Young Writers Society

Alex wasn’t used to feeling warm water across their skin, to watch the dirt rinse off without filling xer bones with the deepest of colds. This entire situation was odd comfort.

Would they give this up because a couple of people in the trials were weird? Maybe Emily was just the resident basket case. Who knows? The rest of the people could be completely normal and human.

Then, in the stream of water that became the only tether to the physical world, they remembered Alex’s words. We are already perfect. It was hard to believe that. Alex had endured six lifetimes worth of insults; they bore the marks of someone’s disappointment on xer skin. Every fiber of scar tissue was a reminder of their mistakes; every day xe stayed stuck in the same pattern, a testament to their flaws. Maybe Sadie was perfect, with her bite and her fire and her vibrant life, but Alex was not. Alex was a coward, lucky even to be considered good by someone as bright as Sadie.

Sadie didn't feel herself drifting off, but she was. Her brain was only barely staying focused on reality. Phone. Servers. Food -- eventually. Sleep.

Alex left the bathroom quietly, catching a glimpse of Sadie. Smiling to the themself, they settled on the couch. Xe was glad Sadie was able to sleep comfortably.

Sadie was out cold by the time Alex came out and didn't rouse at all.

Alex soon drifted into a comfortable sleep on the couch, a gentle smile on their face.

There was a loud knock on the door.

Sadie launched herself off the bed in an instant, gasping as her eyes flew around the room. She didn't know where she was. Or what had happened. But her memories returned a moment later, and she let the breath back out.

She must have fallen asleep.

Alex woke up, blinking their eyes rapidly. "Is that room service?"

Sadie took another breath. "Must be."

She cautiously walked to the door and looked through the peephole. It was.

She pulled open the door and laughed, thoroughly pleased with herself, as she saw dozens of platters of food on carts with four different servers hauling them up.

Alex laughed along with her, watching the servers work. "Thank you so much, everyone."

The servers murmured to them and pushed their carts into the room. They took up most of the space -- packing their entire room with food. One of the servers handed her a bill for $1975.63 -- she signed it, charging it to room service with a grin as she decided to round it up and make it an even $4000.

Then she shooed the servers away and turned back to Alex with a grin. "Bon appetit."

(lil bitty boop)

Alex grinned, a little mischievous glimmer in xer eyes. “Oh absolutely.” They grabbed a plate and started eating.

Sadie decided to make a game of it and uncovered many of the platters of food and went at it like a buffet, eating whatever caught her eye. It was good. And she fully planned to gorge herself until her insides ached.

“This is more food than I’ve had in the last week.” Alex swallows harshly and took a sip of one of the drinks. “And I am loving it.”

"No doubt," Sadie agreed, eating an entire crab rangoon in a single bite. "I wish we had a walk-in fridge to preserve all this."