"Messel, how is your tea? Too hot? Too warm?"
"No, it is perfect. Thank you, Dr. Checkers." Dr. Checkers rubbed Messel's hair with a tentacle, soothingly. The gesture reminded Messel of his mother, and yet it didn't.
"That is wonderful, dear. I hope you enjoy it! (*^▽^*)"
Messel sipped his tea thoughtfully. It is very nice tea. Dr. Checkers prodded a plate of biscuits towards him, and Messel took one, wondering if he should dunk it in his tea. Dr. Checkers had three teacups in various tentacles, tending to various mouths. With yet another mouth, it still could speak. "Now, Messel, are you feeling better? You that if you ever feel that bad about anything ever again, I am here to talk."
Messel looked to his still bandaged arms. He didn't know if the scars would ever heal. "I think I am. It was... I wasn't expecting people to be so supportive of me, I was expecting them to be disappointed. Like my Uncle Markus was. He was very angry, and very disapointed, and then he and Dr. Koremos got into a fight."
"Oh dear! ( ﾟдﾟ) That is quite alarming! Messel, I don't know how anyone could be so cruel to someone who was already feeling quite badly! (ノдヽ) There is no reason to be so cruel."
Messel shrugged, sipping another sip of tea. "He's always been kind of a jerk to me. The first time I met him he misgendered me, though you know, I've always been kind of upset at my parents for not telling me I was trans before. You know, as long as I was old enough to understand what it really meant. They just... I guess I could have been too young to understand, but..."
"People in this world can be very strange about genders, Messel. Back on my home planet we have a very laissez-faire attitude about them, so long as one does not misgender someone else."
"But what I'm saying is I wished they'd explained to me that I was transgender before I met Markus, and what it really was. My mother told me something about nice people and mean people, but she didn't tell me that sometimes people are nice, but they disrespect your gender, and-"
"Are those people truly nice, Messel?"
"Like they're nice in every other way! But one! And it's important, but you just can't call them awful for it! Yes, there are nice people who will respect you, and mean people who won't, but there are also mean people who will get your pronouns right every time, and nice people who just want you to be better in a way that they think will make you better!"
Dr. Checkers reassuringly patted Messel with a tentacle again. "Do you think you will wish to spend the rest of your four years here, dear? I admit that you are one of my favorite students, and I would be sad to see you go . (◞‸◟；)"
Messel sighed. "Where is it better? Except on Kensial, I guess. Maybe I could study there."
"Perhaps when my time here is up, if it ever is, I can return to my school and you can go back with me. What fun we could have! I feel you would enjoy Kenisal, Messel. It may take some getting used to, for a person who has always lived in dead buildings, who has never swum down our rivers of balersha, who has never heard the songs of the sand as it melts into glass (*˘︶˘*)..:*♡"
"It sounds beautiful." said Messel. "I think I would like it there."
"Then one day, perhaps, we shall go to my home, and it shall become yours as well." A bell donged, and Messel looked to his watch. "Oh no! I have class in thirty minutes!"
"Then finish up your tea and biscuits, my dear, and hurry to your class! We would not wish you to miss another! But come back and see me soon! Oh, we'll see each other tomorrow in my class!"
"Would you mind terribly if I came over to visit you before that? It's still awkward between me and my roommate, after he... discovered me."
"it would be no burden at all, Messel. I enjoy your company greatly."
Messel smiled at Dr. Checkers. "Then I'll come over after my classes, okay?"
"Alright, my dear Messel. See you then! °(☌ᴗ☌)°"
Author's Notes:
I find it all too easy and innaccurate to say only nice people do nice things and only mean people do mean things. Some nice people do mean things, and it doesn't mean they're not nice, and some mean people are occasionally nice. I literally was talking about this to my mother one day and she was like "that's very mature of you, I think if someone does something mean, they're a mean person". And I suppose there's an argument to be made that we can only understand people through their actions, and I'm certainly not excusing transphobia, but sometimes nice people do awful things and it hurts.
Also, Messel is recovering from a suicide attempt here. I tried to make this obvious, but I didn't. Whoops.
Length: 724 words
Date: March 30th, 2015
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