Selene, the spokesperson from the host club’s exhibition. Up close I noticed the strange pattern of varying curls in their hair, including strange accessories that had the same design as a cheetah's fur. They were also relatively tanned, which kinda fit with the whole cheetah fur design.

  The moment they saw Genieve they hurried forward and pulled them into a tight hug, only to shove them back a second later.

  “Where have you been?! Didn't I tell you to stay with Marcy, you know we almost got caught trying to find you too-”

  “And I survived,” Genieve interrupted them, “No, I didn't just survive, I brought a new member!” Genieve pointed to me, and suddenly Selene’s eyes widened.

  In an instant they pushed Genieve behind them, calling for backup. “IDRIS! Allie ! Come over here- bring your weapons.”

  From the hole in the ground arrived two people, which I could only assume were the two other host club members I had seen beside Selene in the exhibition.

  The first was a tall, broad individual with short curls, upturned eyes, and a darker brown complexion than most equalist students I had encountered. Like Genieve, they wore unfamiliar inner layers instead of a standard body suit.

  The other was slightly shorter and thinner, with a strange mix of orange and brown hair and eyes so red in tone they almost looked artificial. Also bearing a darker, but slightly more light complexion

  Which was Allie and which one was Idris I could only eternally guess.

  They both looked relieved to see Genieve, but they didn't sprint towards them like Selene. Instead, their focus was entirely on pointing their weapons towards my body.

  Meanwhile Genieve looked at me, and then between Selene, Allie and Idris.

  “What are you doing? The first member we’ve gotten in months and you're threatening them!”

  Slowly Selene walked towards me as they explained their reasoning, “That hat belongs to the members of our local underground clique of the school that call themselves the NSDAP.”

  A collective shared gasp rang out, but Genieve didn't waver, “B-But why would they help me then-”

  “To gain your trust so that you could show them our secret base!” Selene explained, as if the fact was the only reasonable explanation.

  “And clearly,” Selene continued, "if one of their own is suddenly trying to join us while bearing the NSDAP memorabilia, they can't be trusted.”

  “Techinically, you aren't wrong but your not right either..” I said, and the wrinkles around Selene’s eyes tightened against my remark, “And what exactly is that supposed to mean, smartass?”

  “I made a trade with Genieve, I helped them escape and they recruited me to the club,” I started, “And to do that I had to earn their trust.”

  Selene stared at me for a solid moment, even Genieve seemed to stiffen, letting out a mix of inhaling and exhaling that sounded weirdly amused.

  Selene's head snapped back to them, “THIS ISN'T FUNNY!”

  Genieve instantly stopped, assuming their normal tense position.

  Selene eyes travelled back to me again, standing right in front of me they extended an arm expectantly.

  “Give me your hat.” they instructed, and I obliged, handing it to them. Yet again a series of questions followed after..

  “How did you get this?”

  “A previous friend who was a member of the NSDAP gifted it to me.”

  “So you were affiliated with the NSDAP?" Selene was suddenly standing closer now, practically towering over me.

  “Not exactly, I only knew the friend when I was eight to eleven, and then we parted ways when he betrayed me.” I tried explaining but Selene still didn't look convinced.

  “Dont give me a whole backstory here- Just tell me if you align yourself with them now.” Now it was my turn to get frustrated, why did they ask all these questions if they didn't want a detailed answer in return?

  “Absolutley not, I think their ideology is flawed and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the world.”

  “So why do you still wear the hat he gave you..?” Selene’s questions were starting to bring up uncomfortable thoughts. Questions I had asked myself so many times I had formulated several detailed answers in both my mind and sketchbook, all beginning with the two words: Cycad’s hat. However I didn't add that detail because it seemed irrelevant.

  For this instance I only gave one answer.

  “Because I want to prove there’s a way of understanding and protecting the world that does not require the annihilation of anyone or anything.”

  “But you could do all of that without the hat.”

  “I know, but that would defeat the purpose of my departure from that relationship.”

  “Well if you want to join us you can't be wearing that.”

  “Selene stop dragging this out-” The copper haired one suddenly intervened, “They already said they don't agree with them, if we start assuming the absolute worst about everyone then what’s even the point of having a club?”

  “Allie , have you ever heard of ly-i-ng?” Selene said, putting extra emphasis on the word lying like it was an unfamiliar word to red haired one, now known as Allie ’s vocabulary.

  “Yes, because that’s what you accused me of doing for one whole hour when I first joined!” Allie responded, and Selene only crossed their arms, “You had red hair and already knew what pronouns were, like come on is it really that far of a stretch..?”

  “Oh my god can you stop arguing for one moment and FOCUS.” The bulky one, presumably Idris, said, heaving a sigh from their nose.

  “As a matter of fact can you stop interrogating Lichen all together..?” Genieve added, making Selene suddenly freeze in place.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Lichen..?” They repeated, eyes slowly centering on me,

  “Yes, that’s me.” I answered, wondering if it was a bad or good thing.

  All previous hesitation Selene held seemed to vanish as they stopped their relentless questioning, turning back around to climb down the hole as they gestured for the others to follow.

  “They can join until proven guilty otherwise.” Selene said, and Idris instantly perked up, their weapon still firmly pointed on me, stopping me from following the others down the hole.

  “Were just going to trust them..? Like we have to have at least a right of passage or something, anything..!”

  “Dont be too harsh now Idris, it doesn't look good to our new member.”

  “And besides, that’s what we're going to have with the….” Selene began, Genieve and Allie providing off beat drum rolls in the background, “HOST CLUB CRASH COURSE MEMBERSHIP INITIATION RITUAL!”

  Idris resigned, following Selene down the circle gruffly, telling me just as they were about to climb down to, “Come on.”

  Hurriedly I followed, Idris instructing me to make sure to cover the circular entrance apparently called a lid with the mud Genevieve and I had previously dug out. I thought I would have to perform some complex motion to close it as well, but no, I just had to reinforce it with a lock.

  This was exactly the moment I had been waiting for- “Am I finally going to learn the rules and regulations of the outside world!?” I asked, and Selene looked slightly eased by my enthusiasm.

  “You could say that, but to be honest this is more old world stuff..”

  “YOU SAY THAT LIKE ITS NOT EVEN BETTER!”

  “Wow, where was this energy a few moments ago?”

  “It comes out for special moments just like this.”

  “Well we’ll make sure not to disappoint then, idris bring out the chalkboard!” Idris nodded and disappeared into what looked like a closet, while Selene rummaged through a big box of mysterious unfamiliar items.

  While I waited for them, I took a moment to observe the inside. It was much warmer than the outside, almost unbearably so. Although Genieve looked like they thrived in it, moving with much less stiffness. Each time either of us took a step it echoed, never failing to startle me.

  Allie guided us to sit beside this grey metallic box. Allie began inspecting Genieve’s injuries, circling them frantically while picking off stray leaves and sticks from their hair. I saw the stiffness return to Genieve’s body.

  “Oh Genieve…” Allie sighed, now inspecting the inside of Genieve’s visibly bloody arm,"I'm glad you're ok but you should have stayed behind, you were really brave but sometimes it's just better to recognise our limits.”

  Genieve quickly pulled back their arm, stuffing it inside their inner layers once again.

  “I didn't need to stay behind.”

  Allie 's mouth creased into a down turned line, still hovering too closely.

  “You were limping earlier. You can barely move your hands right now. Just let me fix it before it gets worse-” Allie tried to reach out for Genieve’s arm, but Genieve lowered it down again.

  “I got here, didn’t I?”

  Allie hesitated.

  “That’s not the point—”

  “No, it kind of is,” Genieve said quietly. “You were three people down there. I was alone. And I still managed to bring someone back.”

  Allie ’s expression shifted with an expression I didn't recognise.

  “That doesn’t mean you should push yourself until your joints lock up.”

  “They would do that regardless,” Genieve muttered. “Its not anything new.”

  “Genny, please, don't be so difficult..” The instant the words left Allie ’s mouth, Genieve’s whole face tightened.

  "Difficult…?” They repeated "Who's the one “dragging” this out?”

  Genieve suddenly stood up, opening the grey metallic box and grabbing a bunch of bottles with terms I had never heard before like: Povidone-iodine, Chlorhexidine, and Hydrogen Peroxide.

  They handed them to Allie with a blank expression.

  “Patch up Lichen instead.”

  Allie blinked.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. I know how to do it myself, so you should focus on our new member.”

  Allie looked between us, clearly unconvinced.

  Before they could answer, I spoke, addressing my confusion with the whole fiasco.

  “If it weren’t for Genieve throwing that smoke bomb in the evacuation room, your chances of escape would’ve significantly dropped,” I said.

  “So I don’t really understand why they should stay behind. It seems inefficient and wasteful.”

  Genieve gave me another look I couldn't recognise, my first hour here and I was already met with new expressions I had never encountered before.

  I was about to ask them what it meant before Allie interrupted with a, “But-” before promptly closing their mouth again. Letting Genevieve be as they attended to me. Genieve disappeared quickly into the same closet Idris went inside, taking the rest of the grey metallic box with them.

  “I'm sorry about all of that, it's just I worry, you know..?” Allie said, and I couldn't help but nod, “I understand worry but it feels like you’re sacrificing ease of mind for potential success.”

  “We’ll have plenty of chances to perform again, but if Genieve was injured or worse of all- caught, then it's over for her.” Allie began taking out the sticks and leaves from my inner layers and hair. I tried helping but only made it worse, somehow making sticks even more tangled.

  “But they managed to help me escape when the guards captured me..”

  Allie suddenly stopped, their features softening into a natural drop of their face, “Yeah, maybe even I have been too harsh.” They dropped, sitting beside me again as they avoided my gaze before continuing.

  “Truly sorry for all of this- Especially Selene, I promised the host club is a place welcome for all we just weren't expecting such a sharp introduction.”

  “Dont apologise, just reinforce your standards next time when you’ve gotten an updated example.”

  Suddenly, a heavy ear screeching sound could be heard from the closet, and what I could only assume was Genieve and Idris arguing.

  “Push to the left.”

  “My left or your left?”

  “Do the equalist facilities teach over grad school level..? WE HAVE THE SAME LEFT!”

  “Let's see you make a bomb out of school supplies, IDRIS!”

  After a moments struggle a layer of dust and smoke escaped behind the wall, Idris and Genieve emerged out of breath, covered with it from head to toe. Selene popped up beside them, completely untouched with three pieces of chalk in between both hand’s knuckles.

  “Ok everybody- Assume natural positions!” Selene instructed, and like a pair of administrators the host club stood in a straight line in order from tallest to shortest. Expect Genieve who took Idris place as tallest, even though they were a good 20 cm shorter.

  “So,” Selene coughed, clearing their voice, “If you want to be a member of the host club you need to shed your ignorant equalist chrysalis and emerge a beautiful, glamorous butterfly!” They provided the visual description with a drawing that didn't resemble any butterfly I had ever seen, but what did I know maybe it was a new species.

  I was already confused again, raising my hand as I questioned “But some butterflies have cocoons-”

  “AHHH dont get caught up in the details!” Selene sputtered, erasing the drawing and writing out the numbers 1-5 with different points on them.

  “First objective-” Selene turned back to me, leaning in closer and pointing a piece of chalk in my face, “Your name, Lichen, eww reeks of equalist ambiguity, what even is a Lichen?!”

  “It's a plant that grows basically everywhere, especially where I came from.” Idris answered, and while technically they weren't wrong I wanted to pivot it with a more defined explanation.

  “Its also hybrid colony of-”

  “RETHORICAL QUESTION By the way,” Selene interrupted me again, pointing to the chalkboard, "The important thing is that you need to pick a new one, one that suits you better, one that you get to choose.”

  Me and Genieve shared a look. I was finally getting an answer to my previous question, but I never expected my own participation in the event.

  I raised my hand up again, “But what’s the criteria?” Selene and the others looked at me with wide, open eyes before Selene answered, “That’s the thing, there isn't any! You pick whatever you want.”

  “You could pick something you want to be,” Genieve suggested, “Here’s a couple magazines, you can see names that convey a certain role in old society, like Joan of Arc!” They dumped a big pile of papers that looked like books but much flatter and with no spines. Flipping through them I quickly became overwhelmed with the sheer amount of content screaming for my attention, there weren't just names but faces I had never seen before and words I couldn't even begin guessing the meaning of.

  Still I didn't get it.

  Allie, probably noticing my confusion, recommended, “Or you could pick something that conveys a feeling you want others to feel around you.”

  “For example mine is alleviation, because I never want people to be tense around me!” Their explanation wasn't ridiculous, but still I didn't get it.

  “But what if I change my mind?”

  “Then you could always just change your name.” Selene said, as if it was an obvious fact.

  “Yeah, when I first started I picked a new one everyday!” Allie remarked, Genieve shook their head, snorting softly, “Instead of saying hey Allie we used to ask: ‘what's the name today?’”

  “I just called them pot because it was too hard to keep up with it all.” Idris shrugged, the only one still in strict formation while the others had abandoned the line altogether.

  “Or, if you're really so uncertain you could just pick something that sounds beautiful,” Selene said, Genieve and Allie dancing in between them.

  “Like something that just flows off the tongue-” Allie and Genieve started doing flapping motions with their hands, “Or something that melts smoothly but sticks like a bone!” Genieve and Allie hesitated, before doing completely different motions as examples. Neither of which I could decipher the meaning off.

  I stopped them before they could dwell into any further examples,“Ok- While I understand where you're coming from I just don't think choosing a name should be that subjective.”

  Now it was my turn to stand up, grabbing one of the chalks from Selene’s hand as I hovered over the chalk board. “Deciding how someone will perceive you based on something as easily fabricated as a name sounds manipulative, and definitely not something the old world engaged in frequently!”

  I had talked to numerous daily buddies before who had confirmed this fact. Telling me their names were often chosen based on different criteria like heritage, relation to the hierarchy, previous family members job etcetera.

  “Finally someone else says it!” Idris said, leaving his line of formation.

  I drew a quick map of the globe, pointing to it as I reasoned, “I want to become a part of the outside world, not decide who I'll become here based on inefficient information.”

  Selene crossed their arms, “With that logic you’ll never be anyone.”

  “Then I’ll simply keep on collecting further data until im certain."