Private Socialization for Dummies

Approaching Sela was a small teenage boy with blue hair and eyes that stood out against his dark skin. Small may not have been the proper word, considering Sela was seven-two at the moment. Most people taking on a human form were small compared to them. Boy probably wasn't either, as their teacher used gender-neutral pronouns when introducing the two.

The two had decided to meet at the front of the school at the start of the evening. They were paired together for a project in their social etiquette and cultural norms class. The project revolved around them going out into the city and... being citizens, essentially. If anything went wrong, the pairs could make up for the other's shortcomings.

In Sela's hands was the journal and pen they would be using to keep track of their progress. In a way, this was already a show of what they learned. They could have easily waited for Blue to arrive before pulling out the journal and pen from their stomach. Or mouth. Or eyes. Or wherever they decided to pull objects out of for the time.

"Hello Blue," they said with a rainbow smile. "I have our stuff. I have my phone but... I'm still learning it... I bought some money too. I was thinking..." Their voice trailed off, leaving a second of silence before they continued. "I was thinking we could find a... a... a food shop? Fast food place? And order food. I don't eat food though... Should we do something more relevant to our needs?" Doing their assignment on situations they wouldn't find themselves in might reduce their grade.

Friend knocked Sela off balance, making it near-impossible for them to comprehend everything else Blue was saying. A silence followed Blue's last sentence that could definitely be described as awkward. Sela's blank smile and faraway stare did not help matters.

"Sure!" they piped up as if that pause never existed. "The mall. Let's go there. I love the mall. I enjoy the company of people without a crowd focusing on me. Let's take a picture." In the next moment, Sela's body had shrunk to six feet to better match Blue's height. But not exactly. There were a lot of unknowns of this island and it did well to be the bigger person. It showed unspoken authority.

Their stare turned inquisitive as they waited for Blue to pull out their phone. "We're friends? I've never taken a picture with a friend. Or of myself." They occasionally played with their phone to capture whatever was in front of them, but the novelty of that quickly faded.

Blue's skillful handling of their phone left Sela gawking. They turned it on, went to the camera app, took a clean looking picture, then showed off their other pictures. Any of those actions would have taken Sela far too long to complete.

Everything Blue did was quick too, from their speaking to their movements. They were upside down now and waiting for Sela to move. Sela returned to their normal size and started floating away from the school.

"What do I like to do...? A lot of stuff... Reading, being in the woods, drawing, hunting, and listening to music. I'm always looking for new stuff to have fun doing... What do you like, Blue?"

The harp. Sela had to think about that. Instruments of this planet weren't something they were familiar with. Blue's collision with the pole returned Sela to reality while wearing a worried expression. "Please be careful. If we get hurt, we might both get in trouble..."

They tried to not linger too much on Blue's clumsiness. "I'd like to hear you play. I've only heard of a harp. I don't know what it looks like or feels like." One of many more things they'd have to buy and consume. "But, um... mistress? Do you mean a female master or a woman you're cheating with? Do you have more?"

Blue's upbeat tone reassured them that everything was fine. Similar to Sela, the objects of this world didn't restrict or hurt Blue as it did to others.

The idea of the two of them dancing to the wonderful music coming from Blue's harp made Sela sparkle. That only lasted for a short time, as after Blue further explained their old mistress situation. Judging by their tone—something Sela was not confident in gauging accurately—it was not a pleasant memory.

"That was rude of her. Valentine's Day taught me dating stuff. People view dating and marriage as very important?" They looked at Blue, wondering if they were speaking accurately. "Cheating is bad. Very bad. It can ruin people's lives."