She laughs and takes another bite out of her falafel wrap. "No, it's okay, I wouldn't believe me either! But I took some pictures last time, for funsies."
She pushes her unlocked phone across the table.
"…Sorry. Should have let you finish your lunch first."
"I, uh, I wasn't expecting… that. Does it hurt? It looks like it should hurt."
"Nah. The skin underneath's all grown in by then. Porcelain just shards off in a day or so. Frankly, the weird part is coming back to," she gestures to herself, "All this. Eating. Breathing. Feeling. It's, oh grit, it's a lot. I don't like to be alone during. Honestly, that's part of why I'm here. You said you weren't looking for long-term?"
"I'm heading back east in a few months, yeah. But why? This is so…"
"…messy. Sure. Look, I've been around for a long time. We can be repaired, but that's just patches on patches after a while. This is deeper. Molting is awkward. Humanity is awkward. Reformation, though. Becoming Still and perfect all over again? Pure euphoria."
The girl (who claims she used to be a doll, and will be a doll again) takes your hand across the table. Her own is soft, warm.
"Still interested?"
"How could I not be?"
She smiles.
"Great. Let's go do some human stuff! Sex, drugs, fear, napping, candy. Then, tomorrow…"
