***

Tali and I enter the cafeteria together. The space is the largest room in the main building and still looks like it did when the campus was part of a summer camp. Large wooden timbers grace the ceiling, giving the impression of a big cabin in the woods. There's even a wood burning fire place made of stone built into the wall at one end of the room. Most of the tables are folded up against the longer wall next to stacks of chairs making the space seem even larger. Neoni sits with a masculine person with tan skin and red hair. They're the only one sitting with Neoni despite her seeming to get along well with the other volunteers earlier.

I really hope I didn't ruin her chances of making friends by being here, I think as we walk up.

Doctor Hailu, who's speaking to Stewart, the campus chef, spots us and claps loudly to get everyone's attention. People quiet down.

"Attention everyone! Introducing Doctor Tali Ayoub," Doctor Hailu cheers. "That's right! The one and only genius behind shift-ready clothing!"

"I'm gonna go incognito," Tali whispers.

"No, you're not. Because if you do it I will too," I hiss back.

She laughs before taking a bow. "Hello, everyone. Feel free to call me 'Tali' instead of the whole 'Doctor' thing. My pronouns are she and her. Class A. I was in the first round of tests with my friend, Page, here."

Tali grabs my arm and drags me forward with her.

"We met him already," Rex says loudly. He cups his hands around his mouth and adds, "He sucks!"

Tali looks at me, shock on her face. "What?"

"He's not wrong. I do suck," I admit.

She lets go of my arm with a gasp. "Who's been bullying Page?"

Everyone is dead silent.

I glance over to Neoni who bursts into laughter.

"You?" Tali asks. "What have you done to Page?"

"Tali, this is my friend, Neoni," I say.

Doctor Hailu claps again. "Everyone, please properly introduce yourselves! Think of this like an AA meeting with better food and you get paid. Not you, Tali. Get some food."

"But Page can wait," I say dryly.

"That's right," Doctor Hailu says. "Page can wait. Have a seat."

Tali makes a show of shuffling off to get a plate from the buffet line. I find a seat at the table Neoni is at, across from the person with the red hair.

Doctor Hailu gestures to the chef and another person standing next to him. "We will begin with myself and some of the staff. I am Doctor Rose Hailu, she and her. I'm a Basic. I make the rules and cut the checks. Come to me if you have any questions, concerns, or just need to vent. I'm here for you if you need. Stewart?"

"I'm Stewart Holloway, he and him, also Basic," he says with a gruff voice. "Been feeding you weirdos for the last five years. I'm sixty-five this summer. Don't fuck with my kitchen." He glares directly at me. "Especially you."

"Holly Stoner, she and her. I'm Basic and new here," the young woman standing next to Stewart cuts in. She's got straight brown hair pulled back in a pony tail, brown eyes, pale skin, and gray coveralls. She's like the opposite of Stewart with his tan skin and messy bleach blonde hair. "I don't have any powers and don't think you're weirdos. I...uh, help out in the kitchen or with cleaning and stuff. I guess I'm sort of the new janitor? Whatever they tell me to do. I'm just glad to have this job. Thank you!"

"See how easy it is?" Doctor Hailu says. "Now, first table. Go!"

"Shit," Rex says under his breath. "Fine. I'm Rex Hastings, he and him. I don't know my class 'cause I just got my powers a couple weeks ago. I don’t want to talk about what happened that day. I'm a bounty hunter by trade. Book sucks and I wish he'd leave already."

We're currently in Kentucky. It's illegal to bounty hunt in this state, not that Rex would have the time to during the study. If he didn't hate me I'd ask for tips since there's some overlap with our professions. I don't want to upset him any more so I stay quiet.

Sitting next to Rex is Ro who adjusts faer's glasses. "I'm Ro, Class S. My pronouns are fae and faer."

A middle-aged person with a full beard, glasses, and tweed suit adjusts their tie before introducing themself. "You may not recognize me but I've been on T.V. a few times. My name is Charles Wendog. He and him. Class B for about seven years."

"Learning's not Ruff! Support your local libraries!" Neoni cheers before covering her mouth. "My little cousin loves watching you."

"That’s good to hear," Charles replies.

Good to see I'm not the only celebrity here, I think to myself.

"Next," Doctor Hailu says. "We need to speed this up. Person that Page brought, go!"

"I'm Neoni Paewai, she and her. I'm basically a Class C but I can do a couple other things. I can't become giant or anything cool like that. Page does not suck. He saved my life," she says before shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

She’s been ribbing me all day and now she’s shy?

I'm surprised that I blush. Takes me a moment to put a stop to that using my powers but not before Neoni notices. She gives me a wink which makes me roll my eyes again.

"And finally," Doctor Hailu prompts.

"Me," says the person with burnt umber hair and tan skin who's sitting across from me. "First off, I'd like to apologize."

"For what?" Doctor Hailu asks.

"I haven't been honest," they say. "I was against coming here to begin with but my Host insisted. She said it was important enough to stop hiding given the fact that Book has gone public and all."

I blink a few times.

Did they just say 'Host?'

"Oh my gods," I whisper.

"I see you don't just call yourself a 'detective' for the fame," they say. "My name is Lock, he and him. I am an Alter. The I.D. I used to register for the study is fake. I signed up under the instruction of my Host, Sienna Gutierrez. I was born on February 17th, 2029 when Sienna was trapped after her office building collapsed. I kept her alive and conscious. Four years ago we became a CoL. I only shift if Sienna agrees to it. Usually, she sends me to buy groceries or pay bills. She's not great with crowds or tight spaces."

"I’m sure you think you’re very funny," Doctor Hailu says. "But we don't joke about that sort of thing here, Mr. Gutierrez."

"I don't think he's joking," I say.

"Because I'm not. Sienna is present at the moment and willing to talk. We understand if you kick us out of the study, but the call did mention 'atypical CoLs' and we're pretty 'atypical.'"

Doctor Hailu looks at me then to Lock. "If you're really a CoL System you'd be the first one ever documented. You realize what that means? There would be absolutely no way to hide you."

"Which is what I've been telling Sienna the last few months," Lock says. "I know you said no shifting in the building but she wants to talk."

The clothing he's wearing, a deep blue long sleeve shirt and jeans, becomes more loose as Lock shrinks somewhat. Sienna has the same tan skin and brown eyes, but longer brown hair. She hunches over in her seat and avoids eye contact.

"I'm sorry," she says softly. "I was worried you would turn us away if I had Lock mention we're a System when I made him sign us up. That you'd think we were faking or something. Please, please, please, don't hold it against him. This was my idea. I know we'll get a lot of attention but it's not that odd for people to have DID now and I just want other CoL Systems to know they're not alone and they don't have to hide."

"Unfortunately, there's no way for me to tell if you're lying or not," Doctor Hailu says.

"She's telling the truth," I say. "I've worked with a System before. I don't think either of them is lying."

Doctor Hailu raises an eyebrow at me. "You have?"

"Yeah. Wasn't a CoL or Mimic, but based on what Lock and Sienna've said I don't think they're lying," I explain.

"I'm letting Lock take over again," Sienna says. "Sorry for breaking the rules about shifting in the building. He's just better at these things than I am."

Lock shifts back into shape and scratches his scalp with one hand. "Well, that didn't go great, did it?"

"I need to consider this," Doctor Hailu says. "The ramifications and whatnot. If you are telling the truth then you'll need some sort of special accommodations to use your abilities in the building, of course. We want everyone to be as comfortable as possible."

"Now that right there is bullshit," Rex says.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hailu asks.

Well, he's certainly not chiming in to defend me, I think.

"Ro has Ehlers-Danlos and has been in horrible pain since fae had to stop using faer powers in the building. You didn't offer faer any special accommodations," Rex protests.

"I...didn't know," Doctor Hailu says. "The study hasn't begun. So there's no need to really abide by the 'no shifting' in the main building rule. If you need to for your health be it mental or physical please do so." She stops talking to look at me and adds, "Not you, Page."

"Can I at least eat something?" I ask.

"No. You've gone two months without eating before, you can go another hour," Doctor Hailu says.

We never went public with that.

Doctor Hailu thought it would make me seem no longer human.

"Come to my office, Page," Doctor Hailu instructs. "The rest of you can get to know one another while you enjoy your dinner."