“Told you the other guy was left in a worse condition,” Samuel smirked as Callie settled into her usual position. 

    “Samuel, I know you’re not a fan of mine, you’ve made that apparent each time I’m here, but I truly am here for you. You can tell me anything.” Samuel made a gagging motion, and Callie sighed. “Why don’t you tell me what happened in the bathroom? How did you break the sink?”

    “I was just leaning on it, and boom it broke, and then next thing I knew I was in the tub, and the pole fell onto my face.”

    “Do you understand how that sounds to me? You weigh about 175 pounds, right? You would have had to place a good amount of that weight on the sink for it to crumble as it did.”

    “You always say you’re here for me, but you question everything I say. Do you understand how that makes me feel? I guess I’m just glad we’re past you blaming my parents for everything.”

    Callie sighed. Samuel had a large barrier built around him. And no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t reach the other side. Every time she thought she had almost made it, he pushed her right back to the beginning. It wasn’t unusual but it didn’t make it any less frustrating. “I have to ask about it. I must look at all possibilities. You have PTSD, correct?”

    “That’s what I’m told.”

    “Are you still taking the pills we discussed last time?”

    “Yes. What are you on about? Do you think I’m getting hurt on purpose?”

    “Samuel, it’s not unusual for trauma victims to feel the need to hurt themselves, and as I’ve said I have to cover all possibilities.”

    “Well, I’m not, and quite frankly I find these little accidents annoying. And I would appreciate you dropping this.”

    Callie sighed again, once again she was pushed away. “Have you ever actually talked about what caused your PTSD with anyone?”

    “No.”

    “Not even with your parents?” 

Samuel looked at the ground and shook his head, “Not really no. I don’t enjoy talking about it.” His voice had softened, and he was no longer snarky.

“Well, I am here to listen, and you know that I don’t tell your parents what we say here unless you are actively in danger. It’s safe to open up to me.”

Samuel looked up at the lady, her eyes were gentle, and his heart longed to tell her. To tell them all. But he couldn’t, at least not yet. His mouth refused to tell more than it already had. “I don’t really feel comfortable talking about it all. But-um- well my previous home was very aggressive, to say the least. I almost lost my life there, so I ran away, and I found myself here, where I was taken in, taught English, and for the first time in my life properly cared for. Which is why I don’t like you accusing my parents of such horrendous deeds.”

Callie smiled. He was opening up. Sure, he was brief, but trust comes with time, she knew that. “Wait, did you say you were taught English?”

Samuel smiled back at the woman. “English is not my first language. I am not from around here, so I spoke no English. Very troubling for a runaway 8-year-old.” He laughed.

“Interesting. Have you kept your native language?”

“Yeah, since I’ve been homeschooled, every time I had to do an essay or project like that, my parents would have me write it in English and then record it in my native language. That way I always had a connection with my roots.” Samuel squirmed in his seat, obviously becoming unnerved about the amount of information he was giving to Callie.

“I’m pleased you are telling me this, although I don’t want you to feel the need to push yourself to share, but when you are ready, I’m here. In the meantime, you’re starting high school next week, why don’t we talk about that instead?”

For the last 6 years, Samuel had attended an online school, excelling in all of his classes, but after a lot of begging his parents were finally allowing him to attend a public high school. Although he was 8 when he started school, his ability to learn at a fast pace allowed him to join the correct grade for his age. 

    Samuel had decided that the best way to sway the humans was to prove his intelligence. He could easily show them the transformation, but there was a good chance Xs would then be experimented on, something just as unpleasant. The law states that no animals that have an average lifespan of over 10 years were to be farmed, but he had no way to prove his age, so he couldn’t go that route either. Without using brute force and violence, something he was opposed to turning to as it may only add to the humans’ fear, was using his intelligence.

    So, Samuel had spent the previous year finding the best school he could attend, and of which was free. Ever since he began to understand the concept of money, he felt weird having his parents spend it on him, so if he could attend a public school and get the same results as if he were to attend a private one, he saw no benefit to the private. And so, he had decided on an elite public school.

    This public school was one of the best ranking schools in Lyria and it was conveniently in the neighboring town. Although it was free, he couldn’t just sign up and attend. To keep its elite status, each applicant had to take an entrance exam, which only 10% passed, meaning there were only about 30 people in each grade. Samuel had taken the exam in the early summer and had passed, and therefore was admitted for the fall semester. To stay in the school, all students had to keep their grades consistently above a C. Then to return for the next school year, they had to retake the exam unless they had kept your grades consistently above an A which in that case, they were automatically readmitted.

    Samuel was determined to keep his grades at As and graduate in the top 5. With that, he could easily prove to everyone that Xs weren’t just meat, that they weren’t to be taken for granted. If an X that had started learning at 8 was still able to beat out the majority of the humans, then imagine what an X allowed to learn from the beginning could do.

    Samuel smiled, “I am, and I am very excited.” 

With that Callie’s hour-long visit was over for the month. Lucy and Tanner returned to the living room for some last words and advice from Callie. Samuel stood listening to the adults before becoming bored and excusing himself.

“He always leaves at the end of our visits, but I’ve noticed he doesn’t go to his room upstairs. Does he go to the gym instead?” Callie watched the teenager exit the house and then turned to his parents for their answer.