Aka Amy

Despite being on probation my job hadn't changed all that much. The biggest differences were in how my boss and coworkers treated me.

Bev was quiet and on-edge, she was obviously dealing with a lot of stress over the whole situation. Emma was a bit more wary of me, which I kind of understood. Her past experiences with the supernatural were mostly negative according to what she'd told me, so she probably saw me as potentially dangerous now. And Rosa seemed equal parts wary but fascinated, like she was curious to know more but afraid to ask me about it.

Unfortunately all that meant that while my daily workflow hadn't changed that much, the clinic felt a lot less welcoming and doing my job felt less rewarding.

The other difference was since I wasn't allowed to take on new clients for the foreseeable future that left me with more dead time in between seeing the handful of patients I'd gained so far. Bev was keeping me busy though, I was back to doing a lot of the office administration stuff that I did last summer when I was a part-time student.

Which was another reason I wasn't feeling that great about work anymore. On the other hand when I did have a session I put a hundred and ten percent into it, I wanted to make sure the few clients I had got my absolute best.

Monday was mostly quiet up until the staff meeting in the afternoon. Then it was raised voices and heated tempers, followed by apologies and embarrassment for letting my emotions get out of control.

Tuesday was quiet and a bit lonely. I only had a single client session in the morning, then the rest of the day was spent doing boring administrative work. It needed to be done, but since it's the sort of thing I did as a co-op student it definitely felt like punishment or a demotion to be doing that stuff once again.

Now it was Wednesday and things hadn't really improved much. I saw a client in the morning, then it was back to the boring work until my lunch break. I ended up eating alone again, even though Emma was working today she had a slightly different schedule and was with a patient during the time I had off.

The highlight of my day came immediately after lunch, when I had another client session booked. I was looking forward to that all through lunch, and as soon as the teen girl arrived I welcomed her into my office.

She was a petite girl, about the same height as my girlfriend. She wasn't anywhere near as busty as Amy though, and she wasn't as slim either. She was definitely cute, despite seeming very shy and a little bit anxious. She also looked younger than she was, which probably contributed to her cute appearance. I knew she was almost nineteen and had graduated high school, but she'd easily pass for a grade ten or eleven student.

Her shoulder-length brown hair was a bit messy but in a relaxed carefree way rather than just looking unkempt. Her brown eyes had a spark in them that made me think she was very sharp and alert and attentive, despite her shy quiet nature. She was currently dressed in a pair of dark leggings and an oversized short-sleeve t-shirt, with sneakers on her feet. And she had a little purse hanging from her left shoulder.

"Hello again Cass," I greeted her with a polite smile. "Come on in. How are you today?"

She followed me into my office, then while I closed the office door she moved to take the same seat she had on her first visit, at the end of the sofa.

"I'm ok thanks," she replied quietly. "How are you?"

My automatic reaction was to tell her I was fine, but I caught myself. I still didn't know what kind of supernatural she was, but I figured there was a chance she'd be able to tell if I was lying and I didn't want to lose her trust.

So I replied, "I've been under a bit of stress lately, but I'm very happy to see you again. And I promise the circumstances stressing me won't impact you or our session in any way."

The teen didn't question that, she just nodded slowly. She remained quiet for the next few seconds, and I quickly realized I'd have to keep taking the lead with her. Otherwise we might spend the entire session in silence and not get anywhere at all.

"So Cass," I began, "Have there been any new developments since you were here last?"

She was staring at the bookcases again, and a distant thoughtful expression settled on her face. It looked like she was debating what to tell me, which made me think that something probably had happened that she wasn't sure whether or not to share.

After a long pause the teen finally responded in the same shy quiet voice, "We had a conversation last week. Me and my other self I mean."

"That sounds positive," I replied. "I know it might not seem that way, you might have some mixed feelings about the situation? But communication is very important, and talking with her is a step in the right direction."

She didn't respond to that so after a few seconds I asked, "Would you be comfortable telling me what the two of you talked about?"

Cass continued staring at the bookcase for a couple more seconds. Then she shrugged, "I guess we talked about how... She seems a lot more capable than me? She's brave and strong and decisive. She just seems better than me. And she said she took over and did things sometimes, when there was stuff she needed to do? That bothered me though, and I asked why she didn't just take over forever?"

By the time she finished talking I felt a little lurch. Despite my inexperience I was positive that kind of talk was a warning sign. I'd definitely have concerns if I was talking to a non-plural person and they said something like that.

"Do you want her to take over forever?" I asked as I tried to keep a level tone.

Cass shrugged, "I don't want to disappear, but I feel really useless sometimes. I never wanted to be a... I just wanted to be a normal human girl. Being able to do some magic was cool, but all the other stuff is too much. I'm not good at being what I am. She's a lot better at it, and I figured she'd do a better job than me."

I suppressed a sigh as I asked, "And what did she say about that?"

"She doesn't want to," the girl replied. "Not-me is busy with her own stuff, and she said she's not as good with emotional stuff as me? I'm um, she says I'm kind and compassionate and caring. She said our friends wouldn't like her as much. She's brave and makes decisions and stuff, but I guess she's not as good with the other things?"

I nodded slowly, "I see. All right Cass, thank you for explaining that."

There was another long pause, while I thought back to everything Emma told me two weeks earlier. There were a bunch of things she suggested I ask about, but it wasn't as simple as that. I couldn't just bombard the girl with a list of questions and hope for the best.

To try and segue into some of those questions I suggested, "I can tell you're uncomfortable talking about Cassandra, so how about we talk about something else for a while?"

"All right," Cass agreed.

"Last time you told me a little about how everything changed for you two years ago," I prompted her. "Would you be ok talking about what things were like for you before that? For instance, what was it like for you when you were growing up?"

Cass looked thoughtful for a few moments, then started to quietly tell me a few random stories about her past. When I asked for more details, she couldn't really remember much more than the handful of events she already described. I also slipped in a few more of Emma's questions where they seemed appropriate.

Nothing she told me seemed particularly enlightening on its own, but together it helped me to build up something of an understanding of her life. I continued to prompt her now and then, and eventually she talked about her time at high school prior to her sudden unexpected transition and supernatural awakening.

"I spent most of my free time in the school library," she explained in the same shy quiet voice she'd been using all along. "I volunteered to help Ms. Sutton, the librarian? Or if she didn't have anything for me to do then I just read."

When I asked what she did with her friends she shrugged, "I didn't have any. Not until I turned into a girl and all the supernatural stuff started happening. I'm... I was even more shy when I thought I was a guy I guess?"

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"They don't have many friends either," she replied with yet another little shrug. "The three of us mostly just stuck together? We'd watch TV together and stuff like that. Or when I was little the three of us would play games and things."

She added, "Mom and mum were always there for me if I wanted to do stuff with them, but they never forced me into anything."

"All right Cass," I said with a polite smile, while I thought about everything I'd just learned.

A few things stood out for me as red flags, such as the lack of friends prior to her first supernatural experiences at age seventeen. Another was the way she seemed so detached from the events and memories she was describing.

It left me thinking the girl might be suffering with long-term depression in addition to her plural symptoms. I was still thinking about that when Cass finally spoke up on her own, which was a pleasant surprise.

The cute brunette glanced at me then her attention returned to my bookcase as she asked, "So um, you said earlier that it was a good thing for me and not-me to talk to each other? Does that mean you know what's wrong with me?"

"I wouldn't say something is necessarily wrong with you Cass," I replied. "And unfortunately it's sometimes not that easy to identify certain situations or problems. Having said that, I do have a good idea about what you're going through, based on what you've told me today and two weeks ago."

I watched her closely as I explained, "In general terms it's referred to as plurality, or being plural. That's what we call it when more than one identity or sense of self occupies a single body and brain."

"Plurality itself is not a mental disorder nor is it a medical problem," I added. "In and of itself there's nothing inherently wrong with being plural, it's simply another way to be. However, it can cause other problems or it can be a symptom of deeper issues, and in those cases there can be a medical diagnosis that would apply. That's not something that can happen in only two sessions though, and I'm not qualified to give a medical diagnosis regardless."

I paused for a moment to see if she had any questions or comments, but she stayed quiet so I continued.

"One of my colleagues here at the clinic has studied plurality extensively over the past few years," I told her. "I've consulted with her briefly, without sharing any supernatural details of your case. And her expert opinion is that any communication and cooperation between yourself and Cassandra is a good thing."

It was pretty obvious by her expression and body language that Cass wasn't very happy with the idea.

She frowned as she stared at my bookcase again, "It just feels really awkward I guess? Like I'm not weird enough as it is? I'm not human, I'm not normal, I'm not even like any of my supernatural friends. I'm weird and unique and different, and ontop of all that I have another person living in my head."

I gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know it's a lot Cass. It sounds like the past two years have been more than anyone should ever have to deal with, but you've managed it."

"As for dealing with Cassandra," I continued in a soft friendly tone, "It really will help both of you if you can try to work with her a little more? Even just addressing her by name would be a good start."

Cass grimaced but didn't respond, so I added "I know it might not seem this way, but despite how different and separate the two of you feel, you're both still part of the same overall complete person. I think she's aware of that, and maybe you understand that too, on some level? You're the kind caring compassionate one, while she's brave and decisive? Those are all good traits to have, and if the two of you cooperate and work together you'll have access to all of them."

She sighed, "I guess. I'll think about it anyways. Cooperating and communicating, I mean."

"I'm glad to hear it," I smiled. "And unfortunately we're getting near the end of our time today. Was there anything else you'd like to discuss in the last five minutes, or do you have any other questions for me?"

"Not really," she shook her head.

I hesitated briefly, then I decided to try something. I wasn't sure how it would go, and I hoped it wouldn't backfire or get me in more trouble than I was already in.

"In that case would it be possible for me to meet with Cassandra?" I asked her. "It's ok to say no, I don't want to pressure either of you."

Cass frowned again, then there was a very unsubtle shift in her entire demeanour. She sat up straight as she turned to face me, and there was absolutely no trace of the shy quiet anxious girl I'd spent the last forty-five minutes with. Instead I found myself face to face with someone who radiated confidence.

I also couldn't help comparing the experience to those times my girlfriend shifted from 'Amy' to 'Amethyst', except the difference was even more pronounced with my client.

"Hello," I greeted her with another polite smile. "Are you Cassandra?"

She nodded once but maintained eye contact with me, "That's correct. I know there's only a few minutes left, did you have any actual questions for me or did you just want to meet me?"

I asked, "You're aware that Cass has started seeing me I take it? Are you... Do you experience the sessions with her? Or are you aware of the things we've talked about?"

"Yes," Cassandra replied. "I don't always pay close attention to what she's up to, but I look out for Cass, along with our friends and family. And I have been monitoring her time here with you."

"You watch out for her? You want to keep her safe?" I asked.

She nodded again, "Of course."

Hearing that I couldn't help asking, "Is she in any danger? Or are you?"

The teen replied calmly, "Not any more."

"I know we're out of time," she added, "But I have a question for you. You mentioned one of your coworkers is an expert on plurality. Should we be meeting with her instead?"

Unfortunately that was the last thing I wanted to hear. Considering how few clients I had, I hated the thought of losing any of them. Especially the most interesting one. But I would never put my needs above a patient's, so I responded "Her name is Emma Carter. If you'd like to meet with her we can certainly arrange that next time? Just let me or Rosa know in advance, and we'll try and coordinate things."

Cassandra considered that a moment before responding, "Very well Theresa, we'll keep that in mind. Now I believe our sister and girlfriend are waiting outside, so Cass and I will be on our way."

"Have a good day," she added as she stood up.

For a moment I was just watching her move, she even walked differently than before. She carried herself with a lot more self-confidence. Then as she opened my office door I nodded, "You too. Take care Cassandra, and Cass."

It wasn't until after they'd left that it suddenly struck me, in the whole time Cass was talking about her past or her family life she'd never once mentioned having a sister.