She didn't ask because she expected them to find out at some point--as you saw with the thing in the hall, other inhuman creatures also report to them. Given how Grayson reacted to his dad there's a nonzero chance that he would not tell him about it. It's also likely that she at least knew about Grayson's presence, even if she doesn't know who his father is. It may not have been your fault at all.

Also the freeze response has now saved your life at least once, so you can stop feeling ashamed for having it.

That's another one I like to use.

It sounds like a repetition of the same theme: the old versus the new. Like wood so old it hails from millions of years ago and still holds a connection to the forest from whence it came. Maybe the greater the age, the greater the effect?

Also: as a medic with PTSD I'm very familiar with trauma responses. First, know that your reaction to being grabbed after multiple prior grabbings that nearly killed you is totally normal. It's your fight/flight/freeze/fawn response kicking in, and it's difficult to turn off. Fortunately there are a few techniques you can use: Grounding exercises and box breathing.

Grounding exercises vary but are all about simple tasks you can focus on to push through a trauma response. There's 5-4-3-2-1 where you identify five things you can touch, four things you can see, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. There's ROYGBIV, where you identify objects around you in each color of the rainbow. Then there's my go-to, where you memorize something that's meaningful to you and recite it over and over. I use a poem, Invictus by William Ernest Henley.

Box breathing is like it sounds: breathing in a box pattern. Breathe in for four seconds, hold for four seconds, out for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and repeat. You can choose any amount of time you like as long as your breaths are equal and consistent.

It's shitty when it happens but those responses are your body trying to keep you alive. It makes total sense that the more often you face death, the more active your responses will be.

Also for therapy: you could talk about the flickering man as an acquaintance that assaulted you. Be vague about timeframes and just say you were physically assaulted after an argument. The sad truth is that that's common enough that your therapist won't bat an eye....unless they work for the administration.

It's obvious you have some experience in healthcare, and you managed to turn the routine into the horrifying here. Phenomenally well done.

Well that's unsettling. A common theme seems to be the inhuman emulating aspects of their older generation but with significantly less restraint. They're evolving and have reached the point at which following rules is a choice, not a compulsion.

Seems especially fitting for it to occur at college.

You should see if you can find out and maybe get him a coffee. For.....reasons.

Soooo ....did the random student give you his name while princess carrying you to the health center?

No idea on the creature, but I wanted to point out: you and Maria know each other well enough to non-verbally communicate while remaining too subtle to broadcast what you mean to other people. That means you know each other better than many who would consider themselves friends, and you guys are definitely friends. Congratulations!

I don't remember -- have you spoken to Grayson about the administration, and that they're clearly aware of the student deaths and intentionally preserving the status quo?

If you have then the dinner invite with zero explanation is even more suspicious. As is his indignation about being avoided.