Stories From The Hermit Crab's Shell

Cheryl's Argument

STORY INCLUDES: Anxiety,

Cheryl took a deep breath of anticipation as she stood outside Mom’s office, anxiety threatening to overtake her at any moment.
    Mom wasn’t actually Cheryl’s mother, Cheryl’s mother was somewhere on the mainland, Mom was just what everyone called her. Mom was the founder of the Hermit Crab’s Shell, the one who ran everything and assured the kids were living good lives. She was the heart of the shell, so if Cheryl wanted this, it was Mom she had to talk to. 
    Cheryl knocked on the door and entered to see mom typing away on her computer, working on her management of the Shell, but upon seeing Cheryl she stopped what she was doing and brought all her attention to her. “How can I help you dear?”
    Cheryl feared she’d collapse as her heart thudded from nerves, but Mom wasn’t like her real family, mom would stay calm and cool with even the worst requests, still… Cheryl’s nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists “Mom, I… I have a request”
    She was stalling, delaying the time for her to have to say it, and Mom seemed to read that. “Alright, you can take your time if you need, I won’t go anywhere. And I'll be happy to hear about anything that will make your life at the shell more pleasant. 
    “That’s just….” no more stalling “I want to go back home” Cheryl fought the tears trying to form in her eyes as she watched for Mom’s reaction
    “You can go back to your room, but you don't have to worry about talking to me, you can tell me anything” Mom’s warm welcoming attitude did nothing to calm Cheryl, she hadn’t understood.
    “No.  I mean home home. The mainland.” had Mom’s expression just flickered? Was she mad? Sad? Would she- no people weren’t like that at the shell. 
    “What?” Mom looked at her “If you have any problems with the shell we can fix it, I really don't think you want to go to the mainland.” 
    Cheryl inhaled before speaking “I spent my life on the mainland studying space, chasing my dream of working for NASA. I said that at 20 years old I would apply for the best job they had open, and keep working towards that for the rest of my life. I’m 21 now.”
    Mom’s expression definitely changed for a moment there, anxiety, just as Cheryl felt “We do stargazing here and you can teach-”
    Cheryl interrupted here “I don’t want to teach kids, I want to work with rockets and space and people who already know about astronomy. I’d rather be just a janitor for scientists than teach grubby little kids for the rest of my life.” Cheryl finally couldn’t withhold her tears. She’d easily accepted a way out of her living situation when an Avaunt picked her up at age 16, but she hadn’t planned to leave all her friends and future plans just like that. 
    Mom had a blank smile on her face as she was clearly trying to hide whatever she felt “we… you can’t do that. Nobody leaves The Hermit Crab’s Shell. It’s a paradise, a home for the lost children to grow up in safety and love!”
    “And I grew up, I’m an adult, I don't need to be protected anymore” 
    “But, this place is like Neverland, everybody accepts and cares for each other no matter any differences, It’s like a beautiful dream”
    “Well maybe you should wake up and let us live!”
    Cheryl and Mom stood in silence staring at each other for a long time, Cheryl hadn’t intended to yell, but she didn’t regret it, she meant what she said. She thought of Erin, that little boy from the rich family, he didn’t seem to have ever been hungry, ever been hurt by those he loved, Cheryl didn’t even know why he was here, but his lack of experiences had made him a little prick, ignorant to the harsh realities of the world outside what he’d experienced. If he lived on the mainland, he’d see these hardships firsthand and understand them better, but he’d been taken to the shell, and might never truly understand what type of things his fellows had gone through. 
    Mom began to cry as well “This is the best place on earth, some of these kids would probably have been killed had I not found them. People on the mainland hurt eachother for the littlest of reasons, you’re transgender, you’ll never find the same acceptance you have here if you leave. People will hurt you, I-'' Cheryl had never seen mom look so pitiful “I don't want you to get hurt, you deserve better, you deserve this… “
    This had been perhaps Cheryl’s worst fear for this meeting, seeing Mom cry after everything she had done for Cheryl, it stung worse than anything she’d ever felt, but there was no turning back. “If you think I deserve the best, then the mainland is what I consider the best for me, astronomy is what i’ve always wanted, and with how much i’ve studied, all I need to do Is go back home and reclaim my life before I can begin my journey. Whether I become a rocket scientist immediately or flip burgers for 20 years first” She’d written this out in her mind beforehand, and she was thankful for it. She didn’t think she could manage to speak coherently if she were making up the words as she spoke. 
    “I don't want you to get hurt…” Mom repeated
    “It hurts to be here not even trying to chase my dreams.” an idea popped into Cheryl’s head “You dreamed to build this place, if you could choose between a paradise for yourself and doing this, would you have chosen to stay in your own bubble?”
    “It's not the same, people were getting hurt, how could anyone just-”
    “Yeah, you worry about others, you're sympathetic” Cheryl was losing her patience, the room seemed to blur with her emotions seeming to drain her body. “I’m scientific, I need to learn and investigate just as much as you need to help people!” Cheryl’s head throbbed and she felt heavy, drained from the emotional experience she was dealing with. 
    Mom just stared at her, looking heartbroken “Cheryl…”
    Cheryl felt like she’d collapse if she stayed there any longer. “I’ll go write up a plan for my re-entrance into the mainland society, I'll send it to you to look over and we can start making plans for me to be dropped off on the mainland.” with that she left.
Cheryl looked around at the Shell as she stood outside, the warm welcoming buildings her prison, she ran to the stargazing hollow, a small indent in the ground that provided a nice space to view the stars. It was empty during the day, and A comfortable place for Cheryl to be alone for a bit as she sorted her thoughts and emotions. And a place Cheryl could look only at the sky from, and just imagine for a moment that she wasn’t here. That she was anywhere but here.