A/N: Hello! As a heads up, there will be references to mental health in this chapter. This includes screening references and a brief sentence on suicidal ideology. Nothing overly major but I am well aware that may be triggering to some and wanted to give a warning.
"Carlos?" Fairy Godmother tilted her head at the youngest of the transfer students from the Isle. The teen looked up, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Class still had a few minutes before it was going to start.
"Yes ma'am?" His voice shook and gave away the sudden nerves that appeared. Dude stood up on his hind legs and nudged Carlos's arm with his head.
"What is Dude doing here?" She asked. They had a strict no animal policy unless it was a guide dog or emotional support animal. Ben and Jane hadn't mentioned anything about any of the new students bonding with the campus mutt.
Carlos's expression faltered and he looked down at the dog, teeth digging into his lower lip before he glanced at Fairy Godmother. The others weren't in the classroom yet so he couldn't be saved by one of them doing the talking.
"He won't leave my side, ma'am," He sighed and looked down at his notebook. "Sorry, he's being— being a disturbance. He was doing good at staying under my chair or in the hallway."
"We don't usually allow dogs in the classrooms," Fairy Godmother shook her head. "I may make an exception if he isn't a distraction to you and your classmates."
Carlos rapidly nodded his head then coaxed Dude under his desk. He snagged a few pieces of bacon from breakfast and was using those as a reward when the dog didn't act out.
Evie, Jay, and Mal arrived in the room about twenty seconds before the bell went off, the three sliding into their seats and wearing innocent smiles since they weren't late.
"Good afternoon, class," Fairy Godmother murmured. She smiled when the teens nodded. "I am proud to announce you survived your first week in Auradon."
"Barely," Jay chuckled and winked to show he was joking. "Did you hear Carlos and I tried out for Tourney?"
"No, I did not," The headmistress shook her head. "But I am pleased to hear you tried out. How did it go?"
"We need to get—" He paused, trying to find the words he was looking for. "Get the- the thing you mentioned done or we can't practice or play."
"Physicals." Fairy Godmother corrected him. "I can get those scheduled for you. Usually, we go through the nurses. I don't think you've met any of them yet though."
"No ma'am." Jay shook his head. The others shook their heads as well. "We don't know where the office is."
"Hm," Fairy Godmother mused. "I thought that was included in the school tour."
"There was too much to take in if it was." Evie tried to reassure her. "I'm surprised we didn't get lost finding our dorms the first couple of days."
"How does a class trip sound?" The headmistress suggested. Mal grimaced at the thought.
"A class trip to the nurse's office?" She grumbled. "Not all that thrilling."
"Yeah, but we may need it," Evie nudged her. "Between Carlos being accident-prone and Jay's… being himself, it's surprising that we haven't needed to visit."
"Hey," Carlos and Jay said at the same time. Evie smirked at them then looked back at the headmistress.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." She announced in her tone that dared the others to challenge her. Thankfully, they didn't.
"Grab your things then." Fairy Godmother nodded and took her notebook, waiting for the teens to grab their bags and show they were ready to go. She took the lead once the four were staring expectantly at her. They hesitated before following her, sticking several feet behind her the whole walk to the infirmary.
"Here we are dears." She stopped outside a door with a caduceus on the window. A small placard below it read 'Infirmary.' Evie and Mal were at the lead of the group with the boys straggling behind them.
"I believe Merryweather is in for today," Fairy Godmother murmured. She went to open the door and paused, gaze settling on Carlos. "Dude will need to stay. I'm afraid they don't allow dogs."
"You heard her, Dude," Carlos whispered. "Stay." The dog tilted its head to the side then sat beside the door. "I -I think we're ready."
Fairy Godmother held the door open, allowing the teens to pass before she spoke again. "We have two nurses. Their names are Fauna and Merryweather."
"Fauna and Merryweather?" Mal gasped out, eyebrows furrowing together at the names. "They're not — I can't talk to them."
"Mal," Fairy Godmother looked at the teen. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Mum's sworn enemies," She shook her head. "I'm not supposed to — She wouldn't want me…"
"Have they done anything to you, Mal?" The headmistress asked, earning a shocked look from Mal.
"No." Mal shook her head a few times, unable to look the teacher in the eye.
"And have you done anything to them?" The Fairy Godmother raised a brow at her.
"No ma'am." Mal whispered, gaze traveling up to settle on her teacher's eyes.
"Then I see little reason to worry." Fairy Godmother shrugged. "They are already aware that you four transferred over and are a few of the adults on board with Ben's idea."
"Why would they want anything to do with us?" Jay frowned. Their classmates were still getting used to them being around. The idea of adults wanting anything to do with them was unfathomable.
"Ben brought up a very good point," She sighed. "Being that you each deserve better than what Auradon gave you back on the Isle."
"Are his parents on board with the idea?" Jay narrowed his eyes. That was the one question that was burning in the back of his mind.
"For the most part," The headmistress remarked. "They were a little anxious but have faith you will prove to be a beneficial addition to the kingdom."
"No pressure." Mal scoffed. She would have said more if it weren't for the appearance of a small woman in blue.
"Fairy Godmother," The woman smiled warmly. "What brings you here for a visit?"
"It was brought to my attention that the infirmary was skipped during the initial tour our transfer students received, Merryweather," Fairy Godmother remarked. "I'm wanting to give them an idea of what it looks like if you don't mind giving a small tour."
"Certainly." Merryweather nodded, taking a moment to look over each student. They were overly skinny and kept close to one another. None of them looked them in the eye. The one plus side of things was none of them being injured and Fairy Godmother having decided to do a tour of the place before things turned into an emergency involving them.
"May I get your names?" She continued. The only one to look at her was the tallest of the bunch. He had a beanie on and gave her a calculated once-over before deciding to speak.
"I'm Jay," He announced, then looked at the smallest teen from the group. "This is Carlos, Evie, and Mal." He pointed to each girl when he spoke their names. The others didn't say anything, keeping their gaze on the ground. "Did you want our parentage attached to that?"
"No, that won't be necessary," Merryweather shook her head. "I'm Merryweather. One of the two nurses that run the infirmary. Fauna and I split shifts." Her expression faltered when none of the transfer students said anything. Sensing her unease, Fairy Godmother cleared her throat.
"I figured the nurse office, then the proper infirmary," She murmured. "Merlin forbid one of them gets badly hurt during a tourney or jousting tournament."
"Tourney," Merriweather looked at Jay and Carlos. "I wasn't told any of you tried out for the team. We usually try to time physicals before the tryouts so everyone gets a fair chance at playing and practices."
"We didn't know we were trying out until the day of," Jay muttered. "Sort of a spur of the moment decision, you know?" Carlos nodded in agreement.
"Are you the one that does the — the …. what's the word again?" Carlos looked down at the fairy.
"Physicals," She answered. "It depends on the day you go to get them done. Weekends vary since we usually spend time with Aurora. Sometimes Flora steps in so Fauna and I get the weekend off. If it's a case of none of us being available, Doc usually does them."
"Where do you do them?" Mal surprised the others by asking the question. They were under the impression she wouldn't want anything to do with looking into getting them done. That and the mention of Aurora. They were left waiting with bated breath to see if the fairy treated her any differently.
"I can show you," Merryweather offered a small smile. "This way." The teens and Fairy Godmother followed after her.
"This room is the nurse's office," She paused outside an open doorway. "Fauna or I usually take the vitals and decide whether or not a student needs to be seen. Broken limbs, flu symptoms, and head injuries require the next room."
"Who is Doc?" Evie asked while she peered around the room. Dragon Hall's nurse's office wasn't even an office — just a closet with bandaids and gauze wrap carelessly tossed in. Half of the stuff was too old to be used.
"You'll meet him in a moment." Merryweather murmured and ran her hands over the smock she wore. "Once we get past the waiting room."
The waiting room was through a hidden door behind where the fairies would sit. Mal gave a soft scoff when the door appeared and chose not to say anything. It was mildly perplexing that the school didn't encourage magic and seemed to use it for minor things. Not that a trap door even counted as magical but the fairy had waved her hand to get it to open. The Isle didn't have that sort of technology.
They were met with pastel colors and several plush sofas. There was someone that looked a bit like Doug manning a desk in the center of the room.
"Good afternoon, Merryweather," The man offered a smile. "How can I help this group?"
"Good to see you, Don," Merryweather curtsied. "Is your father available to do a quick tour? These are transfer students from the Isle, getting a glimpse of what we offer health-wise."
"Ah," Don gave a quick nod and pushed his glasses against the brim of his nose. "He's got a patient in room one but they should be done soon. If you want to bring them to room two, I can let him know to visit there next."
"Sounds perfect," Merryweather nodded. "Thank you." She took off walking again. The four teens hesitated then followed her, not appreciating the soft lighting and clean scent that filled the waiting room. Fairy Godmother hung back a moment, waiting until they were several feet away from her to address Don.
"They are rather skittish," She whispered to him. "None of the usual appearing out of nowhere that he usually does. I don't think they've ever actually been to a doctor either. We'll be needing to schedule physicals for the boys if the glimpse of the office and the infirmary doesn't scare them out of wanting to get them."
"Understood," Don answered. "I'll be sure to mention that when he's finished up with room one."
"The room is a little small," Merryweather announced once they reached the room. "We usually only allow a student and one or two of their peers, sometimes parents if the situation requires it."
"What happens if one of us gets injured to a point of needing to let our parents know?" Evie tilted her head to the side. The door to room two hadn't even been opened and she was already asking the tough questions.
"We would have to do a video call," Merryweather shrugged. "Usually the parents come to visit. The king and queen haven't worked a plan out for a worst-case scenario involving any of you."
"Would it — Would it mean b-being…" Carlos trailed off and shook his head, taking a deep breath before trying again. "Being sent… home?"
"I would hope not," The fairy shook her head. "I know little about the Isle you come from but have been made aware we appear to have better healthcare."
"Right," Jay rolled his eyes. "Because you can't have one of us dying on your watch. The Royals wouldn't give a shit about our survival if we weren't here."
"Jay." Evie hissed out, her tone serving as a warning that earned an elbow to the side from Mal.
"No, he's right," Mal spoke through gritted teeth. "She should know we don't have doctors back home. Minimal medicine and the occasional death or two during the winter since lack of meds means failure to save a life if someone gets sick enough."
Fairy Godmother joined them and only caught the end of what Mal said. The rest of it couldn't have been any good since Merryweather's face was pale. The fairy cleared her throat and opened the door to the exam room, allowing the four to enter then exchanging a look with the headmistress.
The headmistress mouthed the words 'we'll talk later' at Merryweather then forced a smile to address the teens. "You can take a seat if you want."
Her statement earned four teens shaking their heads. They were grouped by the door and were almost standing on top of each other. The adults took a step toward the exam table to give everyone some space.
"This is the exam room," Merryweather announced. "The doctor will be in to give a better explanation, but this is where we test for common illnesses and decide the next form of action."
"Form of action?" Carlos could barely be heard, having hidden behind Mal and Jay. He poked his head around Jay and cleared his throat. "What— I don't…"
"Sometimes students need to be booked into the infirmary or a private room until their symptoms are no longer contagious," She explained. "Or there may be a case of needing to watch a concussion to make sure there wasn't any other trauma."
"Concussion?" Jay wrinkled his nose at the word. "Can't say I've heard that one before."
"We see them a lot with the sports players," Merryweather murmured. "Earned from getting hit in the head. Memory loss and confusion are usually symptoms. Light sensitivity too."
"So there's a word for that," He grimaced. "Wish I had known that since it probably would've convinced Pop to let me rest instead of insisting I stock shelves."
Merryweather was spared coming up with something else to say since Doc knocked on the door that separated the patient area from the doctors' area. There was a beat of silence then he opened it.
Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos exchanged a glance with one another. The doctor was on the short side and they doubted he would be of much help - not that they had any reason to need his aid.
"Good af-afternoon," He stammered, ears going red from the appearance of it. It took several years of speech therapy to get past his usually jumbled thoughts. His hope of not slipping up in front of the evil queen's child was quickly lost. The group of teenagers looked just as terrified of him as he was of them. They were just children, after all, but he still had a small fear that they may be like their parents.
"I'm D-Doc," The dwarf looked shocked since the smallest of the teens poked his head around the tallest to get a good look at him. "Resident d-doctor here in Auradon."
Carlos didn't say anything at first. His heart was racing since he was a little relieved to hear someone, an adult no less, speak the way he did. He was staring, jaw slightly agape, and gave the man another look over before he ducked back behind Jay.
"What d-do you…" He trailed off and shook his head, needing a breath before he tried again. "What do you do?"
The man gave a soft laugh at that. It wasn't anything condescending, merely amusement toward being asked one of the most basic questions he possibly could have received.
"Stitch up wounds, make sure students are healthy," He shrugged. "I'm also the one th-that gives vaccinations and decides if bones need mending."
The teens wore identical looks of disinterest. Carlos gave a nod to show he was listening but kept quiet. The idea of seeing a doctor was terrifying - especially when he knew the Isle's health-care was non-existent when compared to what Auradon had.
"What does bone mending entail?" Mal wrinkled her nose. The memory of having broken her wrist while running around the Isle came to mind. She was left with two pieces of wood with strings tied tightly around them to keep the damaged joint from being jostled around too much.
"We have a spell to mend things," Merryweather replied. "Unless the student requests to have it heal the old fashioned way. If that's the case, it's a cast to keep the break protected until it heals."
"You give students an option?" Mal scowled. "Wouldn't magic be the easiest way to go about handling things?"
"We try not to use it," The fairy shook her head. "Most of the families in the kingdom no longer use it. We don't encourage or discourage it since it makes things less painful."
"We can't have students thinking a wave of a wand will solve all their problems," Fairy Godmother added. "I've been trying to convince the school board to include a first aid course as a necessary class for the sake of allowing students to broaden their knowledge of the subject past what happens when they're in here."
Doc nodded when Fairy Godmother finished. He had gone as far as offering to teach students emergency techniques. The idea was met with mixed reactions since some of the adults didn't think the students would need the information and others wanted their children prepared.
"I wish we had that choice back home." Carlos gave a bitter chuckle, the words coming out in a mumble that was only loud enough to be heard by Jay.
"May I ask a question?" Evie looked up at Doc, teeth digging into the inside of her lip. The man nodded so she continued. "What happens if someone needs to stay?" The question was shorter than she intended but she couldn't recall what they referred to needing to be observed as - it was far too much information for her to take in.
"Needs to stay?" Doc quirked a brow, looking to Merryweather before he realized what she was asking. "O-Oh. Yes. We have- Here I can show-" The dwarf took a few breaths to clear his mind and spoke again. "The infirmary. It's separated by wards - being patients that need to be kept overnight and patients that need to be kept away from the others since they have contagious symptoms."
Evie nodded even though she had no idea what he was talking about. Mal, Jay, and Carlos wore similar looks of confusion.
"The infirmary for overnights has a few beds with a nurse monitoring the students there. The same can be said for contagious cases - It's just an expectation that the student avoids contact with other students until healthy again." He paused to wrinkle his nose. "We can't let the flu or other illnesses run wild."
"Right," Mal nodded. "Now what about physicals?"
"What about them?" Merryweather replied. Mal wrinkled her nose while she tried to come up with an explanation for what she was thinking.
"What do they involve?" Evie answered before Mal got the chance to say anything.
"Us making sure you are healthy," Doc shrugged. "We would check your weight, height, vitals. Make sure you are caught up on vaccinations and do a mental wellness check as well."
"Mental wellness?" Jay asked. "I'm fairly certain we're all fine on that end of things."
"Yes, well, Auradon focuses on making sure its students are physically and emotionally okay," Fairy Godmother chimed in. "We have people to talk to if someone feels anxious or more down than usual."
The tour ended with the boys agreeing to get their physicals done by the end of the week, having been able to schedule them for Thursday around the same time. The rest of the week was uneventful, minus Carlos begging Mal to find a spell that would cover up the scars his mother left on him.
It took several tries to find the correct spell. Mal found one that lasted until she took it off and was pleased to see she was strong enough to cast it successfully. It shrouded Carlos's skin with nearly perfect skin that left him staring in the mirror. The bleach spot was gone and Mal reassured him the mark on the nape of his neck was gone. He had Jay check his back before the headed to the infirmary.
Carlos kept close to Jay once they got to the nurse's office, expression unreadable when the fairy took their names and handed them a clipboard to write information down on.
"How honest should we—" Carlos trailed off since the woman was back again.
"Sorry," She shook her head and straightened out the green shirt she wore. "Just making sure I gave a pen, dears." Carlos nodded and Jay offered her a smile.
"You did, ma'am," Jay answered. They were both quiet until she disappeared again. "I don't know."
"Previous injuries," Carlos scoffed. "I have too many to fit onto three lines." He went quiet again, promptly writing down broken fingers on his right hand since those were the least nasty of things earned from the Isle.
"What'd you write?" Jay whispered. Carlos offered the paper to him. One glance left Jay chuckling. "That's all?"
"Mal covered the major things." He shrugged. "The rest isn't worth noting and I'm n-not… Not mentioning mum."
Flipping the page over earned a loud groan of 'What the hell?' from Carlos. There were questions about feeling down, sleep, and wanting to injure himself. It was a screening of some sort but he had never seen one like it before.
In the past two weeks, how often have you felt down, depressed, or hopeless? earned an answer of 'several days' since the time on the Isle always left him feeling down. The one on sleep involved his marking interrupted sleep since he couldn't recall a time where he slept through the night. The one on self-harm proved to be the one he needed assistance with.
"Jay?" Carlos whispered and nudged the older teen. "What d-did you mark for the — The one about…"
"You weren't raised on the Isle if you didn't want to die at some point." Jay forced out a chuckle. As morbid as it was, none of them had ever acted on any of the thoughts. They still occasionally played at the back of his mind - would his father care if he was gone? Would he be missed by the others? They were easily shoved aside when spending time with his peers, only ever coming back when alone with his intrusive thoughts.
"Some thoughts," Jay added after a moment of silence. "Never acted on any of them but they were overwhelming last time dad kept me cooped up in the shop."
"Me too." Carlos sighed. He didn't have anything to say on the matter since Jay was well aware the worst of the way his mother treated him occasionally left him wishing she took things too far.
The last section was an anxiety screening that didn't explicitly say that was what the form was looking into. Jay's was fairly straightforward except for his answering, yes to regularly worrying about past events from his life.
Carlos answered yes to everything on the form and was left feeling incredibly unconfident about it since he knew the others wouldn't mark nearly as much of the ones that he had.
"I think I- I think I'm done." Carlos whispered and flipped the packet back to the front, nose wrinkling since he left the age and birthdate section blank. His mother didn't believe his birthday or his father were of any importance, opting to never tell him anything about the two. Attempts at getting information about them resulted in boxed ears and her getting dismissive.
"Me too." Jay muttered then looked the papers over to make sure he hadn't missed anything. The family history section was the one section he left blank. It had always been him and his father and from what he could tell, they didn't have any of the illnesses that were listed.
"Carlos, we're ready for you." The fairy reappeared. "If you'll follow me to room one."
The teen didn't move, shaking before he managed to get the words out. "C-C-Can Jay come with me?"
"We don't allow students to be together—" She wasn't given the chance to finish since Carlos shook his head and interrupted her.
"Then I'm not doing it." He announced. The fairy considered her options for a moment then sighed.
"I can make an exception," Fauna answered. "There's enough space to get things done at the same time."
Carlos didn't move from the chair he sat in. Truthfully, he wanted nothing to do with the physical. Not going home over the winter holidays was the only thing that made him aware it needed to be done.
"Okay." He sighed after a prolonged moment of silence. He stood up and Jay followed after, the two stopping short when the nurse paused in the middle of the hallway.
"I'm going to begin by taking your height and weight," Fauna murmured. "If I could have one of you step onto the scale?"
Jay gave Carlos a sideways glance and took a step forward, staring at the square-shaped scale at his feet. He eyed Fauna out of the corner of his eye then stood on it, looking down at the thing that displayed numbers on it. The number 110 appeared and he stepped off. The nurse noted it down and didn't say anything.
"What does that mean?" Jay asked once the number disappeared. They didn't even need to worry about scales on the Isle. They were either broken or uneven so the weight was never correct.
"Can I have you stand against the wall?" Fauna spoke then offered a shrug of her shoulders. "Height and weight - just making sure you're at a healthy spot for the two. Issues involving one or both usually point to a bigger issue."
"Oh," Jay nodded then pressed his back against the line on the wall, standing up as straight as he could. "So how tall am I then? They don't track that sort of stuff back home."
"Five foot nine," The fairy announced. Jay chuckled then nudged Carlos, whispering 'okay, your turn,' before taking a step back into the hallway.
Carlos took a steadying breath and stepped onto the scale, expecting the number to be low since it was obvious he was shorter and smaller than his peers. The number 94 popped up and his features went red. He had read enough to know he should have at least been in the 100's to be considered healthy.
His height didn't come as much of a surprise. Five feet, three inches. He had the rotten luck of knowing he was shorter than Evie and Mal. Carlos didn't say anything once done. He held his breath since he was expecting the fairy to chastise him for his size.
Much to his surprise, she took note of everything and offered him and Jay a small smile.
"Next will be vision and hearing. We'll have to go into the exam room to get those done," She kept her voice soft in the hope of not spooking either of the overly quiet teens. "This way please."
They arrived in a room with two chairs and an exam table. The boys took the chairs and wouldn't look her in the eye. Vision testing went well, with Fauna surprised to note the two had perfect eyesight. Hearing proved to be a little different.
Jay positively answered the questions she gave about his hearing. Carlos got quiet when it came to talking about his right ear. He curled into himself when she asked if he had any concerns about it.
"Hurts," He admitted with a shrug. The word was a mumble since he couldn't bring himself to giving a lot of detail. "Some… Sometimes I can hear— Hear ringing. J-Jay said he didn't hear it last time I asked."
"What sort of ringing?" Fauna asked, earning a worried sideways glance from the teen.
"It- sort of just… keeps going," Carlos whimpered. "Sometimes it stops when stuff comes out b-but… It was bloody last time."
"It's not the first time this happened either," Jay added when Carlos appeared to be done talking. "The ringing is new though. He mentioned things sounding muffled too."
"Did anything happen to cause it?" Fauna looked at Carlos, hoping to coax a few more words out of him. The boys exchanged a look then quickly shook their heads.
"No ma'am." Carlos whispered. There was something about his posture that made her try pressing for more information.
"No accidental blows to the head or anything?" She questioned. Carlos pressed his tongue against his cheek.
"It g-got boxed be-before I left h-home." He mumbled. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the whole truth either. Better to give short answers than delve deeper into his home life.
"Boxed?" The fairy raised an eyebrow. It was a form of punishment that had gone out of style in Auradon and the surrounding areas. She hadn't heard it get brought up since Aurora was being raised.
"Yeah," He nodded. "Boxed." Carlos mimed the hand motion his mother usually reserved for going after his ears.
"Okay," Fauna wrote a note down on his paper. "We may need to get a closer look at that. Especially if you're saying you have blood coming out of it."
"It's fine," Carlos shook his head, voice coming out louder than he had spoken before to the fairy. "I'll be fine. It's happened before." He didn't need the adults worrying about him. The ear was the least of his concerns.
"What's next?" Jay asked before either of them said anything else. "Or are we done here?"
"Oh no," Fauna shook her head. "We still need to go over a few other things. A quick look at your ears, nose, eyes, and throat to make sure there are no infections. Tapping on a few joints to make sure your reflexes are okay, and making sure there isn't a curve to your spine to end things."
"And then we find out if we can play?" Jay crossed his arms over his chest. They had only missed one practice so far but he didn't want to miss any others.
"The doctor will need to look them over, then we will have an answer before you go to leave." Her answer earned a nod from the two and their complying until the doctor came in.
Doc's arrival caused the two to shift closer together. Carlos leaned against Jay and tapped his foot against the ground in an attempt at getting rid of the wave of anxiety that was trying to take over. Jay's teeth dug into his lower lip to keep from saying anything. He desperately wanted to know if he would be able to play but didn't want to seem too eager about it.
"Good afternoon boys," Doc greeted them. His eyebrows furrowed together when they nodded at him in reply. "I was able to look over your physicals." He made sure to keep his voice even. The news was a mix of good and bad since things didn't exactly match up with Auradon's health standards.
"Can I play?" Jay risked looking him in the eye. There was a beat of silence then Doc sighed.
"N-Not exactly," He said. Jay's expression faltered. "I'm going to need to run a few labs to see if things match up. You are b-both underweight. I would need you to put a few pounds on before I can let you play in one of the games. I'm willing to permit you to join in on practices."
"What about me?" Carlos whispered, gaze focused on his sneakers.
"It seems only fair to allow you to join in once your ear heals up," Doc answered. Carlos looked surprised at hearing that.
"I'm sorry — D-Did you just…" He took a breath then took a chance at looking at the doctor. "P-Practice?"
"Yes," Doc nodded twice. "Same thing as Jay with needing a little more weight on you before you can properly play."
"Th-Thanks?" Carlos gave a small smile. It certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting.
"I plan to place a referral in for the counseling office for the two of you." Doc added after a moment of silence. The boys' mental health surveys were incredibly concerning.
"No thank you," Jay quickly shook his head. Carlos cast him a look of concern. "We don't need that. We've been doing just fine without having someone decide we need to talk about our feelings."
"Your scores on the screening require a consultation," The dwarf frowned. "Unfortunately I may need to make going to it a requirement if it means getting you to consider it."
"A requirement for what?" Jay narrowed his eyes at Doc. His nostrils flared when he deepened the glare. The doctor didn't shrink back, meeting his eyes with a slight frown of his own.
"For playing on the team." He would have said more but was interrupted by Jay giving a loud groan.
"You can't do that," There was a beat of silence then he looked at Fauna. "He can't do that. That's—" He deflated when his outburst earned a shake of the fairy's head. "This is fucking stupid."
"I don't know," Carlos shrugged. He nudged Jay with his elbow until he looked at him. "It may prove to be helpful."