Jeane noticed a sizeable group had already gathered on the lawn in front of her new residence building as they made their way out. Timidly, they made their way across the lawn and joined the circle.
Serina piped up: "Hello everyone! Welcome to your first day in residence, I'm Serina, I'm the Don on the second floor! Let's start today by going around the circle and telling everyone a little bit about themselves."
Jeane died a little bit inside as they heard Serina utter those words. They wanted nothing more than to melt into the background, but they knew that they'd have to bite the bullet eventually if they were to ever find someone to provide.
"I'll start." Said Serina "My pronouns are she, and her, and a fun fact about myself is that I have have read all 36 books in the Swords of Zeronia series!"
Serina then deferred to the person next to her, who promptly began sharing without inhibition. Jeane meanwhile, was struggling to figure out what to do about their predicament. If they said they were female would anyone know they were lying? They definitely couldn't pass as male. As the attention of the crowd shifted around the circle, Jeane began to panic.
"Jeane? Jeane! Are you paying attention?!"
Jeane was startled as Serina addressed her from across the circle.
"Jeane, its your turn to speak."
Jeane didn't know what to do, in a burst of adrenaline, the spouted:
"I'm a bottom-feeder!"
"Pardon?" Said Serina.
Jeane hadn't planned on sharing this part of themself, but, after having exposed their true nature in front of the group, they resigned to their fate. Jeane composed themself and reitterated.
"Hello, my name is Jeane, my pronouns are they, and them, and a fun fact about me is that I'm a Bo-Fe, or bottom feeder."
"What's a Bo-Fe?" blurted someone in the circle.
"Oh! I've heard of those! Aren't they those people who drink pee?" said someone else.
"Guys, let Jeane speak for themself" Interjected Serina. "Go ahead Jeane."
Jeane hadn't planned for any of this, but, stuck on the spot, under the scrutiny of their entire building, they dared not make a bad impression, and began to speak.
"A bottom feeder is someone who has to consume bodily fluids for nutrition."
"Does that mean you can't eat food like everyone else?" interrupted one of the students.
"No" Said Jeane, "I can eat normal food, it just doesn't hold nearly enough nutritional value for me to live off of."
"What happens if you don't get enough fluids?"
"I start to get anemic, and after a week or so, I can even starve."
"Wait, what DO you eat exactly?" Said one, very perplexed student.
"Pretty much anything that comes out of a human. You name it."
The student blushed, and seemed to sink back in embarrassment. Jeane, meanwhile, what doing their best not to do the same. Although they'd gotten used to their life as a Bo-Fe, they were nevertheless embarrassed by the demeaning nature of their situation.
One last student chimed in "Wait, so if you need to eat bodily fluids, where exactly do you get them?"
"From anyone willing to provide I guess."
The people in the circle shared wide-eyed glances as the meaning of Jeane's words struck them. Would they really be sharing a dormitory with someone like this? Their curiosity surrounding Jeane was mixed with an equal amount of concern. They wanted the best for their peer, but the thought of being the one to provide was too unusual, and embarrassing for most of them to consider.
Serina intervened before any more prying questions were posed:
"Alright guys, that enough, we need to let the rest of the circle respond. We can't have one person be the only one get to meet."
It was obvious to Jeane that Serina was just as curious as everyone else, but was determined to keep a straight face for the sake of professionalism.
The Ice-breaker games wrapped up with no further incidents and everyone returned to their rooms. Jeane, exhausted from the embarrassment, flopped into bed and, in a stupor, quickly fell asleep.
It wasn't until later that evening that Jeane awoke with a start, they rushed to check their phone. It was nearly dinner time! They would have to consume a lot of they were to get enough nutrition to last them till tomorrow. Jeane got dressed, grabbed their meal-card, and departed for the cafeteria.
