Page 104 of Medium

“Do you like it?” They wrinkled their nose as they swallowed, and I laughed. “It’s actually better if it’s chopped up inside the omelet.” We’d tried explaining that pizza sauce was made from tomatoes, but we hadn’t been convincing enough. So far the only vegetables Ms. Jackson liked on their ownwere carrots, asparagus, and potatoes. “Anyway, what time do you need to leave to meet Arch and Dominic?”

They manifested their Ouija board and sparkled out,2-P-M.

“Got it. We’ll come home for lunch and then when you leave, we’ll take Pia shopping for stuff for her bedroom.”

They nodded and ate another piece of omelet. After we’d had to watch Ms. Jackson eat a grilled cheese sandwich in one bite, we’d all learned to cut up their food before serving it.

E-L-L-I-S-M-U-S-T-B-R-I-N-G-H-I-S-Y-O-Y-O

I blinked. “What? Why?”

My tone must’ve been odd, because everyone at the table stopped talking.

N-O-T-S-U-R-E-J-U-S-T-K-N-O-W

“Okay. Um, Ellis, Ms. Jackson says you need to bring your Yo-Yo when we go furniture shopping this afternoon.”

His eyebrows rose. “I can do that. Any particular one?”

The entire Ouija board sparkled. They didn’t know.

“Whichever one goes with your outfit,” Manny suggested.

Ellis’ forehead creased, and his worry leaked through the bond.

I put my hand on his back. “Look at your Yo-Yos and go with your gut.”

He nodded and relaxed slightly. I casually stroked his back to see if that would help. His muscles stayed tense, but he did lean into my hand a little.

Time for a topic change. “Ms. Jackson, do you want to come shopping with us this morning?”

In contrast to Pia’s excited, “Yes!”, Ms. Jackson was obviously not a fan of the idea. The nose wrinkle my question received was even worse than the one the tomato had gotten.

I chuckled. “Okay, no worries. Um, is there anything you need us to get for you? We were thinking you might want your own iPad.”

They went absolutely still, their eyes wide and ears perked forward. The Ouija board sparkled out,R-E-A-L-L-Y-F-O-R-M-E.

I grinned. “Yes. Right now you have to share with Pia, and this way you can each watch something different. Or you can look stuff up, listen to music, or play a game. It’ll be yours to do whatever you want with.”

Ellishmmmed. “Maybe you need a phone too. We already told Pia she’s getting one. We’ll pick one up for you as well. What if you wanted to tell Greg or Cal something? You could video call them and spell it out.”

They cocked their head, then dropped their jaw open in what I assumed was a grin.I-W-O-U-L-D-L-O-V-E-A-P-H-O-N-E

“Done. I’ll put you on my plan.” I really needed to set up some sort of expense fund for District Monitors. Hell, with Grandfather’s help, I could probably fund some stipends for them too.

Pia gasped. “Can we also get Ms. Jackson some toys?”

Ms. Jackson and I tilted our heads at her. “What kind of toys?”

She rolled her eyes. I couldn’t wait until she was a full-on teenager. “Like toys a cat would play with, only bigger? Haven’t you seen the videos of tigers playing with balls and boxes?”

Ms. Jackson stretched their head in front of Manny to get Pia’s attention. He huffed and snatched his plate off the table as he sat back in his seat.

I-W-A-N-T-T-O-S-E-E-T-H-E-T-I-G-E-R-V-I-D-E-O-S

Pia gasped again. “You haven’tseenthem?” She scooted her chair back from the table.

“Pia!” Shane pointed at her, then at her plate. “After you’ve finished your breakfast.”