have an emotional pull to their Wards. They’ve even been known to pick up on their Wards emotions and thoughts from time to time.” Miss Grey explained. “It’s a natural urge for a Familiar to have their Ward’s best interests in mind, so it’s imperative for them to understand their Ward to the fullest.”

Heidi couldn’t help but wonder if Pharaoh always had Ren’s best interest in mind, finding it difficult to imagine him putting his Ward before himself.

“I’ve got a little bit of homework for you this week, Thomas.” Miss Grey instructed. “Look up some history that occurred between the time where you were alive and now. It may help close the gap in time that may weigh on your mind.” She told him.

“I joined Heidi this morning to her American History class at the college.” He told her, “It’s really fascinating.” He admitted.

“Oh good! Then you may have fun with it! When you come back next Tuesday, tell me a few of the things that caught your interest in history.” She said with a smile, standing.

“I’m glad that you two are falling into Familiarism so easily.” She said as she offered her hand out to the both of them. “I’ll see you again soon.”

When Heidi and Thomas returned home, George was on the stairs, meowing a greeting as she set her house keys on the table by the door. She scratched the cat’s head before walking into the kitchen to fish some food into his bowl. George followed at her feet, the little bell on his collar ringing with each step.

“What did you think of the session?” Heidi asked Thomas as she placed the bowl of cat food on the table in his usual spot.

“Slightly redundant. I think it’s for Familiars who are having a hard time adjusting. I guess I’m lucky to be open minded on the situation. I did like getting this chart though. It makes me happy to know that Sam and Mercy were able to have a family.” Thomas told her as he sat on the couch, looking at the chart again.

“It was nice of her to find that for you.” Heidi agreed. “Are you ok hanging out here for a bit? I need to do some math homework online.”

“Yeah, I picked out a book from your work, I’ll read that while you study.” He said with a smile. Heidi smiled back as she picked up her school bag, climbing the stairs to her room. She sat on the bed as she fished out her computer, opening it up to her homework. She wasn’t half way through the first problem when the cellphone that Pharaoh had given her vibrated. She laughed to herself when she saw his name across the screen. He wouldn’t even let her study from across town.

“Our place at 6 tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan!” She messaged back.

“Cool, how was the shrink?” He texted back almost instantly.

“Pretty good, she gave Thomas a family tree. Apparently he still has living relatives.”

“I wonder if they are stuck up bitches too?” He messaged with a middle finger emoji. Heidi rolled her eyes as she laughed quietly to herself.

“Thank you by the way for this morning.” Heidi messaged.

“For what? The phone?” He asked.

“For trying to make up with him.” She said with a slight smile.

“Yeah, well that worked out well, didn’t it.”

“I’m happy that you tried.” She typed, sending a smile with the message.

“Don’t get used to it Wendy’s.” He messaged her back, followed by another message quickly after. “I’ll try not to pick on him. Just tell him to stop being an asshole.”

“Lol thank you, Pharaoh. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Later gator.”