Long time no see! Had to jot this down. Messy, messy... A lot of inspiration came from watching My Neighbor Totoro for the first time ever! Was going to have a sleepy Karen on Michael's shoulders while at the bus stop, but... I got a little carried away. :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own South Park; it rightfully belongs to Trey&Matt!
Sorry For Your Loss
Karen watched in awe as the rain splattered the pavement in thick drops. She would have danced in the puddles, but… Goths didn't play in puddles, and it wouldn't be very Goth of her to do such a thing. And here she was, waiting with Michael and Pete at the stop to catch the next bus to the hospital. Since word had broken out that Stan Marsh was shot (and talk around South Park spread like wildfire), the Goth Kids made the decision to visit him. No matter if he was somewhat of a 'jocky conformist', they still considered him as a friend among them.
Unfortunately Firkle was grounded, and Henrietta was already at the hospital. Before the last shooting, she was busy in an empty hallway with Kenny McCormick—Karen's older brother and mysterious guardian angel—before the last school shooting happened. She hitched a ride in the ambulance with Kenny and Kyle, and hit up the information to her friends from there.
"She says he's going to be fine," Michael told Pete. The tall Goth was reading the updated texts he'd just received from Henrietta. "Fortunately, the bullet only pierced Stan's right arm."
"That's a relief," said Pete. He glanced up at the red balloon that they'd especially picked out for Stan. In giant Sharpie marker read, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, RAVEN. "Though… to tell you the truth, it would've been even more Goth of him if he had died during the shooting." Using both hands, he tugged the balloon down by its string.
Michael nodded in silent agreement.
"Hey, Karen!" Pete called.
The little girl stood on the other side of Michael, absentmindedly watching the raindrops fall rapidly to the ground. She glanced from the overcast sky to Pete, who finally squat down and gestured to her.
"Come over here," he said gently. He freed one hand from the string of the balloon to grab his trusty pocketknife from the back of his pants. "I've got a job for you."
Karen obeyed immediately, thus hurrying over to the boy. Pete scraped the moist concrete with the tip of his knife.
"There's been a sudden change of plans. We don't need the balloon anymore, so… Here," he replied, "stand right here in front of me. ... All right, take my knife. Careful, don't stab yourself—Kenny and Henrietta will have my head on a platter if you did… Okay. I'm going to hold onto the balloon and keep it steady while you plunge the knife into its core. Is that cool with you?"
Karen grinned happily. "Okay, Pete!"
"Okay, Little Goth… ready?"
"Ready!"
Michael plucked two fingers into his ears as Karen rammed the knife into the balloon with an outrageous scream.
POP!
Pete and Michael's jaws dropped in astonishment. Several pieces of the former balloon hurled to the ground. Overcome with emotion, the youngest Goth squealed and began to excitedly hop in one puddle after the next.
"I did it, I did it!" she cheered.
She stopped herself straightaway once she saw the looks on her seniors' faces. Karen's joyous nature tremendously decreased.
"… Sorry," she mumbled.
"Are you kidding?" snapped Pete. "Karen, you're hardcore Goth!"
"Hardcore Goth," Michael repeated with a nod of approval.
"You really think so?" asked Karen doubtingly.
Before either of the older children could answer, two bright lights shined their way through the heavy rain. The bus finally arrived, thank God. The long vehicle came to a screeching halt, and the door pulled itself open. Pete jumped aboard.
"Wait until we tell Henrietta about this," he said. "She's going to flip for sure!"
"Really?!" Karen called after him.
All of a sudden her small body was heaved out of the puddle and she was in the crook of Michael's arm. He smiled faintly at her.
"Really, really."