4. Initiation

The first thing you learn as a child is to never follow a stranger into a dark and gloomy basement, yet Bailey was doing just that. In their defense, nobody could expect them to simply sit back and relax as their classmate develops a haunted look on his face and runs off. Admittedly, he had a pretty solid reputation for making rapid escapes, and perhaps it would have been the safer option to merely wait it out or report it to a teacher. At least in that case Bailey would not have had to stalk through a school’s basement. There were few classrooms down there and most of them were either being renovated or in desperate need of a glow up. Additionally, most people were having lunch in the cafeteria, leaving the place as good as abandoned.
As Bailey turned a corner, they could see the familiar mop of black hair vanishing beyond another. They followed close behind and sped up their pace to stay on his tail. Suddenly, the low sound of footsteps vibrating on the ground ceased and Bailey found themselves ducking behind a wall. The new kid had opened a narrow door and stepped into a tiny room. It looked like a deserted supply closet, identical to the one Alex was using as a changing room during gym class. It had been hilarious when he had given Bailey a tour of his ‘humble abode’ but despite the happy memory, Bailey was filled with anxiety. Out of all days to be sick, Alex just had to choose this one! Bailey could have done well with some emotional support.
A cracking sound, much like glass shattering on the ground, pulled them out of their thoughts. They peeked their head around the corner to find the new kid collapsed on the floor, surrounded by mirror shards and silently sobbing. Before Bailey knew what was happening, their feet carried them in their classmate’s direction, and they crouched down to comfort him. Bailey’s hand lightly touched his shoulder, and it made him jump in surprise. The mysterious kid looked up for a second before averting his eyes and letting out a sniffle.
Bailey scanned over his body swiftly and shuddered at the lengthy cut stretching over his right palm. After gently propping up the injured hand, Bailey wrapped a temporary cloth around it. Eventually, they pulled their classmate out of the glass shards as carefully as they could and checked his body again for further injuries. Unable to find any, they let his hand go. ‘Come on, you should get that checked out.’ Bailey called over their shoulder while collecting both of their bags. Without waiting for a response, they took the newcomer’s uninjured arm and practically dragged him towards the nursing office.
A few minutes of nervous pacing later, he emerged from the bright white doors with a clean bandage wrapped around his palm. Bailey let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that the cut was not very deep and no stitches were needed.
They extended a confident arm in their schoolmate’s direction and looked up to meet his eyes. ‘I noticed that we have never actually been introduced,’ they pointed out. ‘My name is Bailey. I prefer neutral pronouns but don’t stress yourself about it.’ They gave him a small grin and waited for a response.
Carefully, the raven-haired kid looked Bailey over in search of any kind of wicked intent. After connecting their hands, he hesitated slightly before clarifying: ‘I’m not actually a guy.’
The new kid glanced up at Bailey’s face to check for a sign of bewilderment but found nothing and carried on.
‘I’m a girl’, she said, ‘call me Audrey, please.’