• I’ve noticed that the floor of the hallway was covered with a red carpet. The lights on the wall were shaped like a sea shell and changed different colors from time to time. We stopped in front of a double brown door.
    “Is this your room…?” I guessed.
    “No” she chuckled. “This is the elevator”
    Elevator? That’s terrific, this world still uses some things from my world. At least I could understand things more now. There was a ding and the door opened, just like a regular elevator door. Six people came out. When the way was clear, I look inside and see a strange metallic flat circle on the floor. It beamed blue light that went straight up to the ceiling. Okay, what the heck is that?!
    “Onward” Ellisia says with enthusiasm. She pushed the wheelchair up close to the beam and before my skin touched the ominous light, I yelped.
    “What are you doing?!” my voice quivered. I looked like a total fool right now but at least she stopped.
    “Well—we’re entering the elevator” she said, sounding a bit surprised and sympathetic. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. Just close your eyes. You won’t feel a thing”
    I closed my eyes just like she said. Ellisia continued walking. I felt a bump as the wheel hit something, and then a ding. My eyes cautiously opened and automatically scanned the area. We were on a different floor, I could tell. This one looked really different. It was less crowded too.
    “And now we’re…?”
    “On the third floor” Ellisia says. “My room is right across the corner there” she pointed to the left and we headed towards it.
    The closer the room was, the better I could see the pink blob on the door. It was fuzzy looking and the top was connected to a string that was hook onto a nail. Once we were only a foot away from it, I noticed that the object was a furry stuffed animal with huge black eyes. It had hands and feet, but not really arms or legs. This reminded me of the boys at the orphanage. They used to play a game called yu-gi-oh. I watched them play this one time and saw a card that looked just like the pink fuzzy toy—it was called kuriboh.
    Ellisia took out a card that she wore across her neck like a necklace and put it inside some sort of a slot. It started scanning the card till the door clicked. She put the card back and opened the door. I was awed at the look. Everything looked so girly, cute, and clean! It smelled really good too, like flowers and vanilla. The walls were painted green with pink cherry blossom petals on it. There was a bunk bed on the far side of the room. On the opposite side of that was a queen sized bed. The blanket was red and silky. It made me wonder who else lived here.
    “I share the room with Deila” she says. “Deila has the top bunk, I got the bottom”
    “Who’s got that bed then?” I asked, pointing to the red silk.
    “Mal”
    Mal lived here? Okay, I really didn’t expect that. “So, who’s Deila?” I gave her another question, wanting to not talk about Mal.
    “Well, Deila is a shohn just like me. We can’t sleep in the same room with our weirers because they’re boys”
    “But—back there, when I first came here, you told me you were a weirer just like Lenschi!”
    “Sorry” she gave me an apologetic look. She looked so innocent that I couldn’t help but forgive her. She walked up to a big dresser and opened it. “I only said that as a joke, and I thought you could tell I wasn’t a weirer, but I didn’t know you came from a different world. Sorry” she says again, then grabbed out something from the hanger. “Ah! This would look adorable on you”
    I stared at the dress. It was pink with frills from the shoulder, across the chest, and to other shoulder. On the hip part was a white bow. The dress looked so cute, and unlike everything I wore my entire life! There were even gloves that went with it cause it was connected to the hanger that it hung on.
    “I’m going to wear that?” my jaw dropped unintended.
    “Oh be quiet and come here—no, I forgot” she laughed, now remembering that I’m partially paralyzed. “First, we need to get you undressed”
    That’s when I didn’t care that my mouth was gaped open. I can’t believe someone is going to undress me. That has never happened before, and now it is. I realized that I’m doing a lot of new things here.

    Ellisia pressed her hands together and smiled proudly. “You look amazing, absolutely amazing!”
    “Oh, th—”
    “Wait, wait! Before we go, I need to add something to your hair” she goes back to the closet and comes back with a headband. It was black, white, and pink. The headband itself was white. There was a hat that was attached to the corner, and that was pink. Black frills came out from around the rim of the tiny hat. She put it on my head and clapped her hands with glee. “Okay, let’s go! I want to show you off to all the boys” she grabs the handle of the wheelchair and pushes out the room.
    I gave a big gulp when we reached the elevator from last time. “I’m nervous” I looked down on my black heals and I had to wear to go with the dress. The straps laced halfway up my shins.
    “Don’t be, you look cute” the door opened and we went inside. This time I didn’t close my eyes.
    “But I don’t know anyone, and I don’t know anything” my eyes dart everywhere as we went on the blue beam.
    “You know me, Mal, El, Mich, and Lenschi. You don’t have to know anything, just have fun” her voice was as cheery as Lenschi’s but kinder and more serene.
    My vision blurred as the beam flashed its mighty light. When things got clearer, the door to the escalator opened. We went out and turned right. That’s where everyone was heading. “Are you sure? What if I don’t fit in?”
    “Of course you’ll fit in. What makes you think you won’t?”
    “Well—” I found it weird that I was talking to someone like this. Its just that I had never been this nervous before, and I needed help, or just a friendly advise. Out of everyone I met (sort of met) today, I trust Ellisia the most because she’s calmer and nicer. “Everybody here has something unique about them. It’s their eyes, and their hair. The colors are so different and amazing. My hair is just plain brown, my eyes too”
    “Oh, don’t worry about that” Ellisia took a left turn. “I think your eyes and hair are amazing”
    “But—Ellisia, your hair is pink and wavy. Your eyes are emerald green just like the color of Mal’s hair. Even Lenschi has lavender eyes, and that’s not normal where I come from”
    “Don’t worry” she tells me. It’s hard not to worry though.
    She turned another corner. On the far side revealed red double doors that were opened all the way. I heard people talking and it was getting noisier and noisier the closer we got.
    “Where is the dinner at?” I asked her even though I knew it was beyond the red doors.
    “Where food is always at”
    It wasn’t that specific but I knew what she meant. At school, it was what they would call a lunchroom. Here, in this world, I think it’s a lunchroom too but I’m not so sure. “Are you nervous?” asking Ellisia questions help distract me a bit from all the people that’s around us.
    “Yea” she smiles brightly. “Everyone is. This dinner is very big, very important”
    “Oh” I nod solemnly. Good thing she can’t see my expression because I’m looking kind of down right now. My mind was wandering back to when I was in Lenschi’s room and we were talking about a big ceremony. I guess everyone here is psyched about getting a shohn or something like that. Lenschi still hasn’t told me anything about shohns and weirers yet.
    “Oh—god” I gasped. We went through the red doors and a gigantic room appeared. It was humongous! At first I thought it was a lunchroom but this—this is different by a thousand fold! Table after table, people filled every seat. The tables were long and wooden, the rich kind of wood. The chairs were red and looked really comfy. This is something I would see at a kings wedding.
    Ellisia scanned the place, looking for someone. When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she started walking at a random place. I felt lost too because she was lost. I’m just a person in a wheelchair is all, but I don’t blame her for not knowing where to go. I’d get confused in a place full of thousands of people too.
    “Hey, over here, over here!” someone shouts. I turn to look and see a boy standing up on his chair, waving, grinning. “Ellie!”
    That got Ellisia’s attention. She smiled back at him. “Oh, there you are!” that’s when I knew we were headed to that table. There were two open seats, what a coincidence. Ellisia helped me sit down on a chair five seats to the left and across the table from her seat. She apologized for not being able to sit near me, then went back to sit next to the boy that called her Ellie. Maybe he’s her weirer.
    I looked around to see my dinner mates. They all were talking, having fun, already knowing one another. I felt so out of place that it wasn’t even funny. Dinner was already served. They all lay in the middle of the table. Everyone’s plate was full but mine was empty because I just got here. I felt some peoples eyes stare at me. Maybe I look weird without any food. This is dinner after all.
    Oh crud. I tried my best not to shout. I forgot I cant move my body.
    “You want a muffin?” the boy sitting next to me asked. He had blond hair and pretty blue eyes. In his hand was a blueberry muffin.
    “S—sure” is stuttered. He seemed really nice, and I’m glad I had someone to talk to.
    He set it on my plate and said, “What’s your name? Mines Ford” his smile made my heart pound and my cheeks flush.
    “I’m Illie” I looked down so he wouldn’t be able to see how red my face was.
    “Well, Illie, you going to eat that muffin?” he laughed. “I gave it to you after all, and you’re not going to eat it?”
    “I will!” I said quickly. “Just, not now because…that’s my dessert”
    “I see” he takes a quick bit of meat on his plate then turns back to me. “I can’t tell if you’re a weirer or a shohn. Mind if I asked?”
    Uh oh, that’s just great. It’s the dreaded question! Am I a weirer or a shohn? Well, technically I’m neither, but what am I suppose to tell him? I can’t say I’m from another world! He’ll think I’m crazy and I’m pretty sure I don’t want anyone to think I’m crazy.
    He saw the stress in my expression and changed the subject. “Try these, they’re good!” he spoons some tiny, multicolored balls that was in a bowl across the table, and feeds it inside my mouth.
    His fingers slightly touched my lip but he didn’t seem to notice. It made me blush like crazy! When he released the spoon, I began chewing to distract myself. The balls were, actually, really good! It tasted like a smoothie to me. When I bite the balls, they pop in my mouth and liquid come out of it. “It’s yummy!” I swallowed. “Ahh” I felt refreshed.
    “Glad to know you like it. Is this your first time eating it?” he takes a sip from his cup of water.
    “Yea” I coughed, but didn’t know why.
    “Oh, that’s the bad thing about the balls. After you swallow, it leaves a sticky feeling in your throat. Here” he held out his cup.
    I stared at it—at the part his lip touched it. An indirect kiss?? My mind was going haywire. But I couldn’t pick up the cup because I couldn’t move, still. My heart was broken to say, “No thank you”
    “You sure? It can get pretty annoying, that after feeling, you know?”
    “Yea…” I could already feel it, like creepy crawlers running up and down my tongue. It started to itch too.
    “Ah, to heck with it” Ford says, lifting my chin, carefully pouring water into my mouth once he pressed his cup against my lips. When he let go, I gulped. “Better?” he asks. “Sorry…”
    “N—no, it’s okay. Thanks…my throat feels much better” I tried to smile but was too shocked from the indirect kiss.
    He returned the smile. “So, I was wondering, if you’re a shohn, who’s your weirer? And if you’re a weirer, who’s your shohn? This dinner is all about getting to know your partner so your suppose to be sitting next to them”
    “Well, what are you? And where is your partner?”
    He laughed. “I’m a weirer. My shohn couldn’t make it tonight. He’s a bit under the weather, if you know what I mean. You?”
    “I…well I—”
    “Hey, kid! There you are” It was Lenschi. He was standing behind me. “I’ve been looking all over for you”
    “Eh? You know Illie?” Ford asks.
    Hearing him say my name gave me butterflies. No one ever says my name, no boy anyway. Even Lenschi doesn’t call me by Illie. I’m known as ‘kid’ to him.
    “Of course I know her” Lenschi replies. “Come on girl, let’s go” he says to me.
    ”But I—” my words don’t even reach his ears.
    “We’re supposed to spend the dinner together, that’s the whole point of today—” he stops abruptly, face strained.
    “What—Lenschi, I didn’t know she was your shohn!” Ford says. Somehow, it made me sad.
    “My…shohn? Oh…oh, yea, that’s right. She’s my…shohn” Lenschi kept spacing the words out like it was hard to say them.
    “Good for you” he smiles. “It would’ve been bad if you didn’t summon a shohn correctly. Everyone only gets one shot at it, after all. At least your not a fallen weirer”
    You only get one shot at summoning a shohn? That was not good news to hear. I knew it was true, but this is just bad. I looked up at Lenschi and he was smiling his happy smile like nothing was wrong, even though everything was going horribly. I erased all feelings I had in me and focused on Lenschi.
    “Is there a seat for me?” I asked him. “At the table your sitting at?” I might as well make it feel like he’s having dinner with his ‘shohn’. I owe him at least that much.
    “Of course” he brings up my wheelchair from before at helped me on it. “Sorry, Ford” he says.
    “No problem” Ford nods. “Have a nice time” before we started leaving, he said to me, “You look cute. I hope we meet again someday”
    I blushed despite myself.
    Lenschi sighed, tired of everything going on.
    “‘You look cute’” Lenschi teased.
    I could tell he was trying to brighten up the mood. That or he was desperate to forget his misfortune. “Shut up” I mumble.
    part 7