Young Writers Society

Meyer walked to the table, and grinned at Sadie. "Be fun if we pulled an ol' switcheroo, don't you think? Emily's plan would go poof just like that."

Sadie opened her mouth, but before she could respond he flopped down in the seat next to Emily.

"Just kidding, kid. This is a one-sided interrogation, you don't get to know nothing about me. Sit."

Sadie sighed but sat down in the last empty chair.

Emily pulled out a stack of papers from a drawer in the table, handing half of the pile to Meyer.

"First question. What was your relationship with your parents like?"

Alex squirmed in their seat, fidgeting with xer fingers. "Well, not good."

"Specfics please." Emily started taking notes, her writing just as calculated as her walk.

"They never really wanted me around, I guess. Coming out to them was the final straw. They uh-" Xe looked nervously at Sadie. "-kicked me out a week before I turned sixteen."

Emily nodded and finished writing. "Sadie?"

Sadie gave Alex a sympathetic nod. God, if she got to be in charge of who got to be parents...

But before she had time to properly get herself worked up about how awful Alex's parents were, Emily was turning the question on her.

"Oh, my parents suck too," Sadie answered with a shrug. She'd gotten used to maligning them to literally anyone who asked; and, sometimes, to people who hadn't even asked. "They walked into my room -- without knocking -- and saw me kissing my girlfriend and decided that rather than being big kids about it they were just going to toss me out. So. Screw them."

Meyer shuffled the papers, trying to order them, but looked up with a smirk at Sadie's sass. He still felt like he only vaguely understood what was expected of him as a caseworker; the job description really had been so vague after all. But he figured Sadie seemed to be about as interesting as a job could be.

Alex smiled softly, knowing they weren't alone in their terrible parent struggles.

Emily looked at Meyer, staring at him with no evidence of what she wanted.

Sadie caught Alex's eye and gave them a small smile in return. It seemed they were still a bit raw about their falling out with their parents. She hoped she'd be able to help role model complete disrespect for one's own parents.

"So, uh," Meyer said, feeling a chill creep down his spine. Emily was so wildly unsettling to him -- like a robot, but, worse. Because she wasn't. He was pretty sure. "Righto." He looked at the papers in front of him. "Are you confrontational?"

"Not if you're not stupid," Sadie replied.

"Right. So, marking that down as a yes," Meyer said with a smirk, then turned to Alex, figuring he already knew the answer. "And you?"

Alex shook their head, chewing on xer thumb nail.

Emily seemed to cross something out on her paper, before turning the page.

“How often do you experience strong feelings of anger, panic, or paranoia?”

Alex laughed, pushing their hair out of their eyes, only for it fall right back. “Only everyday. The uh, panic one.”

Meyer noted down the answer and flipped his page as well.

Sadie was silent for a moment, actually being serious for once rather than just being sarcastic with her response. “I guess I’m kind of angry these days.”

She didn’t used to be like this. But it hit a different kind of way when your own parents decided they loved the idea of you being a man more than they loved you.

Meyer nodded, noting her tense body language, and wrote down both responses. “Right. So, do you feel like you struggle with your mental health?”

Sadie laughed at that. “I’m a zoomer, all of us struggle with our mental health.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, you can’t expect us to have good mental health when society is crumbling around us.”

“In these trials, we are unlocking the end to humanity’s spiral. Let that set you at ease, as the experiment progresses.”

Alex sighed. “That better be true.”

“Do either of you have chronic illnesses, severe mental illnesses, or neurodivergencies?”

“Nah,” Sadie said, shaking her head.

Meyer looked at her skeptically. People didn’t give off such chaotic vibes if they didn’t have something going on with them. They also wouldn’t show up to something like this if they were stable and happy.

Sadie met his gaze for a long moment then sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ve got bipolar and adhd but neither of those are severe nor are they any of your business.”

“In order for us to aid you on your journey, we must know what holds you back.” Emily set her pen down with an almost silent tap. “Can you turn on the light if you can’t find the light switch? Allow us to help, Sadie Lovett, or you will not be a success.” Yet even with this “outburst,” the same smile stayed on her lips, her voice a permanent state of semi-sweet.

It bothered Alex, to say the least. They didn’t know if they should apologize, or stay quiet. Was Emily upset or trying to be understanding? It was impossible to tell.

“Alex?”

They shook their head, trying to silence their thoughts.

“Uh, I’ve never been officially diagnosed with anything, but there’s been some… suspicions. For some anxiety disorder and autism.”

“And how have you coped with that?” Meyer looked between them. “Both of you?”

“By not being a little bitch about it,” Sadie snapped. She hadn’t known this stupidity was going to involve something like this.

Meyer looked at her skeptically but turned his gaze to Alex.

They shrugged. “By not thinking about it, I guess. I didn’t have time.”

“Next to last question. How do you react when faced with a challenge?”

“I beat it,” Sadie answered with a glint in her eye. There wasn’t a challenge out there that she couldn’t take on and come out on top of.

Meyer liked her spunk.

“I try my best. That’s all we can do.”

Emily stood up, turning to a panel in wall. “Last question, Meyer.”

“What is the main thing you want to work on while you’re here?” Meyer asked.

Sadie glared at him. “I still don’t know what’s going on here.”