The dining hall was loud and busy. I felt Sky slip her hand into mine, I knew how much she hated crowds. I led her to a huge table filled with food. The place was like a giant buffet with all different types of food. Don't like chicken? There's beef as well. Can't eat eggs? There was a whole table for people who have allergies.

            I grabbed a plate and started loading it up with chicken, potatoes and noodles. Sky met me at the end of the table with an equally piled plate. I remember Mom used to say, that it was bad enough one of us ate so much but two of us ate her out of house and home. I felt a pang of homesickness as I remembered my mom's cooking. My mom loved to cook and did it often. I saw Sky's face fall as she thought the same thing. Call it "twin intuition" or just me being good at people reading but I could almost always tell what Sky was feeling. I was protective of my sister and if she was feeling bad I always took it upon myself to cheer her up, whether it was with bad puns or with distractions. This time I chose distractions.

             "Hey Sky. I think I see Jasper and Ingrid over there." I grabbed her arm and dragged her to where Jasper and Ingrid were sitting with their partners.

            Jasper's partner, Dalila, was a tall black haired girl. Her hair was perfectly braided in a fishtail braid and she wore a knee high dark red dress. It was long sleeves and had a higher collar but didn't fit her very well for some reason. I internally shrugged. To each her own, I guess.

            The boy to Ingrid's left was tall, about Ingrid's height, and wore small black rimmed glasses. He smiled at me when I sat down across from him. I smiled back and felt myself blush.

            Jeez, I hope he didn't notice me blushing, I thought.

            Wait, why does it matter if he notices me blushing. He doesn't know I'm blushing cause he's cute or that I'm gay... I think. I've never been in a relationship with someone even though I've had a crush on a couple guys. I've never had a crush on a girl but since I've had crushes on so few guys sometimes I wonder if I just haven't found a girl I like yet. But I know I like guys so I'm definitely gay but sometimes I wonder if I'm bi or pan. But whatever, I'm just a teenager, I have my whole life to figure this stuff out.

            I was so lost in my thoughts about my sexuality I completely missed what the boy was saying.

            "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening" I asked him. "I'm tired and I spaced out. No offense to you or anything."

            He laughed a little. "Yeah, I get it. I was just introducing myself. I'm Abe, pronouns are he, him."

             "Oh, I'm Caleb, pronouns are also he, him."

            Ingrid smiled. "Isn't it cool? He introduced himself to me just like that and now I know everyone's pronouns. I'm going to introduce myself to everyone like that from now on."

            Ingrid was asexual and a huge part of the LGBTQ+ community. She was always the one standing up for their rights, although there weren't many who opposed LGBTQ+ people these days. She loved wearing the ace pride flag earrings Sky got her for her birthday.

            Abe introducing himself like that may be a sign that he is gay or bi but it could also mean he's transgender and straight. I hope he's gay, he's kinda cute. No, Caleb. I chided myself. You came here to learn and to test. You will not spend your time pining after some, albeit cute, boy.

            My thoughts were interrupted by a boy and a girl sitting down at our table. Ingrid smiled and held out her hand. "Hi! I'm Ingrid, pronouns are she, her."

            The tall, muscular boy said, "Name's Helias, pronouns are none of your business."

            The girl, who by contrast was short and lithe hit his shoulder and said, "Helias, be nice! She's just introducing herself." He rolled his eyes and bit into a burger.

            "I'm sorry for my brother." She turned to us. "My name is Luna, pronouns are she, her but they, them work too. Helias is he, him. And who are all of you?" We went around and introduced ourselves.

            Once I had introduced myself I stole a glance at Abe. He was pretty cute. Is it bad to really hope he's gay? I realized that I had been spacing out and started listening to the conversation, and Dalila was telling us of some musical she was in before she left. I listened intently but my eyes kept sliding over to study the boy who sat across from me.

A/n: Go read the description of Dalila again and remember it, it will come into the story later. Much later