"Can I get you anything else, mijo?" Valencia asked as she fluffed her son's pillow for the billionth time.
"I'm fine, Ma, I promise," Mikey tried to reassure her; he was certain it wouldn't stop her from fussing, but he had to at least try.
"You can fluff my pillow, Mom!" Mitch joked from the makeshift couch bed he had set up nearby.
His mother just rolled her eyes at him.
Suddenly Mitch's phone vibrated with a text from Mabel.
YOU. CHANNEL 6. WATCH. NOW! the message read, with plenty of smiley/rainbow/unicorn emoji's following it.
At his request, Mitch flipped on the TV and clicked the remote until the channel changed to the right station. It tuned in on an enormous festival going on in a field that appeared to be just outside of Eugene. There were Z-Files balloons in black and white everywhere, each of them bearing the name of a place that accepted bone marrow donations (and also a tiny "sponsored by the Mystery Shack" notice at the bottom). In the middle of the field a stage had been set up, where five nearly identical blonde men were performing some kind of outdated boyband song. And above it all floated the giant "I EAT KIDS" hot air balloon that was property of the Pines family. Mikey had always thought it was edgy, but not in a way that was "trying too hard"; he had tried to tell Stan as much once, but he hadn't understood and just told him to get off his lawn.
The screen cut to Shandra Jimenez, standing beside Mabel with a microphone. Mikey noticed that his girlfriend, while still as vibrantly dressed as ever, actually appeared to have forced her normal chaotic energy into some semblance of order; her sweater was just a simple dark blue with some elaborate cable stitching, her fluffy brown bob was neatly pinned back in some kind of half-updo, and her earrings were a pair of simple gold hoops, not dangly or funny-shaped like normal. It made her look older, more professional.
"Toby, I'm here in Eugene at the "Mikey's Miracle Bone Marrow Drive" with Mabel Pines, the young lady who put her heart and soul into organizing the event. Mabel, tell us what inspired you to throw such a blowout for this cause."
"Well," Mabel cleared her throat and straightened up, "my boyfriend Mikey and I are both cancer survivors, and when he relapsed, I really learned just how hard finding bone marrow donors can be for some people, and then after some research I found out that it's incredibly easy to become a bone marrow donor! It's something that literally makes a life and death difference- (Mabel's voice choked slightly) and even if none of the people we find can be a match for Mikey-" (she had to swallow again, harder) "-he has so much life to give, and I-I wanna do all I can to give him a chance to live it!"
The two of them continued to talk about the drive and how many new donors had registered; Mabel gave the name of the website she had set up, while it also appeared on the screen underneath her, and followed up with instructions on how the people watching from home could find out if they were a bone marrow match or not. It should have made Mikey's heart flutter and given him hope (he knew that was why Mabel wanted him to watch)…but instead it just made his heart sink. All it did was make him think about all the time, effort, and everything that she had put into this…and how it would crush her if he didn't pull through.
Mitch could tell that his twin was struggling, so he tried to lighten the mood.
"Woah, Casanova! Look at how far she's going for you-you've gotta marry her after all this!"
Their father lightly swatted the back of his head with a scolding look; but then he smiled at his other son. "You do have to admit there are a lot of people there. When that Mabel gets determined to do something, she really goes all out, doesn't she?"
Mikey offered a half-smile. "I just hope she doesn't regret it."
His mother stroked his cheek. "She'll never regret trying to save you, Michael. None of us will."