A Different Divergent Tale (Eric and Tris)

Chapter 9

Eric is true to his word.  He walks me back to his closet, not without laundry tumbling everywhere when he opens the door.  I snicker as I watch him climb over the mess.  "Don't laugh.  I was trying to make a good impression," he chuckles as he reaches for the light bulbs on the shelf. 
"Then you should have washed the laundry," I annunciate.  "You know," I say as I tap my chin.  "I bet if I walk around your apartment, I'm going to find dishes and trash stuffed everywhere."
"Don't you dare," he says facing me and straightening up.  He's trying to hold in a laugh. 
I bend over chuckling.  "I don't need to.  You were clearly not cut out for Candor," I say somewhat breathlessly, wiping a tear from my eye. 
"Ha ha," he says handing me the whole pack.
"Aww, so sweet," I tease.  "I get the whole case?"
"Of course," he grins mischievously.  I grasp the pack from his hand.  It feels awfully light in weight.  I open the pack to see it's mostly empty.  There's one lonely little light bulb in the bottom rattling around. 
"Ah, and here I thought you were being a sweetheart," I say.
"Hey, I delivered on my promise," he responds stuffing the clothes back in the closet.
"Here, let me help you," I say. I set the box aside and pick up an armful of his dirty laundry.
"You're actually going to touch that?" he asks shocked.
I motion for him to move out of the way. "I used to wash my brother's and my dad's underwear. Yours are no surprise," I say. I stuff armful after armful of his laundry into his washing machine. "This isn't too full is it?" I ask.
He shrugs. "I usually put more in and it comes out fine," he says.
I dismiss the comment. "You can do two loads," I decide. I grab some detergent off of the shelf and pour it in. I look over the machine and stare at it for a minute. "Yeah, you start it. This thing is too complicated."
I step aside and watch him turn it on and press start. "Yeah, real complicated," he teases.
"If it was so easy, why didn't you do it in the first place?" I ask patting him on the back.
"You've got me there," he points out.
I walk back to the living room and see the Bible sitting on his coffee table. "Were you serious about letting me borrow this?" I ask.
"Sure," he shrugs.
"You know it's not a one day read, right?" I point out.
"Take it for as long as you want," he says.
"Okay, if you insist," I say turning around and walking to the door. He follows behind me. We exit and he locks up. I open my door and set the book and paperwork down on my countertop. I look up to the high ceilings. "I know it's a long shot but do you have a ladder?"
"No, but I've got an idea," he says. "Come stand over here." He motions to just underneath the light fixture.
I step over, box in hand. "Woah," I say in surprise as he grabs me by the legs and practically throws me in the air. I steady myself on his arms bending over slightly.
"How much do you weigh, Stiff?" he asks me.
"I don't know," I shrug. "I don't think I've ever weighed myself. I only got to look in the mirror once every three months. So, personal facts weren't important."
I reach up with one hand and unscrew the broken bulb. I finagle the two around pulling the new one out and putting the old one in the box. I screw the new one into place. "Okay. I'm done," I say.
He lets me down slowly but not the same way he picked me up. He kind of releases me a little at a time.  I fall through his arms in stages. "You're so little I didn't want to break you," he teases.
"Yeah... right," I say flustered at the position I end up in. His arms are wrapped around my back now, my face near his. 
"I think the bar I bench press weighs more than you," he tells me.
"Cut it out," I playfully slap his chest.
"I'm serious. Well, not exactly. That was an exaggeration but seriously, what did you eat today?" he questions setting me down completely.
I set the box down and grab my keys again. "I don't know," I shrug. "I grabbed a muffin and an apple."
I walk to the door and motion him to follow me. "Lunch, right?" I ask. He nods and follows after me.
"You looked pretty upset this morning," he points out. I stiffen as I insert my key in the deadbolt.
"Yeah," I reply slowly, thinking about this morning. I lock the door and pocket the keys.
"Did you eat the food you chose?" he asks.
I shrug. "Now that I think about it, I had a couple bites of the muffin but didn't touch the apple. Will gave me a cup of coffee, though. I had a little of that," I say as we walk down the hallway.
We step into the elevator. "What had you so upset?" he asks gently. We descend in the elevator.
"I ended things with Four," I admit.
He coughs.
"You okay?" I ask glancing at him. 
He's staring at me shocked.  He clears his throat, "Yeah."
The door opens in the Pit and we step out. We walk a few steps through the Pit when he leans down. "Can I ask what happened? If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'm just surprised that it's over just as fast as it started," he says.
I sigh and look at him. "I haven't even told Christina yet. I told her a bit about what happened last night, but she figured things didn't go well and probably assumed the worst from what she knew," I say. I realize a lot of people in the Pit are looking at us, listening in.
"You were upset last night, too," he points out.
"Yeah," I admit. "How about another time? It feels like everyone is hanging on every word down here." As soon as the words are out of my mouth, everyone that was listening in turns their heads away.
"Good plan," he chuckles. "Shame the gossips."
I look to him in question. He's smirking down at me.
We get in line together. I'm still not sure what most of the things are here. I grab a small cup of some sort of soup and a roll. I go to step away and I feel Eric grab my arm.
"No," he says. He puts the items I chose back. He places a full tray of food in my hands and grabs the same for himself.
"Eric, I can't eat all of this," I insist.
"Then you're going to eat as much as you can," he says firmly. "Come on."
I follow behind him and remember that I'm eating with the leaders from now on. I see Christina wave to me. "I'm going to talk to Christina real quick," I tell Eric. "Hey," I say to her as I stand nearby.
"Whoa, is Eric making you eat?" Christina smiles.
"Yes, he's forcing me," I tell her. "I have to eat with the leaders most days." I frown that I won't be able to sit with her.
"That's okay. Lynn and Marlene filled me in. I'll see you afterward and we'll go shopping," she replies.
"Okay. You're the best," I say trying to give her a side hug and hold my overwhelming tray at the same time.
I turn around to see Eric waiting for me. "Don't be surprised, but when they see you, they will cheer," he warns.
"Huh?" I ask confused walking by his side. We step up the incline. Eric chooses a seat by Ryan and I set my tray down between him and Lydia again. As soon as my tray hits the table, I hear stomping and pounding cups. I can see Uriah whistling once more and several others join in. I'm kind of in awe of what's going on.
"They're congratulating you," Lydia shouts.
"What do I do?" I ask confused.
"Wave to them," she says.
I look up at the sea of Dauntless cheering for me. I raise my arm and wave at them. The whole cafeteria shouts at once, stopping the pounding. Then they start to chant, "Tris, Tris, Tris!"
I laugh at the excitement and enthusiasm.
"What do I do now?" I ask Eric.
"Just sit down. They'll calm down eventually," he says. I take the seat beside him. "Welcome to the club," he grins.
I smile back. The noise eventually does die down a bit to the typical roar of the crowd at lunch and clanging of utensils.
"So what is this?" I ask Eric.
He raises an eyebrow at me. "That is called a sandwich," he says confused.
"Abnegation, remember?" I say pointing to myself. "We weren't given salt or butter. Dinner was plain chicken, peas, and bread."
"Okay... so, I think I grabbed you a ham sandwich with Swiss cheese. It has lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and bread," he starts.
"What's may... mayo...?" I stutter unsure.
"It's a sauce. Just try it. This is bread," he continues and I laugh.
"Okay, and this?" I point to the soup that's double the size of the one he put back.
"I don't know. Some sort of cream soup. I think it has potatoes in it," he explains.
I nod and try the soup first. It's absolutely delicious. I see a small dish of cut raw vegetables and I eat a carrot. I'm not used to eating them uncooked but it's interesting. It probably would have been good in the summer growing up since it's kind of refreshing. I try a bite of the sandwich and I can't believe I've been living without this my whole life.
I hear Eric talking to Ryan. "So, I'm telling her about retirement," he starts.
"Why such a morbid conversation first?" Ryan questions baffled.
"We were talking about my apartment, it used to be Egan's... Who's Egan?... Anyway, so I explained what retirement means," Eric says looking to me.  "I can't even say it the way you said it," he nudges me to speak up. 
"He just told me I'm either going to have to kill myself or leave to Factionless.  My response was, Oh crap, I joined the wrong faction," I repeat in the same sarcastic tone as earlier. 
Ryan explodes in laughter drawing some attention from the tables nearby.  Lydia chokes on her food coughing.  I pat her back.  When she clears her throat she turns to me.  "You are hilarious.  I've got to remember not to take a bite when you're telling jokes," Lydia says. 
I laugh in surprise.  "You know, it's funny, I used to get a lecture every time I would be sarcastic," I tell her. 
"Well, you clearly chose right," she smiles.  I grin in response. 
"Tell them what else you said.  That's what I was wanting you to say," Eric nudges me again. 
"What? You mean, I didn't mean for my blood to fall on the coals. Can I have a redo?" I repeat. 
The whole table laughs at that, even Max and Jude.  Now I feel bad though.  "Don't worry about it," he says from beside Lydia. I must've been making a face.  "Everyone's time comes eventually."
I frown.  "I feel like I should give you the Bible I just stole from Eric's apartment," I joke halfheartedly. 
"Oh, that wasn't Egan's if that's what you were talking about," Jude says.  "He'd be like the exact opposite.  It belonged his predecessor.  What was his name?" he snaps his fingers in thought.  "Franklin was the last name. Daniel Franklin. We called him Dan," Jude says. 
"Hey, that's your name, Eric," Ryan says nudging him. 
"His oldest son, Dave, runs the karaoke bar," Jude continues as if he didn't hear the interruption.  "The middle child, Monica, died during her initiation.  Then the youngest transferred to Erudite.  What was his name?"
"Christopher Franklin," Max chimes in.
"That's right. He went to Erudite and married Jeanine's sister, Janice," Jude adds.
I look to Eric and he's staring at Jude. "So, you're saying my dad was from Dauntless?" Eric asks.
"That's right, you said Jeanine's your family," Max nods. "I knew your dad. He was a good man. We were in school together."
"I can't believe that," Eric says in awe. I rub his back in comfort. He pats my other hand.
I hear a slam from across the room and look up to see Four staring me down. It was him dropping his tray roughly on the table. "Oh crap," I say.
"What?" Eric asks shaking out of his reverie.
"Four," I nod motioning to him.
"He'll get over it soon enough. Maybe he'll treat the next girl better and it'll last longer than a week," Eric mocks.
"You don't even know what happened," I point out.
"I know enough," he says. I nod. I can't argue with that.
I have a few more bites from my plate and I can't really eat any more.  I push the tray away. It's good, I'm just really full—more so than usual.
"Are you finished?" Eric asks surprised.
"Yeah," I nod.
"I'm taking you to the infirmary," he announces.
"Why?" I ask confused.
"I think you're underweight," he says softly. I make a face. "I'm concerned about you," he admits.
"Oh, alright," I give in. "But I made plans with Christina."
"Well, she can come too or you can meet up later," he suggests.
I see Christina flagging me down. I nod to her and motion to outside the doors. She nods back in understanding.
Eric carries my tray along with his and I notice that he ate everything. We walk over toward the doors. I see Tobias out of the corner of my eye. He's staring at me and his expression is not pleasant. I decide to wave to him anyway. Yeah, I see you too, buddy. He looks shocked and confused.
I chuckle as I walk into the hallway.
"Well, you're in a good mood," Christina says. "You must've been spending the day with Eric."
Eric grins and looks down bashfully meanwhile I'm completely mortified.
"What?" I ask. "I just waved to Four when he was giving me the stink eye. I wanted to see if I could change his expression."
Christina chuckles. "Man is he cranky today. I see what you mean. And I thought he was intimidating as an instructor. You too, Eric, but that stick up your butt must've been removed," she says.
Eric gives her a warning look.
"What? Too much?" she asks. "Okay, thanks for making my bestie smile," she says sickening sweetly.
"Somewhere between the two would be best," he advises.
"So what's the plan? Are you coming shopping with us, too?" she asks.
He looks to me. I sigh. "Eric is forcing me to go to the infirmary," I explain.
"Girl, what happened last night?" she asks laughing. "But seriously, what's going on?"
I start to open my mouth but Eric beats me to it. "I think she's underweight," he explains.
"I could've told you that," she replies. "This girl's idea of a big breakfast is a slice of toast with butter and she usually doesn't finish it."
I flush in embarrassment.
"So are you coming with us or do you want to meet her somewhere in the Pit?" Eric asks.
"They're probably going to run a ton of tests on this mini beanpole," she says wobbling my arms.
"Ha ha," I mock rolling my eyes.
"There are some home stores on the far side of the Pit. We can meet up at the big one in an hour or two," she suggests.
"I don't know where those are," I reply.
"I'll take you," Eric offers.
"Okay see you soon," she waves walking off.
"Let's go," Eric says leading me again. We walk through the Pit heading towards the infirmary. He places his hand at my hip once more. I feel relief at the contact and I realize... I do feel so much better around him, even though I'm not ready to admit it to anyone else. But it would appear that Christina can read me quite well.
My mind starts drifting off to the conversation with the leaders.  "Did you hear Jude say you have an uncle here?" I ask him.
"Yeah, that's crazy, right?" he comments.
"Do you think you'll go meet him?" I ask.
"I already know him," he says. "I've gone there every once in a while just to drink. It's usually not as loud as some of the other clubs. Sometimes the singing is terrible though."
I nod. "Maybe we could go tonight," I suggest. "Although, I may be too tired for a late night out."
"Maybe," he replies.
We walk in silence through the Pit. I recall that the only time I was in the infirmary was when Peter knocked me unconscious. I sigh at the terrible memory. Then I remember what Eric said last night, that he chose that pairing as a challenge, to see my abilities. "What do you think about my fight with Peter?" I ask him curiously.
He looks to me surprised. "I made my thoughts known about that last night," he responds.
"You're so eloquent though, is that all?" I inquire.
He sighs and looks away. "Once the fight started, I kind of regretted my choice. But after you kept getting back up, I was impressed by your ability to keep going. I thought you should have blocked or fought back, but you just took his beat down. He didn't even take you out quickly. He had no real plan other than to mess around with you—cause the most damage. I was getting insanely upset watching towards the end and even Four walked out. I called for Peter to finish it or I would have stepped in. He listened and it infuriated me that he was playing around with you the whole time. He knew how to end it and it's like he was trying to torture you or something," he finishes speaking but it seems like he's holding back.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"I'm pretty upset that I put a foothold in for Peter to know how easily he could overpower you. I kind of feel like it's my fault now. I'm also grateful he didn't scar that pretty face of yours," he says meeting my eyes and grazing the back of his fingers along my jaw. We arrive to the infirmary and I'm at a loss for words.
I notice the same woman sitting at a desk who was present when I came in before. She has glowing red hair now, which is different from the last time I saw her. It's not like a natural color, more like a neon shade.
"Eric, what can I do for you?" she asks looking up at him and smiling. I realize how pale she is and how much of a contrast her black lipstick makes with her white teeth and skin. She has massive fake eyelashes and pinky-purple makeup around her eyes which makes her look tired... or kind of sickly. She's rather pretty though if all of that were removed.
"I'm concerned about our new leader in training," he says motioning to me. "I think she's underweight. Anything you can check on to see what we can do would be appreciated."
She blinks in surprise—almost shocked at Eric's words. She looks me over. When the shock wears off, she smiles at me once again and reaches out a hand to shake mine. "It's Tris, right?" she asks. "First jumper and number one?"
I smile and nod meeting her hand with mine in a firm grip. "It's nice to meet you," I say looking around for a name plate or something on her desk.
"It's Dana," she says meeting my eyes. "Congratulations, by the way."
"Thank you," I reply.
"Just let me grab some paperwork and I'll take you back to a room," she says.
I nod and stand beside Eric as she grabs several sheets from various file cabinets behind her desk.
"Follow me," she requests as she grasps a clipboard. I'm led to the bed along the far right wall. She sets the papers aside as she pulls the curtains around the bed. She stops short when she notices Eric taking a seat in the room.
"This is going to be a physical exam," she tells Eric.
He shrugs.
"She's from Abnegation," she continues, annunciating my former faction. I'm surprised by her knowing this... but then she knew I was the first jumper.
"I'm aware," he nods.
"Will it make you uncomfortable to take your clothes off in front of Eric?" she asks me bluntly.
I blush and turn away.
"She doesn't want you in here for this," she continues in a firm voice. As I listen to them bickering back and forth, I realize that her smile for Eric before was fake. She obviously doesn't like him at all.
"I need to make sure this is thorough," he presses.
"We're going to discuss her menstrual cycle," she insists.
I see him make an uncomfortable face and he wavers.
"How about you excuse us while I handle all the gross stuff? I'll call you back in when she's dressed and we can talk," she offers.
"Alright," he agrees grudgingly. He steps out of the room and she closes the curtain completely.
She hands me a gown. "Everything off except your undergarments. I'll be right back after I set a few things up," she tells me.
Dana heads out and closes the curtain behind her. I step out of my clothes and put the black gown on. I debate on my socks but I leave them on. She enters the room once more with a few items in hand setting them down on a tray. "Come with me," she signals. She has me urinate in a cup and I'm grateful Eric didn't follow me in the bathroom. I chuckle at that. He's either really concerned about me or he just likes spending time with me. Maybe he's like Max and bored, too. I come out holding the cup. She takes it from me with a gloved hand. I watch as she sticks something like a litmus paper in it and then puts the cup into a machine.
She removes the glove and has me step on a scale. I bite my cheek in nervousness. She records the number on her paperwork. Next, she checks my height with the stadiometer. I place my heels all the way back, body lined up against the wall and stand straight. Then, Dana leads me back into the examination room. She does a simple physical exam and draws some blood, setting the vial aside for a moment and grasping the paperwork.
"I'm going to skip over some of the basics for now and come back to them when Eric returns," she says sorting through the pages. 
"Ok," I agree. 
"Now the questions will be personal and may make you uncomfortable.  I'm only asking for health reasons and to get your body in the best shape we can," Dana explains soothingly. 
I nod.  She asks about my monthly cycle and I get confused.  "You mean when I have my period?" I confirm.  She nods.  "Um, every once in a while," I shrug. 
"When was your first period?" she asks. 
"Last year," I say. 
"You didn't start your period until you were fifteen?" she asks surprised. 
"Yes," I say. 
"How often does it occur and for how long?" she inquires. 
"Let me see... about a year ago was the first time.  It lasted a couple days.  Then maybe six months later... the same duration.  And I've had it once more but not recently.  It was probably four months ago," I explain. 
"Light or heavy flow," she asks. 
"I barely noticed it," I shrug.  "I went to the bathroom and told my mom I was bleeding a little.  She gave me some products and told me if I had any questions or concerns to come to her."
"So you never talked with her much about it," she clarifies. 
I shake my head.  She explains what a normal cycle should be like, that I'm an extremely late bloomer and an unusual case.  She also asks if I'm sexually active.  From my reaction alone she knows the answer to that.  She warns me to be careful and always use protection if I engage in that. 
"Alright.  I'm going to run your blood tests.  You can get dressed and if you want, you can let Eric in.  If you don't, just say we forgot," she smiles. 
"I'd never hear the end of it," I tell her laughing. 
"Yeah," she chuckles. 
She steps out of the room and closes the curtain once more.  I get dressed quickly and open the curtain a little.  I can see that there are a few people in the waiting room now.  Eric is seated looking at me.  I wave him back.  He gets up and joins me taking the seat in the room.  I sit down on the cot again. 
Dana peeks her head back in.  "It'll just take a few minutes for the blood tests to go through.  I'm going to get started on the next patient and be right back," she says before walking away.
"How'd it go?" he asks. 
"Educational," I shrug.  He smirks at that. 
"What'd you learn so far?" he questions. 
"That I'm somewhat abnormal," I say.  He gives me a strange look.  "That's not what she said, just my funny interpretation."
"Oh," he nods.  "What's wrong?"
"Do you want to talk about my period?" I ask flushing.  He coughs in surprise.  "Yeah, me either."
"Alright," Dana says coming in with my paperwork in hand clicking a pen.  She takes a seat on a stool and sits between Eric and me in the room.  "We didn't fill anything else out so you could be here," she tells Eric.  "So, name?"
"Tris Prior," I say.
She starts to write but stops staring.  "From Abnegation, right?" she says softly. 
"Yes," I nod. 
"Your father is Andrew Prior?" she asks glancing at Eric. 
"Yes," I reply. 
"I know your grandfather," she smiles.  "I... I was at your baptism.  You were five, I think.  My dad was best friends with your dad in school."
"I don't think I even know my grandfather," I say.  "I barely remember him."
"Well, tension between Erudite and Abnegation have been heightened the last several years," she says. 
"What does Erudite have to do with my family?" I ask confused. 
"Your father was an Erudite dependent.  His father is the pastor at my church in Erudite," she says.  "Maybe you don't remember.  It's been a long time." 
I nod in confusion.  She smiles sadly and moves on. 
"Birthday?" she asks. 
"I don't know," I reply.  Now Dana looks confused. 
"I'll look it up and let you know.  It's in her file in my office," Eric says. 
"You don't know your own birthday?" Dana questions baffled.
"We're never told in Abnegation.  It's considered selfish to celebrate such things," I answer robotically. 
She asks many other basic questions that I can easily answer. The address I'm unsure of and Eric tells her mine. She turns the page and begins asking me about my eating habits. I explain what I usually eat for meals. She looks to Eric worriedly.
"Okay, the results from your bloodwork and other tests show that you have a severe hormone imbalance. What I'm going to do to correct this is give you an injection that will get you started and I'm also going to put you on the birth control pill," Dana explains.
I make a sound in discomfort.
"I'm prescribing it to aid in regulation of your monthly cycle. It also is used for hormone therapy among other things. It has the least drug interactions of my medical options and for leadership training with serums, it's the best choice. The hormone injection that I'm giving you is usually given to children with slow growth rates from the nine to thirteen age range. I sent an inquiry in to Erudite to ask about your dosage since I've never encountered your situation before. They advised me to give you a larger dose and to monitor you monthly to see how you react," she elaborates.
"So, what are you hoping for these hormones to do for her?" Eric asks. I fix my gaze on his to see he has his face propped up by his fist, listening intently to Dana.
"Well," she says glancing at me. "I have her chart here with height and weight. Normally for transfers, we don't have a frame of reference for family's statistics but I personally know half of her family. Her father, paternal grandfather, and paternal grandmother are very tall. I saw her mother in the Pit on Visiting Day—sorry she kind of stands out," she apologizes. "Her mother appears to be average to tall for a female. I'm not sure of her distant relations but it's unusual to have someone so small in such a large family. From the graph here," she scoots closer on her stool. I lean forward and so does Eric to look at the tablet computer. "You can see where she lies. She's has the lowest height and weight of anyone in her age range. There's clearly a deficiency and what we're hoping for with the hormone therapy is to accelerate her growth. Her body hasn't been producing the proper hormones for normal growth. So, what we're hoping the medication I'm prescribing will do is to first of all, get her body where it ought to be in terms of growth. She is older than those we usually give these types of injections to and we may see no physical results in height but it's possible that she may grow a little more. It will also aid in muscle growth."
"Huh, so I might get taller," I say surprised. That sounds good to me.
"No more stumpy legs," Eric teases.
Dana actually laughs. "It's a possibility. At least she will be healthier. She may grow and she may not but we'll do our best to get you on the right track," she smiles. "So, I still have some forms about diet, which I think was Eric's main concern about bringing you in."
"Yeah, she's not eating much," he says. "I can understand that she's smaller and has a smaller stomach but her friend who usually sits with her at every meal just exaggerated that, A big breakfast for her is half a slice of buttered toast."
Dana appears really alarmed and I look down at my lap in embarrassment. "Do you have any sort of an appetite?" she asks gently.
I shrug. "Not really," I admit.
"The hormones I'm giving you should increase your appetite. If you feel any hunger pains," she starts but I look to her confused. "If your stomach rumbles or your abdomen starts hurting and it's been a while since you ate anything, I want you to eat something. Fruits, vegetables, lots of protein, carbohydrates, some fats and sweets are fine. Even if it's between meals it's okay to have a snack. Think healthy choices," she advises. I nod.
Dana turns her gaze to Eric. "She'll be with the leaders, right?"
"Yeah," he replies.
"Make sure she eats but don't shame her. I'm sure she does have a small stomach. If she's still kind of picking at her food in a month or two, bring her back in and we'll reevaluate her. It may take time but attempt to support her. I know you're in charge of her training but this will not be like yours and Ryan's training together. The medication I'm giving her may make her tired and weak. It also may make her energetic. You'll have to keep an eye on her and continually ask her how she feels," she says.
She looks back at me. "You need to be honest with Eric and the other leaders. I know we're not Candor but they just want you to be the best, strongest version of yourself that you can be. If something doesn't feel right or they're going too fast, let them know. Lydia will understand. From what I hear, we were too late to remedy her growth problems but she has still become a strong and feisty person after we intervened."
I smile sadly. "Okay," I nod.
She gives me the hormone injection and a pack of pills along with verbal directions. She also gives me a bag with some information about proper eating. She sets up an appointment with me for a month later to check on my progress and insists that if anything usual happens or something feels off to come down to the infirmary immediately, day or night.
"Get her some vitamins. Anything for females will be adequate. Also, any sort of protein or energy mixes would be great for exercise. Maybe something with recovery aides in it would be a good idea," she advises Eric.
He nods in affirmation and actually shakes her hand. "Thank you," he says softly to her.
She blinks in surprise. "You're welcome," she replies.