text: Roe had been quite busy today. They had finals to study and homework to do, so getting distracted wasn't a risk worth taking. Their focus was entirely on the textbook that lay in front of them, all about arthropods and their role in the ecosystem. *Winged centipedes and spiders help pollinate our flowers, a role once considered to be the job of small insects before their evolution...* A sudden and loud CRASH noise quickly dragged Roe out of their studies. They turned immediately, their antennae standing straight up, to see... one of the most interesting sights that their eyes had ever witnessed. Maggot, their roommate, had quite literally burst through the door. A gaping hole had been made in the middle of it and one of its hinges had completely snapped. How it was still standing was a complete and total mystery to Roe. Maggot lay in front of the destroyed door. The housefly didn't seem *too* injured and was still conscious, but that wasn't really saying much. She was in a bit of a weird pose, with her arms and a single leg twisted behind her back. Roe shut their textbook and shoved it to the side before fluttering over to their roomie. "Hey, Maggot," they greeted. "Hey, Roe," she replied back. “... That hurt.” "No shit it hurt, you literally broke through our damn door. How did you even do that?” “Uh... running start. I didn’t mean to break it, I just meant to scare you. It’s April Fools’ Day, after all.” “And you just hurt yourself instead.” “I mean, a little, yeah. I'm good though, ain’t no need to worry about it, dude." "Sucks to be you, then, because you're not going to just sit there." Roe made a huff and fluttered their wings as they literally scooped Maggot right up into their arms and began carrying them away bridal-style. “Hey, wait! Where are we going?!” she abruptly squeaked out. “Prison.” “No wait wait wait WAIT-” \ “Well, is she gonna be okay?” Roe asked. The pigmy sand cricket doctor nodded. “Yes, she’s gonna be just fine, so long as she doesn’t somehow manage to put herself through another door.” They turned to Maggot, and lightly teased, “I still don’t know how you did that, by the way. Wood is typically very tough.” “I’m very strong!” Maggot chirped back, flexing all four of her arms and fluttering her wings. “I can do whatever I put my mind to, even if it’s putting myself through an inch-and-a-half door!” Roe huffed at the sight. “Well, you better not do it again, or else I’m going to tell the doctor to cut your lower set of arms off.” “WHAT?! Like uh, uh... Like Dr. Dahlia, Papuaepilachna guttatopustulata?” “No. Wrong historical figure. The one missing two arms is Monarch Midnight, Monomorium pharaonis. Our first ruler. You know... the person who killed the Conditores.” “Oh... whoops. I’m not good at this history thing.” “That’s fine. You’re lucky that I am.” With that, they passed some money over to the doctor. “Thank you, we’ll be taking our leave now, doctor.” “No problem!” the doctor chirped back as the two stood up, “Have a lovely day!” The two insects left the office and began to fly back to their house. Roe focused on the city around them, full of light-colored wood buildings and insects of all shapes and sizes. It wasn’t as big as their home, but they didn’t mind. The only thing that brought them back to reality was Maggot asking, “So... how much trouble am I in?” “None, if you pay for the replacement,” Roe replied with a flick of their antennae. “But if you don’t, you’re in a lot of it." “Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll pay for it, don’t worry. The concert a couple of weeks ago went well enough.” “Good. Don’t break the damn door again.