Ricky's father had a thoughtful expression. "Are you sure you want to go that route, son?" he asked. "I get what you're saying about being with the people you know, but have you considered how the other students might react?"
Ricky hadn't, not much anyway. Before, he didn't really fit in that well at school, but he could at least blend into the crowd for most purposes; not that he didn't have his troubles (not least the way Julian exploited his awkwardness and the fact that he wanted to keep his...interests from being public knowledge,) but he didn't stand out. Now, though...she would probably stand out a little even in a school full of the changed; as the only changed student in a school full of normal humans...she shuddered at the thought, setting her springs humming with the vibration for a moment.
Her mother frowned. "I'm sure the staff will be looking out for anything like that," she said. "Besides, it's not like those students have never seen the changed before. And I'm sure that the day-side school has its own bad seeds to deal with..."
"I suppose that's true," her father replied. "But...I'm sure the staff are fine people, but they can't be watching everybody all the time. And just because they've seen changed people around doesn't mean he's not going to draw more attention than he would at the day school..." He turned to Ricky. "I understand your motives, son, and I'll respect your decision, but are you sure this is what you want?"
The clockwork girl thought about it. For a moment she found herself focusing more on trying to figure out what it was they wanted - was it the same thing? If not, could it be reconciled? But no, that wasn't the question. What did she want? She...she didn't like the idea of being at the center of attention, she didn't think...didn't she? There was that part of her that exists in most socially-awkward young people, the part that fantasizes about someday getting to finally be "in," but...but if people were only paying attention to her because she was this now, and she still wasn't actually any better at dealing with people, how could that be anything but a disaster? It would have to be horrible...
...would it? She'd thought the same about revealing herself to her parents...but they were taking it in stride, thrown off by unfamiliarity but ultimately still loving and accepting...there was every reason for them to be alienated, but they weren't...did things always have to go badly, just because they could? But if she got her hopes up, that would just make it worse...she should say no. But she didn't know what she could expect at a school full of the changed, either...and she didn't want to leave the one friend she now had that she knew understood her...
...how could she decide? Her gears were rotating more quickly with her agitation, the slow turn of her key now more noticeable. She faced the possibility of trouble with the unfamiliar, and the possibility of more trouble with the familiar, and she had no way of knowing just how probable either was...
She glanced over at Anne. The other girl had just a hint of a smile. She gave no direct indication as to what she thought Ricky should do, but...something in her expression, a knowing look...no. She couldn't leave this chance to build a friendship. She had so little as it was, she couldn't pass this up. Sure, she could probably attend the day-side school and then hang out with Anne in the off-hours, but how much less of an opportunity was that? To turn that down just because she was afraid to face the people she'd never known how to deal with anyway...no.
"I..." she said, a background harmonic gently rising in pitch behind it like a rod being brushed across a wire grill, "I want to do it."
Her mother hugged her again, once again relieving the tension. "Brave girl," she said. "It'll be alright." She calls me a girl, too, Ricky noted. She...she wasn't sure how she felt about that, at all, but...it was better than being an "it." She wasn't sure why it was, but she felt that way nonetheless.
Anne smiled broadly and nodded. "I'll keep an eye on her. She's going to be in with the girls now, anyway. Maybe we can get in the same class."
Ricky's mother smiled. "You're a dear. I'll mention it to the staff when we let them know." She turned back to Ricky, looking her over. So much smaller than before...the clockwork girl her son had become couldn't be taller than about four foot eight - but more petite than squat, elegantly built and smartly dressed. Wait... "Where did you get those clothes, dear?" she asked.
Ricky gazed down at the floor. "They, um...came with my change," she said.
"I didn't know that happened," her dad said, surprised. "I guess it's for the best, I don't think your old clothes are going to fit you now..."
Her mother nodded. "No, they aren't. We'll have to get some new ones...I understand there's shops that specialize in this sort of thing, and we can trade in her old clothes while we're there. Maybe they'll know more about working around her...her key, too."
Her father nodded. "Well, we'd better get going, then. That's going to take until dinnertime, at least."
