Milo and Maisie

Chapter Reluctant Dragon: Sink or Swim

"So, how did it go?" Feya stood from the couch when Maisie, carrying a content Milo, re-entered the apartment.

He lay on his back and nibbled his new catnip mouse.

Feya had changed clothes since Maisie left. She now wore jeans, a white shirt with flower patterns near her collarbone, and a flower reef on her head. Her hair was out of the braid, too, and reached down her back. It looked like she had just curled it.

She giggled at the sight of Milo. "Is that mouse his new sibling?"

"Very funny, Feya." Maisie set him down. "He didn't find a cat he liked, so I got him the mouse to make up for it."

Milo punted his toy but puffed up once he got too close to Feya, leaving Maisie to sigh frustratingly.

Daisy hopped off the couch and stood beside her owner's leg. Feya had put a pink bow on her fluffy head.

She kneeled to her. "Oh, trust me, Maisie—it's not the dog that's upsetting Milo."

"Then what is?" Maisie crossed her arms.

Feya paused but soon smiled and choppily rose. "Uh, so I ordered us a pizza from Pieology. We're walking down to pick it up."

"You what?" Maisie screeched. Why was this girl trying so hard to befriend her? Did she not make herself clear earlier?

"I want to show you the village," Feya explained. "Try to get you comfortable. Besides, I need to practice anyway."

"Practice?" This girl turned more mysterious by the second. "Practice what?"

"Um..." Feya thought for a bit. "My people skills! Yeah, that's it."

People skills? Feya obviously wasn't shy like Maisie. She wondered what the real truth was.

Feya cleared her throat. "Anyway, Daisy could use some exercise. Oh, please, Maisie?" She clutched her shoulders. "I haven't had a roomie in two months. I'm lonely. I also know you've been through something horrible. Let me help you as the DCP did me."

What did she mean by that? Nothing would beat the trauma of the day Maisie found her brother dead on the floor in his bedroom.

"Feya," she whimpered, shaking her head, "you don't know what I've seen. I came to the DCP to move on—not to make friends."

"Sometimes moving on just takes a little bit of courage."

Feya's words sacked Maisie's gut. She felt like she had swallowed a rock, which had dragged her to the bottom of the ocean.

"Come on. Let me show you the village," Feya continued. "Pieology makes great pizza. You won't regret it."

Maisie swallowed the pending lump in her throat. "I can take Milo with me?"

"Of course! He's your Emotional Support Animal, right? We can keep him and Daisy apart, just in case." Feya gave Maisie the puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

She wasn't going to let this go, was she? It looked like Maisie had no choice now. "Okay, fine," she finally said. "Let's go to Pieology."

***

Feya waited for Maisie, who prepped Milo for the walk. She removed his ESA vest and hooked his housing ID to his navy blue collar.

Milo sat straight and expanded his chest, showing it off.

"Look at you, handsome boy." Maisie adjusted his collar and tugged the ID. "You look like a professional now."

"Mrow," Milo proudly meowed. He purred under Maisie's palm.

"Are you guys ready?" Impatient but joyful, Feya entered the room, Daisy at her heel. She checked her phone. "The pizza should be ready when we get down there. It's not a long walk—only about ten minutes."

"Let's just get this over with." Maisie liked Feya, but she didn't understand the meaning of "personal space". What could Maisie do to get her off her back without sounding rude?

Their animals on leashes, the girls left the condo quietly and cut through the Community Center.

Feya showed Maisie the upstairs gym. It was near the halfway mark of the Community Center and consisted of top-notch exercise equipment. Each machine was a little too close to one another, like Feya, who glued herself to Maisie. Something happened when they started back downstairs, though.

Feya slipped and slid down the stairs on her butt, bumping along like a fallen skier on a double black. She let go of Daisy's leash before she took her with her.

"Feya!" Maisie yelled. Dang, that was one clumsy girl! However, Maisie noticed she punched the floor once she finally stopped, and a thousand questions entered her brain.

Milo, Maisie, and Daisy joined her at the bottom of the staircase, and Maisie asked, "Are you okay?"

Feya grinned and used the railing to help her stand. She wobbled on her legs but locked her knees. "That wasn't bad for my first time going upstairs with it."

"With what?"

"My clumsiness!" Feya held her arms out and hiked to the Community Center's couch, where she sat in front of the flat-screen TV. She placed her hands on her thighs.

Maisie approached her. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Oh no," Feya replied, picking up Daisy. "I'm just learning. Right, Daisy?" She and her touched noses.

Maisie decided to stop asking her questions. She wouldn't come clean with whatever it was, but Maisie wasn't going to with her past, either. She and Feya were suitemates, and that was it.

Feya, though, was hiding something, and Maisie was determined to solve the mystery... whatever it took.