Warning: End of the chapter discusses the idea that neurodivergence should be cured.

By now, Tori knew exactly what to do on the first day of school. When the bus arrived, she would get off, enter the school, and find her new classroom. When class started, the teacher would introduce themselves, and so would everyone else in the class. Tori knew exactly what to say, and said those words she did.

She tried her best to not make herself sound like a robot, but her classmates still sneered at her. What was she doing wrong? She wished someone would tell her what she was doing wrong, but no one ever did.

One person, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice what was going on.

She was a new student–a salmon-pink octoling named Dahlia. She hailed from another country, but Tori couldn't place her accent.

It took a few tries for the teacher, Mrs. Oculifer, to grab her attention, but after she introduced herself, she went back to staring off into space, wiggling in her seat.

Tori found herself staring at her as time went on. She was always interrupting Mrs. Oculifer, wondering what she said, and she never stayed still. Despite it all, Tori couldn't help but be interested in the way she moved.

The way she moved…could something be wrong with her too? Tori wanted to ask, but she couldn't muster the courage.

Come lunch, Dahlia ended up sitting next to Tori. Without a teacher to stop her, she could talk for as long as she wanted.

"Did you know salmonids have their own civiwization? There are whole towers made of food there. They do not seem to be real food, but people use them to tell where they're going. They grow a lot of food, too. They use their power eggs as fertilier, which makes them extra plump and tasty. And they use power eggs for other things, too. It can generate electricity! The…um, salmonids use them to power their machines."

Tori's peers didn't seem too interested, instead talking among themselves or simply eating their food. Listening to Dahlia talk, though, Tori found herself unable to eat, stabbing her sandwich with a fork over and over again.

Dahlia seemed to deflate, mumbling her next few words too. "Um, they have a lot of cool machines, too. Like Flyfish…"

Her words became illegible, and Tori turned her head towards her. Why did she go quiet? Even if she didn't say anything, she was paying attention to her gushing.

Eventually, Dahlia turned towards her, tentacles flexing. "Why are you looking at me?"

"What were you saying about Flyfish?" As she finished, she grabbed her braids. Her words were stilted again. She needed to sound less stilted.

"Um…" She paused, eyes darting around as her tentacles continued to flex. They were styled into a bob, the curls not even reaching her neck. When she met her eyes, she said, "I forgot."

Tori's eyes widened. "You forgot?!" she blurted.

"Sorry!" She covered her eyes, tentacles freezing up. "I am trying to remember, but I cannot."

"Can you…tell me when you remember?"

"I can? Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

Her tentacles relaxed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Dahlia turned her attention elsewhere, and Tori began to eat her sandwich at last, waiting for the moment the octoling would remember what she had to say about Flyfish. If Flyfish used machines, then she wanted to know how it worked. She found herself wanting to know how everything worked ever since she read that book on simple machines.

That moment didn't arrive until recess, though, to the point where Tori started to wonder if Dahlia had forgotten to tell her about Flyfish.

"Hey!"

Tori dropped a swath of chewed gum as Dahlia began to barrel towards her, the tips of her tentacles waving excitedly.

"I remembered what I wanted to say about Flyfish!" she exclaimed, skidding to a stop. "It uses 'jet propalsion technology' that launches them into the air using ink. Salmonid ink is not ink, though. It is a special mucus. It hurts like inkfish ink, so that is why salmonid mucus is called ink. Oh, and it attacks by launching missiles! The technology used is very accurate, so they almost always hit their target."

Tori gulped. "W-will they attack us?"

"No!" Dahlia shook her head as fast as she could. "Why would they?"

She started waving her hands, and as soon as she noticed, she grabbed her wrists, forcing them to stop. "...I heard someone at the orphanage say that."

Dahlia stared at her, the tips of her tentacles curling ever-so-slightly upwards. "Orphanage?"

"Squall Orphanage," she elaborated. "It's near here."

She tapped a hand on her chin. "Orphanage, orphanage…"

"It's where you go if you don't have parents."

"Oh!" Her arms shot straight down. "I don't have parents either."

Tori's eyes widened. "You don't?" She was an orphan, too? Then why wasn't she at Squall Orphanage? Every orphan that attended this school lived there.

"Um…" Dahlia's entire body shifted, her knees buckling inward as she covered her eyes. "Um…" She began to mutter words in another language, only adding onto Tori's confusion.

"Dahlia?" she mustered the courage to ask. "What are you doing?"

With a dramatic deep breath, she straightened and lowered her hands. "Um… I have a mom, but she is not my real mom."

"So…you're adopted?"

"I…guess?"

She tilted her head. How could she guess? Didn't people know if they were adopted or not?

Dahlia didn't elaborate, her pink eyes falling to the piece of gum Tori had tossed aside. "What is that?"

With a squeak, she stepped in front, cheeks growing hot. "Nothing!"

"Oh." She shuffled her feet, tentacles squirming. "...I heard people say you were a robot."

That single sentence prompted Tori to shrink away from the octoling. Was she going to call her a robot, too? She thought she was like her, though. Why would she call her that?

"You do not seem like a robot, though," she continued, earning Tori's attention. "Why do people call you that?"

The words stuck in her throat, she could only stare at Dahlia. She wished she could tell her it wasn't true, that they were lying. But she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Um…" Dahlia swayed her body to and fro. "What's your name?"

She forced the words to come out. "My name is Tori." Stilted. The words always seemed to be stilted.

She held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Tori."

Tori lifted a hand. She should shake her hand. That's what the adults did. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Why did she have to shake her hand? The thought only made her squirm.

So, recalling her manners, she instead said, "Nice to meet you too."

Dahlia lowered her hand. "We should be friends."

Tori's eyes widened. She wanted to be her friend? She wouldn't ditch her like Elle did? She wouldn't bully her like Theresa did?

"Okay." The word sounded less enthusiastic than she would've liked. But she didn't know what else to say.

Dahlia looked over at the tree, and yellow eyes followed. The hollow had been filled with a bird's nest, but Tori couldn't see any birds. Tori opted to pull the nest out, dirt and mud falling to the ground and soiling her hands. She set it down on the tree's roots and grabbed the piece of gum. Rolling it into a sphere, she set it down in the center of the nest, becoming its crown jewel.

"It's an egg!" Dahlia exclaimed. She looked up at Tori. "What kind of egg is it?"

"It's not an egg," she corrected. "It's gum."

She grimaced. "Ew…"

Tori looked away. She didn't think it was gross. It was like building something with her blocks, wasn't it?

"Um, Tori?" Dahlia started. "Did you know some salmonid eggs are golden? They are even more powerful than normal eggs. I have never seen one, but they say one golden egg is worth a hundred, or a thousand, power eggs."

Tori blinked. "Do you have a power egg?"

"No…but maybe my mom has one." She stood up, slapping her cheeks. "I will ask her when I get home."

"Okay." Tori tilted her head. "Can I come to your house?" If Lady Squall let her go.

"No!" Tori winced at the sudden change in volume. "My mom said not to invite anyone over."

"Why?"

"B-because…she said so!" Dahlia began pacing around her, her tentacles curling inward. "Can we talk about something else? Like…like…I don't know!"

Tori picked up the bird nest, dirt falling as she raised it into the air. "Do you want to wear this?"

"It's dirty," she argued.

"Oh." She set the nest down. Of course she didn't want to wear it.

Instead, her eyes trailed up to the tree branch hanging above them. She reached up and pulled off a few leaves, tearing at the edges like it was a wrapper. Then, she grabbed a stick and stuck the leaves through it before twirling it in her hands, the leaves flapping as they spun around. Dahlia stared at it for a few long moments before grabbing a few leaves and twirling them around herself.

While Dahlia eventually tossed the leaves aside and began her search for something to do anew, she stuck by Tori the entire time. Only when recess was over did they have to part.

Dahlia wasn't lying when she asked to be her friend. If she was lying, she would have left as soon as she told her about the gumball. Perhaps they could truly be friends.

The feeling of having a friend… It made her feel warm inside. It made her feel happy.

Tori liked that feeling.

The second day of school, Dahlia did not bring the power egg. She said she forgot, but she promised to bring it the next day.

She did not bring it the next day. Or the next, or the next.

Tori knew she hadn't forgotten, considering how much she brought it up. Yet, Tori desperately wanted to see a power egg. She knew she could look it up in a book, but the promise of seeing one in person had her excited. With each passing day, her anticipation only grew greater and greater.

Finally, on the thirteenth day of school, Dahlia remembered to bring a power egg.

Much to their luck, though, it was raining, so they couldn't go outside for recess that day. Instead, they opted to hide underneath the table in the back of the classroom, shielded by chairs. This way, they hoped, no one would see Dahlia take out the power egg.

Slowly, she lifted an orange sphere out of her backpack, setting it down on the ground. It seemed big enough to fit into an adult's mouth, but she didn't feel any sense of power radiating from the egg. It merely seemed to be an ordinary egg. If Dahlia hadn't said otherwise, she would've tried to eat it.

Tori reached out to touch it, but as soon as the tip of her hand brushed the skin, she recoiled. Did all eggs feel this slimy?

"My mom used to work with salmonids," Dahlia remarked. "She still has some power egg packs in her room."

"What did she do with salmonids?" Tori asked, trying to take her mind off of the slimy sensation.

"Um..." Dahlia shook her head, her tentacles curling up again. "I don't know."

"Can you ask her?"

"N-no. She does not like to talk about it." She dug her face into her backpack, her tentacles drooping with her. "And I will just forget to ask her..."

"Can you...write it down?" Tori suggested. "You have a planner."

"I still forget my homework with a planner," she pointed out. "I don't know if it will help."

She paused, deep in thought. If she was asking Lady Squall or one of the helpers this question, what would they say?

"You have to try," she stumbled out.

"Okay." Her eyes fell to the power egg once more. "...Can I have that back?"

Tori nodded, and she leaned forward to grab the egg and stuff it into her backpack. She threw the backpack onto her shoulders and scurried out from underneath the table, Tori emerging soon after. Without the chairs to confine her, she felt like she could breathe. There wasn't much room underneath the table, after all. Even if Dahlia was her friend, she didn't like how close she was to her.

At the other end of the room, Mrs. Oculifer was talking to another student, and before long, music began to play. A familiar tune began to play, and Dahlia immediately launched down the corridor, hopping around with a giant smile on her face.

"Tori!" she called, waving her arms. "This is Calamari Inkantation!"

Normally, Tori would've covered her ears, but her attention was glued to the power egg bobbing around in her backpack, its slime catching the light. If Dahlia kept jumping, it would fall out and get crushed. She couldn't let that happen!

She ran up to her, arms outstretched, but Dahlia simply danced away. She continued stumbling around, trying to grab the power egg, but it escaped her grasp every time. The next time their eyes met, Tori finally grabbed a hold of her, but they tumbled to the floor. In the span of a second, she found herself pinned under Dahlia's weight.

For a few more seconds, they stared at each other. Tori opened her mouth to speak, but Dahlia apologized before she could and pushed herself off of her. Tori rolled onto her stomach to watch the octoling scurry over to the orange blob sitting a few feet away from them. Recognizing it as a power egg, joy surged within her as Dahlia lifted it into her arms.

She had done it! She had saved the power egg from getting crushed!

Dahlia didn't seem to acknowledge her accomplishment, however. "Did you want to dance with me?"

Tori tried to ignore the disappointment she felt as she rose to her feet. "No."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because the Calamari Inkantation is bad."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Calamari Inkantation is not bad! It changed my life!"

"But it's chaotic! I shouldn't listen to it."

"But Splatsville is the City of Chaos. Why do you think it is bad?"

Tori shook her head. "Lady Squall said it's bad."

"Lady Squall?" Dahlia's expression melted into confusion. "Who is that?"

"She runs the Squall Orphanage! I told you that last week!"

"Oh!" She lowered her head. "I remember now. Sorry."

Her frown remained, so Tori asked, "Are you sad because of me?"

"I am not sad," she countered, despite her expression. "Calamari Inkantation is playing. I cannot be sad when it is playing."

She grabbed her wrists. "But are you sad because of me?"

Dahlia shook her head and met her eyes, a smile now apparent on her face. "I said I am not sad!" She started jumping up and down, her grip on the power egg tight. "The Calamari Inkantation is still playing!"

Tori thinned her lips. Now that she wasn't focused on hearing Dahlia, the music seemed to become louder, pounding into her brain. Part of her wanted to dance. But she knew she shouldn't.

She stepped back and slumped against the wall, watching Dahlia dance to her heart's content. She wanted to join her, but if she did, and Lady Squall found out, she would be punished. In a room full of people who lived at the orphanage with her, she couldn't risk that.

So, all she could do was watch. Dahlia was her friend; she wouldn't leave her. Friends wouldn't leave each other, right?

Another day passed before she could ask her about the Calamari Inkantation.

"How did Calamari Inkantation change your life?"

Dahlia's smile grew wide, the tips of her tentacles flapping. "Last year, I followed my mom to the king's…" Eyes darted back and forth as she trailed off.

Tori's mouth moved faster than her mind. "There's a king where you come from?"

Her eyes settled on her, wide, and she slapped her hands over her mouth. "I was not supposed to say that!"

Tori tilted her head. What did she mean? Was she keeping a secret? She wanted to ask her about it, but she didn't know how.

"Um…" Dahlia squeezed her eyes shut. "Um, um…"

Tori opened her mouth, but she found it dry. "Um…"

Eventually, their voices lined up, and when they couldn't hold the sound any longer, they cut themselves off and began to giggle. Dahlia took a deep breath and hummed again, with Tori joining her once more.

A teacher warned recess would be ending soon, and Tori forced herself to speak. "Can you finish your story?"

"Oh!" Dahlia swung her arms, bringing one behind her head. "Where was I…?"

"You followed your mom to the king's thing." Hearing the words come out of her mouth, she shuffled her feet. She sounded stilted again. She needed to pay more attention to what she was saying.

"Y-yeah!" Dahlia began to hop in place. "A few minutes later, the king started to fight a very scary inkling. I ran out to watch, but my mom saw me and held me back." She clasped her hands together. "She said it was too dangewous."

Tori started to speak again, but she cut herself off, Lady Squall's words echoing in her head. It was rude to interrupt stories. Tori already interrupted once; she didn't want to interrupt again. Yet she wanted to learn every single detail about this story–it was unlike any she had ever heard before.

"The battle between the king and the inkling was very fierce. The king looked like he was going to lose, and that made me sad, but then a song began to play. Even though I had never heard it before, I knew its name–Calamari Inkantation. I felt strong hearing it, and I realized I did not want to live under the king. My mom felt that way, too.

"After the king was defeated, everything became chaotic. My mom took me and escaped at the first opportunity. We spent a long time wandering, but eventually, we arrived at Splatsville." Dahlia grinned. "Here, I got to meet you!"

Tori copied her smile. She was glad she met Dahlia, too! She hoped she could see that.

"That's how Calamari Inkantation changed my life!" Dahlia lifted her head towards the sky. "I will never forget it."

As the weeks went by, Tori and Dahlia grew closer and closer. Tori listened to all the things Dahlia had to say, and Dahlia listened to all the things Tori had to say. Even if Dahlia got distracted a lot, she tried her best to listen. And besides, they were both outcasts. If outcasts like Schurk and their gang stuck together, then so would Tori and Dahlia.

When Tori returned to the orphanage, she would tell Lady Squall and the helpers all about what they did that day. They never shared anything more than passing interest when she recounted her tales. It was kind of like when they cut off her ramblings about buildings or machines early. Why didn't they want to listen?

It was too bad Tori couldn't go to Dahlia's house or have her visit the orphanage. Lady Squall said it could expose her to Chaos. Tori didn't understand–wasn't she already being exposed to Chaos when she played with Dahlia? But Lady Squall allowed her to remain her friend, so she had no reason to complain.

So, Tori and Dahlia continued to play together, and nothing would change that.

The tree hollow Tori kept her creations in was now shared by the creations Dahlia made. She didn't make as many as Tori, but she was happy to make them all the same. As it turns out, having a second person to play with created endless possibilities. No longer did Tori have to rely on her own imagination to play with her creations. Dahlia had plenty of ideas, too.

The only downside was they often did not play for long before Dahlia wanted to do something else. She often got distracted by other children running through the schoolyard or the trilling chirps of songbirds. Sometimes, she ran off to investigate the distraction, leaving Tori to her lonesome.

She knew she would come back. She always did.

But as it turns out, Dahlia running off all the time left Tori vulnerable to bullies.

Bullies she now found herself staring up at, their silhouettes outlined by the ever-shining sun.

The leader of the group, a snaggletoothed piranha named Cierra, leaned down and bared her fangs. "Guess you're all alone now."

Summoning her courage, Tori shook her head and said, "I'm not alone."

"Then what about that octoling?" argued the sheepshead, Ariel, behind Cierra. She pointed towards Dahlia, who stood at the edge of the playground, dead leaves brushing the soles of her shoes as she stretched her head towards the sky. "She runs away all the time."

Tori squeaked, ducking down to cover her and Dahlia's creations. "She'll come back!"

"We've been watching you," noted the final member, a sarcastic fringehead named Blanca. "She's been running off more and more lately."

She shut her eyes. She didn't want to look at them anymore. She didn't want to look at any bullies anymore. "She'll come back! She'll come back!"

"And what if she doesn't?" Cierra snarled, snapping her jaws towards the little inkling. "People can only hang out with a robot for so long until they get bored!"

Tori shook her head furiously, heart pounding in her chest, body wracked with tremors. She wasn't a robot! She was an inkling! Why could no one else see that? She's tried so hard to not act like a robot—were her efforts not enough?

A terrifying thought wormed its way into her brain, bringing tears to her eyes. Was it because she played with Dahlia so much that people still thought she was a robot? Was she acting more like a robot when she was around Dahlia?

"Maybe Dahlia's a robot too," Blanca suggested to her fellow bullies.

"Of course not," Ariel spat. "Robots don't get distracted that easily. She's just one of those fish with bubbles for brains that think salmonids are people and not the animals they are."

Cierra laughed, a howl echoing across the schoolyard. "Or maybe she's a salmonid herself!"

The other girls joined the choir of laughter, their cackles pounding against Tori's ears. Her hands went to the sides of her head, willing herself to stay together. Even as she choked on her sobs, she couldn't fall apart. Not when her creations were in danger.

The bullies were wrong. Salmonids weren't just animals. Hearing how much passion Dahlia spoke with when she talked about salmonids, she had to be right.

But the truth about salmonids wasn't Tori's main concern.

It was the idea of Dahlia running away and never coming back.

She wouldn't do that. She knew she wouldn't.

Yet part of her worried anyway. Worried one day Dahlia would run away and never return. Leaving Tori without a friend once again.

She didn't want to lose her friend. Now that she had a friend, she never wanted to be without one ever again.

The bullies' laughter died down, and Tori could hear their weight shift. "Looks like the answering machine stopped working," remarked Ariel.

Tori could feel all the eyes nearing her, searing through her skin. "Guess she wouldn't mind if we take these."

She wanted to scream. But if she screamed, she would get in trouble. Getting in trouble was the last thing Tori wanted right now.

She tried to move her arm to cover her creations, but her body refused. All it wanted to do was curl up into a ball and hide, but she needed to protect her creations. She couldn't let them be taken away, not again.

"STOP!"

Something rammed into one of the girls, prompting them to all stumble to the ground. Tori peered her eyes open, making out the shape of the three bullies lifting their heads towards the unseen force.

And in the corner of her vision was a salmon-pink blob. One that could be none other than Dahlia.

Tori lifted her head, her mouth falling open in a smile as she blinked the tears away from her eyes. She had come back! Dahlia had come back!

"Go away!" the octoling declared, her tentacles flared out. "I will not let you hurt my friend!"

Cierra rose to her feet, lips turning up into a smile to show off a row of thin teeth. "How about I hurt you first?"

Dahlia ran in front of Tori, holding out her arms. Light flashed from her body, bubbles of ink rising from the top of her head. "No!"

"C'mon..." Blanca stood up next. "Is that the best you can do?"

Dahlia planted her feet into the ground and puffed her cheeks up. It then dawned on Tori what she was doing–she was planning a special attack.

And if Dahlia's attack hit Tori, she would splat. Her parents saved her life for a reason. She couldn't die here.

But all Tori could do was back up against the tree. She needed to change her ink color, but her body wouldn't let her do it. Every time she tried, reaching out towards that part deep inside her, it slipped away.

In the corner of her eye, the bullies' smiles fell. They had realized what Dahlia was planning, too. Just like Tori, they seemed frozen in place.

Dahlia reared her head back and spat out a giant blob of ink. Tori covered her face, bracing for impact.

But that impact never came.

Tori lowered her hands. The bullies glowered at the inkfish, salmon-pink ink dripping from their bodies. Dahlia had stumbled backwards from the force of impact, snapped twigs and crumpled leaves under her shoes, but she was still standing.

And so was Tori.

Part of her was upset with Dahlia for crushing some of the creations. Another part of her was glad none of her creations were taken by the bullies.

But perhaps what was the greatest part of her was grateful for Dahlia coming back. She had come back, just like always had. The bullies were wrong.

Yet their words had burrowed deep into Tori's mind. The idea that she may leave her some day.

Cierra wiped some of the ink off her face. "Gross."

"Super gross," Blanca agreed.

"We should tell a teacher," Ariel suggested.

Cierra snapped her attention back towards the octoling. "Yeah, that's right. We're gonna tell a teacher all about what you did to us."

Dahlia's tentacles drooped, but she didn't move otherwise. Her arms were still spread, shielding Tori from the bullies.

The girls scrambled off, leaving behind a trail of ink leading straight to the tree they stood under. Once they were gone, however, only then did Dahlia drop her arms, turning around to face Tori.

Tears still flowed from her eyes. "You're…" She hiccuped, cutting off her words. You're going to get in trouble.

Dahlia looked down at the ground, lifting a foot to reveal a piece of gum with a bunch of plastic chips embedded in it sticking to the bottom of her shoe. "Oh…I crushed Octowhirl." Her eyes flickered towards Tori. "Sorry."

The creations weren't her main concern at the moment. "What…"

"The bullies?" Tori nodded, allowing Dahlia to continue, "I did not want to get in trouble, but I did not want to hear them call you a robot, either." She forced a grin. "Because you are not a robot. You are my friend!"

Tori's mouth fell open, a bubble of spit popping.

She stopped the bullies because she didn't think she was a robot. She thought she was her friend. Even if it got her into trouble.

To have a friend like Dahlia…Tori never felt more grateful.

When winter break came, Tori found herself restless. She wanted to play with Dahlia, but she couldn't. When she went out to sing Squidmas carols, she tried to search for her friend, but with how many people roamed the streets of Splatsville, it was impossible.

When Tori had the free time, she started building whatever came to mind. Many of them bore resemblance to salmonids, though no one could recognize them as such. She bet Dahlia could recognize them, though.

The day before winter break ended, she went to the park and got the idea to make a gift for Dahlia. Friends made gifts for each other, didn't they? She gathered sticks and nuts and brought them back to the orphanage, cracking the nuts open to slide the sticks inside and taping them in place. Assembled in the shape of a salmonid, she topped her creation off with a grey feather she also found at the park and hid it in her backpack. She wished she could paint it, but if the helpers saw her creation, they would surely take it away, wasting all her hard work for nothing.

Tori took great care to ensure the nut salmonid didn't fall apart on the way to school. As the bus bumped along the road, she had her face in her backpack, staring at her creation as it rested next to her folders. Even as the white wisps of the feather brushed the side of the backpack, she was certain it was safe.

She didn't throw her backpack onto her shoulders when she stepped off the bus, instead carrying it in her hands all the way to her classroom. Only when she stepped inside and took her seat could she relax, placing her folders on her desk and setting the bag on her lap.

With her gift secured, she turned her attention to the door and began to wait. As soon as Dahlia entered the classroom, she would give her the nut salmonid. She really hoped she liked it.

Something was wrong when Dahlia arrived, though.

She didn't have the same bounce in her step she usually did. She wasn't looking around like she usually did. Yet she seemed happy. Tori didn't understand why.

"Hi Tori!" Dahlia ran up to her, grinning. "What did you do for winter break?"

"Hi Dahlia," she greeted. Tori reached into her backpack and pulled out the nut salmonid. "I made you this."

Dahlia held out her hands, and slowly, she handed her the gift, allowing her to cradle it in her palms. "Wow…! Is this a salmonid?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"What kind?"

"I don't know. A chum?"

"I think it looks more like a smallfry."

"You think so?"

"Yes! Thank you!" Dahlia kicked a chair out with her leg and sat down. "I went to the doctor the day after winter break."

It took a few moments for Tori to remember her manners. "You're welcome."

"They said I have ADHD."

She tilted her head. "What's that?"

"I don't remember the full name, but it means I have a lot of trouble paying attention. That is what the doctor said."

For a moment, Tori didn't answer, her words registering in her head. The longer she thought about it, the more it made sense. Dahlia always squirmed in her seat, always seemed to be distracted by something. Of course she would have trouble paying attention.

When she met Dahlia, Tori thought they both had something wrong with them. Why else would they get along so well? But what was wrong with Dahlia was that she had trouble paying attention. Tori didn't have trouble paying attention.

Maybe they had different things that were wrong with them? Either way, Tori felt a little sad. Maybe they weren't so similar after all.

"Did they give you medicine?" If Dahlia knew what was wrong with her, then it could be fixed, right?

With an eager nod, she continued, "The medicine is supposed to help me focus. It still feels weird, but I think it helps."

"So you won't have ADHD anymore?"

"The doctor said ADHD can't be cured."

"Oh." If ADHD can't be cured, then what if whatever was wrong with her can't be cured, either? Would they have something wrong with them forever?

She wished there was a cure. Then she could be normal. No one would bully her. No one would yell at her. She could be like everyone else.

"Medicine only makes the symptoms better," Dahlia rambled on. "The doctor said if I stop taking it, I would start acting like I did before, and that would be a bad thing."

A frown touched Tori's lips. She liked Dahlia how she was before, though. "...Will we still be friends?"

"Of course! You are my best friend, Tori!"

Best friend.

The words echoing in her head, warmth spread through her body as she smiled wider than ever before. Her hands began to flap, a squeal escaping her mouth.

"You're my best friend too!"

As soon as she realized what she was doing, she caught her wrists and brought her hands down. Even in front of Dahlia, she couldn't move her body. She knew other people were watching. She couldn't do something wrong in front of them. In front of everyone.

It took every ounce of her being to suppress the urge to move. She was so, so, happy that Dahlia was her best friend. So happy that she could jump out of her seat and run around the classroom, flailing her arms. But she couldn't. Even if it hurts.

She hoped Dahlia would always be her friend. She hoped nothing would change that.

She really, really hoped nothing would change that.

A/N: Sorry for disappearing for three months! As stated in the latest chapter of "The Rainbow Squids," I guess I just needed a break from everything. But I'm back, and better than ever! I actually finished this chapter last week, but I wanted to try to build up a buffer again. The next chapter...is not done, but I'm sure it will be by next week. I plan to return "Speak No Evil" to a regular schedule, at least until the end of Act II. But hey, Tori has an actual friend now! For now, at least. I hope you enjoyed reading about Dahlia-she was fun to write. Well, I'll hopefully see you next week, and Branchwing, out!