The door slammed open, and Delphine and Cosima bolted upright in shock. Two men in white button downs, black slacks, and ties burst into the room, "What the fuck is going on here, you fucking dykes?!" The first man shouted with fury. His fists were balled in anger and his face was turning red. Cosima grabbed Delphine's hand in fear, as the man slowly approached the couch, violently shoving over two of the tables as he went. As he came closer, Cosima recognized him as one of the deans of the school.

"Niehaus right?" he asked Cosima through gritted teeth, his voice quiet yet vicious at the same time. She didn't answer; she was so scared she could barely breathe. She could feel herself shaking as her grip on Delphine's hand tightened. "ANSWER ME!" the man screamed lividly, and Cosima finally managed to sputter out, "Yes, Niehaus. Cosima Niehaus." The man scoffed, pacing back and forth on the small rug in front of the sofa. "You know," he glowered, "You've got some nerve, Niehaus. Stealing school property, breaking in here, and why? So you can fuck girls?!" Cosima leaned closer to Delphine as the man grew more aggressive.

"Please sir," said Delphine, barely above a whisper, wincing at a crash from across the room. The other man had been digging through the cabinets, shoving their contents onto the floor. Delphine continued bravely, her voice shaking, "We were only—"

"And who are you?" sneered the first man, stopping in front of the two quivering girls. "Leave her alone!" cried Cosima, "She's not even a student here!" The man raised his eyebrows, "Oh really?" He chuckled maliciously to himself, "In that case, you've got ten seconds to get the hell out of here before I have you arrested for trespassing."

Delphine grasped Cosima's hand tighter, and looked into her girlfriend's terrified eyes. How could she just leave?

Growing impatient, the man kicked over the bookshelf, sending the lava lamp sitting on top of it sailing to the floor, where it shattered, "I said GET OUT!" He shouted, violently pointing to the door. "Just go," Cosima whispered to Delphine, "I'll be alright. Just go." With one last desparate look at her girlfriend, Delphine dashed out of the room and up the stairs. Once she was gone, the man grabbed Cosima's arm forcefully and yanked her to her feet. "Now, you come with me," he growled, dragging her out of the lab. Cosima bit her tongue to suppress a cry from the pain radiating through her upper arm, a result of the hand tightly clamped around her arm. She took one last look at her lab before she was forced out the door, while the second man continued to vigorously empty the contents of the cabinets onto the floor.


Despite being grounded, Sarah had convinced Mrs. S to let her take Felix out for ice cream after dinner. She had already promised him, and didn't want to let her brother down. She'd have to take the trash out for a whole month, even when it wasn't her turn, but it was worth it. Between Felix's play and all of her scheming with the "Clone Club," they had barely seen each other for the last two weeks.

As they walked home together, Felix rambling on about the complicated dance number in the second act, Sarah looked over and saw a dreadlocked girl sitting under the bridge. She remembered seeing Cosima with Delphine there before school the week before, but this time, Cosima sat alone. Something about the way she hugged her backpack to her chest with her head downturned told Sarah that something was wrong.

"And then, this guy suggests that we take out the jazz hands, which is completely bonkers, amiright?" Felix laughed, but when he didn't hear even a chuckle in response from his sister, he looked back, noticing that she had stopped, and was looking across the bridge, "Sarah, are you even listening?" he complained. Sarah looked up, "Sorry, Fe. It's just… I'm just worried about a friend, alright? I'm gonna go check on her. Meet me at home?" Felix was about to protest, to remind her that it was their night, and Mrs. S had given her permission to hang out with him, but he sensed from Sarah's eyes that this was important. So he simply nodded, "Yeah, okay. But don't be too long." Sarah smiled gratefully, and ruffled his hair, "Thanks Fe."

As Felix walked away, Sarah slowly approached Cosima. When she got closer, she noticed tears quietly slipping down her face. "Hey, Cos? What's wrong?" Sarah asked quietly, slowly lowering herself next to Cosima on the sidewalk. Cosima wiped her eyes, and turned to Sarah. She didn't even know where to start.

Sarah gently placed a hand on Cosima's shoulder, "Cos?" She asked again, even quieter this time. Cosima shook her head, "Sarah, they… they found my lab." Sarah looked confused, "Who found, what—" Cosima cut her off, more harshly than intended, "Some people at the school, I don't know. I'm pretty sure one of them was the dean, or someone important, okay? Enough to get me in massive trouble." Cosima shook her head, her eyes cast toward her shoes, her hands grasping as she continued, "They just barged in and he screamed at us and they destroyed it. They…ruined everything." Sarah looked confused as she tried to follow the story, "Wait us…?" Cosima sighed, "Me and Delphine. She was there with me."

Sarah exhaled slowly, softly rubbing Cosima's back, "Cos, I'm sorry. We'll find you a new place, alright? We'll put it back together. We'll fix it—" Cosima jumped to her feet abruptly, "You can't! You can't fix it!" She cried in dismay, crossing her hands over her chest tightly, "Look, they called my mom." Sarah's heart sunk. She didn't know much about Cosima's parents, but judging by the way Cosima dodged questions about her family, Sarah could tell this story had taken at turn for the worst.

Cosima paced in front of Sarah, her voice beginning to quiver with distress, "They called her, and told her that they had found her daughter in a random room kissing a girl. And she told my Aunt." Cosima slowly sat down again, her head in her hands, trying with all her might to hold back her tears as she turned to Sarah, "And they kicked me out."

Sarah was shocked, she couldn't even find the words, "They… they what?"

'They kicked me out, Sarah! My Aunt told me that she couldn't have some sort of homosexual abomination living in her house, and that I had to go. She gave me fifteen minutes to pack my things; she even set a timer on the microwave. And my mom," Cosima took in a shaky breath, she had started to cry again. "My mom just stood there, she stood there, and she didn't even say anything." Cosima was now sobbing, and Sarah wrapped her in a hug, "Shhhh… it's okay, Cos. It's gonna be okay." Cosima pulled away and looked up at Sarah through her tear filled eyes. "But, I don't have anywhere to go," she choked out. It was just now that Sarah noticed a large duffle bag sitting next to her.

"You can come stay with me," Sarah stated, without even a moment's hesitation. Cosima looked confused, "But, your foster mom?" Sarah waved her concern aside, "She'll be fine," she stated again, with equal certainty. Mrs. S could seem strict, but her home was always open to those in need. Cosima still seemed unsure, "But Sarah, I mean, how will she react to the whole… clone thing?"

At that, Sarah burst out laughing, and despite everything, Cosima couldn't help but join in. It just felt so ridiculous! Clones.

Sarah stood, threw Cosima's duffle onto her shoulder, and extended her hand to her genetic identical. After a moment, Cosima took the hand and let Sarah pull her to her feet. Together, they began the walk to Sarah's house.