John awoke the next morning to the sound of knocking on his bedroom door.
"Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!" John could hear his mother call out from behind the door.
"You'll be late for school" It was his father that time. "Aren't you excited for your first conjoinment class?"
Conjoinment class? John thought to himself, is that something new?
John had to admit that he hadn't been paying very close attention as the end of the school year approached. He had been phoning in most of his classes.
"You aren't changing are you?" He heard his mom say.
"No?" responded John
John's door immediately swung open, bathing his room with light from the hallway. In the doorway he could see the silhouette of his dad, except something seemed off.
Was his mom standing behind him? Obviously not, he couldn't see her legs.
They flicked on his bedroom light. As they stepped inside, John saw exactly what was up with his parents. They appeared to be strapped together like tandem skydivers, with John's mom stuck to the front of his dad's torso with some kind of harness.
They moved together in perfect harmony as they stepped into his room. More like a single person with 4 arms and 2 heads. So much so in fact, that it took John a moment to notice his mom no longer had legs! He was flabbergasted. What happened to her legs? And why were his parents strapped together? Before he could blurt out any questions, his mom addressed him.
"Now come down to breakfast honey. Your dad and I made oatmeal. We're leaving in five minutes. You should head downstairs and get ready for school. You wouldn't want to miss something as important as conjoinment class."
"I remember taking conjoinment class when I was your age. I was so excited!" John's father added. "Now get into your school clothes. Your mother and I are leaving for work."
As John made his way downstairs, he noticed some changes to the layout of his house. The whole thing seemed to have been made wheelchair accessible, with wider hallways and even an elevator next to the stairs. He wasn't sure why this was, but assumed he would find out in time.
After having breakfast and packing his bag, John went outside to wait for the bus. After a few minutes of waiting outside on the curb, his ride finally arrived.
"Mornin' John" said a voice inside as the bus door opened to let him inside.
As the door to the bus opened, John noticed his bus driver, or rather drivers, had the same arrangement as his parents. On the driver's lap was a woman, presumably his wife, helping him drive. They seemed to be controlling the bus in tandem, with the woman handling the steering wheel while the man operated the pedals and other controls. John wondered how such an arrangement could possibly be safe, but they seemed to get along just fine.
After making his way to his seat, the bus began to move. As they rode, John could hear some of his classmates talking amongst themselves.
"Sooo Jenny, are you excited to try conjoinment for the first time?" Said one girl.
"Don't be silly" responded the other girl "It isn't like we'll be doing it for real on the first day. I'm not even sure if we'll even be allowed to do it for real until we graduate."
"Well I for one am looking forward to it. It seems like fun." the first girl returned.
"Aren't you gonna miss using your legs?" asked her friend.
"Well it isn't like I'll need them." She resolved. "I'm sure It won't be hard to find someone to do that stuff for me."
From what he'd overheard, it seemed to John as if, in this new reality, having your legs removed and being strapped to the front of your partner was was somehow considered a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
He didn't quite understand why, but he was willing to hear it out. Perhaps there was a good reason for it.
