by Leto
Part 3 - "What's happening to my friends?"
~~Tai~~
Tai was popular too, but in a different way to Matt. Half the school thought he was a nutcase, half thought he was cool, but nobody could really dislike him because he was so friendly and good-natured, and he wouldn't let anyone get the better of him. Also, everyone appreciated a good athlete.
All of the digidestined - apart from Joe - attended Odaiba Elementary, and so saw each other if not actually in classes, then at least during lunch break or special school assemblies. Izzy, Sora and Tai had been on good terms BD - Before Digiworld - but now the friendship between all the kids who had gone had a depth to it.
Yet Tai still felt - knew - there was something missing. His second self, Agumon. When he saw Izzy in a classroom or sat next to Sora, he instinctively looked down to see his Digimon friend, who should have been there but wasn't.
School was as boring as he remembered it. He doodled through English and tried to do Magic Eye on the patterns on the carpet through Maths, until his teacher asked why he was staring cross-eyed at the floor, and he was shot back to reality. He spent most of Biology whispering and passing notes to Sora, and most of French moved along pleasantly as he fell fast asleep on his pencil tin.
No doubt about it, it was a good start to the school year.
Lunch time was soccer-oriented, typically. Izzy played too, but Sora wasn't around.
"Tai! Tai! Over here!"
"Just a sec - right!"
"Got it!"
"Hey, over here!"
"Hey, get the ball back!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
"So close!"
Tai slid in front of the opponent, neatly averting the ball and dribbling it back to his team's side of the field. With one smooth kick, he slammed the ball right into the goalkeeper, sending him backwards into the net with its impact. Tai punched one fist into the air, and his teammates cheered.
"Sure glad you're on our side," said one of his teammates, punching him on the shoulder.
"Looking good there, Tai," said Mr Fujiyama, who was watching on the sidelines, "you'll make the soccer team this year for sure."
"Was there ever any doubt?" returned Tai, with a big grin. He pushed his hair out of his face. It fell back down about five seconds later.
"You should really get a haircut."
"Nahh. Helps for headbutting the ball. Even if I miss hitting it, my hair will at least stop it in mid-air!"
Mr Fujiyama laughed. "Well, so long as it's good for something!"
***
The next day, the digidestined (minus one middle-schooler) sat open-mouthed around the same lunch table - a rarity - as Matt recounted Joe's story of the previous day.
"I just can't believe Joe would do something like that," Mimi kept saying, sounding quite scared - of Joe?
"I don't think he could either," said Matt, "that's probably what he found worst about the whole thing."
Tai pounded his fist on the table. "Well, if one of our friends is having a hard time it's up to the rest of us to help out! We'll go teach those guys a real lesson! Never back down from a battle!"
Everyone else sweatdropped. "Tai, people are staring," whispered Mimi, looking around nervously.
"Tai, we're not in the digital world now," said Matt dryly, "and I think the last thing Joe needs is someone to fight his battles for him."
"Hmpf," said Tai, a little deflated, "well, anyway, tell us the names of these freaks."
"You know, I don't think I caught their names," said Matt, evasively, "things were kind of strained at the time."
"How's everyone finding school?" asked Sora.
"It's not as bad as I thought it'd be," said Matt, "people aren't getting on my nerves as much as last year. Besides, it's nice to just be a normal kid again."
"I know what you mean," said Mimi, "and speaking of normal kids, I should probably get back to my usual lunch table soon, or everyone will be wondering about my choice in company."
The others got slightly miffed expressions. "We're bad choice in company?" returned Tai, "I'm hurt!"
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Mimi said hurriedly (conveniently not saying how she did mean it), "but it is nice to be back into my normal life again."
"Yeah, things seem a lot easier now we're back at school," said Tai, "more than last week, when we were just at home."
"Some of us were at home," said Kari, "others of us were doing tightrope walking on the balcony railing."
Tai got a large sweatdrop. "Ahahah... you saw that?!"
"And I saw it when you were trying to climb the drainpipes, and when you were playing 'chicken' with cars on your bike..."
"Well, you see, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all that... hahahah... well, that is..."
Izzy saved Tai from the others' bewildered gazes by entering the conversation. "Well, I hope you don't object to my changing the subject..."
"Not at all, you go right ahead!" said Tai quickly.
"But I took my parents to meet Jennai - or Dad, I suppose I ought to call him - last night. It was quite remarkable, just like a family reunion. Then, I guess it was."
"So what happened?" asked Sora, "I mean, if he's your real Dad, are you going to go live with him or something?"
"No," said Izzy, "the parents I've had all these years are my real parents, as far as I'm concerned. However, I am considering the possibility of changing my last name - almost like a compromise. He watched over me from the digital world as much as he could, you know."
He fell silent, looking into his spaghetti lunch. There was a long pause, as though Izzy was lost in thought, or fighting back emotion, or something like that. Everyone waited for him, and finally he smiled a little.
"I guess I'm really quite lucky. I've always wanted to meet my real father, and not everybody gets such an opportunity. Also, it is wonderful that he is on good terms with my parents. It'll... make decisions... a lot easier."
There was another long pause, which TK finally broke. "What about Patamon?"
"Yeah," agreed Matt with sudden eagerness, "how's the reconfiguramming or whatever it is going?"
Izzy laughed, but not very sincerely. "I hope you're not going to be this impatient throughout the whole time. We've barely even begun, but then we haven't worked on it for very long yet. I've simply been taught the process which will need to be undertaken in order to help."
"It'll be so great when they come back," said Sora, "I wonder what they'll be like."
"I hope Palmon fits into... well, my group, you know what I mean?" said Mimi, sounding a little doubtful, "somehow, I'm not quite sure... but of course, I'll be her friend anyway..."
"It's gonna be really strange," said Tai, "I hope Agumon likes soccer!"
"I wonder what sort of kid Gabumon will be. He sure doesn't act much like any kid around here. Not that that's such a bad thing, mind you."
"It'll be way cool to play with Patamon like a normal kid," said TK, "I hope he comes to school here!"
"Hey, for all we know, our Digimon will turn into humans totally different to how we expect," said Tai mischeivously, "I bet Gabumon will have blue skin and be about 50 years old."
"Hey, take that back," snapped Matt.
Tai grinned. "All this time and you still can't take a joke, huh Matt? For someone who thinks he has such a cool guy image, you sure lose your cool a lot."
"It's not hard, when I get stuck hanging out with you all the time!"
"Guys, please, stop it!" begged Mimi, "I hate it when you fight."
"We were just joking around," said Tai, a little surprised, "at least, I think we were..."
"Well, you shouldn't joke like that," said Mimi, "please don't."
"I won't fight just as long as Tai never opens his mouth," said Matt, "I won't need to, then... not that it's likely to happen any time this century!" Tai punched him and Mimi looked near tears. Sora put a hand on her arm and frowned at the boys.
"Cool it, guys," she said calmly, "the bell's about to go anyway."
"Woah," said Tai, "and I haven't even finished my lunch yet!" He started shovelling food down his throat, barely pausing to breathe.
"That's because you talk too much for any food to get a word in edgeways," said Matt. Tai glanced at Mimi and just grinned.
"Izzy, you want to come play soccer with us after school?" asked Sora, "we're practising for the tryouts next week."
"I'd like to," said Izzy, "but I really ought to go to Jennai's house and put in some more work on our Digimon."
"Right," said Sora, feeling slightly guilty that he was doing so much and they weren't.
Kari must have been thinking along similar lines because she suddenly said, "Izzy, I want to help you. It's not fair that you should have to do all the work yourself."
"Thanks for the offer, Kari, but I really don't think -"
"I'm good with computers," she said, "and you could teach me what to do, couldn't you? Please, I'd really like to help."
"Well," said Izzy, weakening at the prospect of a long, tedious task being reduced slightly, "maybe we could find you something you could do to help."
Kari smiled happily, and then the end of lunch bell went. The kids got up, Sora and Izzy neatly pushing their chairs in, the others not bothering. Tai slapped Matt on the back.
"Hey man," he said, "you should come too, after school, practise soccer with us. You played a bit in the digital world, right? It's a lot better with three people anyway, then someone can be the goalkeeper while the others try to get the ball away from each other."
"Well," said Matt, "I'm not a big soccer fan. But if you really need me - and I don't blame you! - I guess I can take an hour or something out of my busy social life. After all, you're gonna need a LOT of practise if you're going to get on the soccer team, can't have you messing up on me."
Tai grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks man, you're the greatest!"
"You know it," returned Matt, also grinning.
***
In fact, Matt played soccer with Tai for the next three days. He wouldn't play at lunchtime or when other people were around - muttering something about his image - but he turned out to be quite a decent player. Certainly not in Tai's league, but he was a big help. When Sora was busy, he just stood there across from Tai, kicking the ball back and forth, for an hour or two at a time.
He really is a pretty good friend, thought Tai idly on Friday afternoon. He was walking home from school and missing Matt's company - he was at class band practise. He grinned a little to himself as he tried to imagine Matt in a band, instead of doing his own thing.
Tai had a bounce in his step as he thought of his friends and the past week. He'd kind of forgotten to do his maths homework... every day... and he had a feeling biology was something about some nuclear acid or something... Tai wasn't sure what that was, but it sounded dangerous. And he could - almost - introduce himself in French, and describe someone's cat as black, after four years of taking the subject.
These minor details didn't make school less fun - boring subjects could be overcome with a little imagination. Daydreaming, mentally kicking goals or revisiting the digiworld... he couldn't wait to see Agumon again.
Still, things were good for him. He thought it might be that way for the others too.
Then again, Mimi had seemed kind of agitated whenever she was around the other digidestined (ex-digidestined? Nah... they'd always be heroes!)... and Sora had screamed and flown around the other day when he tapped her on the shoulder, coming up behind her unexpectedly. And Sora wasn't a nervy sort of person. Matt had taken back some of his own characteristics of hiding his stronger emotions, as if he were embarassed to be too passionate in the real world, thinking people might laugh at him. Tai remembered Matt had been like that in the beginning.
His sister was less withdrawn than she had been in the real world before her adventures. Tai realised from her comments at lunch a few days ago that she had been well aware of his dangerous games last week, and scared for him, but she had never said anything. Some of the others had tried to question him since, but he wouldn't say anything... there was no need to do stupid things now that Agumon was coming, and now that he could use his energy for something.
Izzy sure had been busy lately... wasn't even playing soccer, just went to the computer room at lunch and straight to Jennai's after school. Tai wondered what his parents were thinking of all this. He seemed to be a little stressed, and if anyone asked him how their Digimon were coming along, his mouth twitched slightly and he changed the subject.
TK, TK had been pretty alright, but then he was always a tough kid. Tai thought that the relationship between his parents had improved a little - the tragedy of losing their children had brought them together, although they showed no willingness to get too close. Still, Matt and TK had the chance to see each other more often, and that was great. Hang on, that makes six kids accounted for, the other is...
With a start, he remembered Joe, and realised he hadn't spoken to him since they'd gone to Jennai's house. Joe didn't really fit in as easily as some of the other kids did, and he was all on his own at his school. He would need his friends. Tai decided he might stop by the middle school on his way.
Soon the familiar gates appeared and he - being Tai - eagerly jumped the fence rather than bother walking a few more metres to enter by the more conventional route. Students were pouring out of the school or hanging around outside, and Tai looked around, wondering where he might find Joe, assuming he hadn't already gone home.
He thought he heard the strains of a familiar voice and turned in surprise. He hadn't anticipated this, of all things.
Joe was standing under a tree with about six other people, his posture a little awkward as always, but his face relaxed. A girl he was standing with said something that made the others, including Joe, laugh. Another boy turned to Joe and asked him something. Joe grinned and answered - Tai couldn't quite make out the reply, but it made them all laugh again.
Tai grinned a little, although for some reason he felt a bit - hurt? That was strange, he thought, annoyed at himself, he should be happy that Joe had new friends, but there was still a stubborn spiking inside him that was offended that Joe didn't need his friendship.
He took a few surreptitious steps backwards, but then Joe turned his head slightly and saw him. His face brightened and he called out "hey, Tai!" He said something to the rest of the group, and ran out to meet Tai.
"Hey, Tai," he said, looking genuinely pleased to see him, "what are you doing here?"
Tai, a little surprised at Joe's reaction, grinned back. "Just thought I'd pay you a visit. Last I heard, you were mad brawling!"
Joe's expression sobered a little. Tai looked at him more closely and was shocked. He had a long scar down one side, and a bandage over the other. His glasses were a little different from his last pair. These things alone weren't enough to worry him so much, but the changes in Joe's expression were more marked; his face was pale, and drawn, and his eyes dark, with bags under them.
"Yeah, well, maybe some good things came out of that," said Joe thoughtfully, not noticing - or pretending not to notice - Tai's scrutinising gaze. "Jae's not seriously hurt, and at least people don't think I'm such a wimp any more."
"That's great," said Tai cautiously, "but there's something else, isn't there?"
"Well, my parents weren't too happy I was fighting, as you can imagine!..."
He didn't say any more on that, and Tai didn't push him. They walked along in silence and presently sat down on a low wall. Soon they were talking about the other digidestined, Tai talking about how some of them seemed a little better or a little worse.
"...but it's weird, he's talking a lot more but saying less, if you know what I mean. Kind of like he's embarassed to show what he's really thinking, like people will laugh at him."
"Like you," said Joe, suddenly. Tai was surprised.
"Whaddya mean? I'm always saying stuff! Can't shut me up!"
"Yeah, but you've never said a word about how you feel on all this."
Tai stared at him.
"You don't look too good, Tai."
"Thanks a lot..."
Tai got up and kicked at some leaves moodily, a restless look on his face. He hadn't really thought about it, but maybe Joe was right. He glanced back at the older boy who was watching him calmly, patiently. He sighed and sat back down, swinging his legs against the wall.
"Maybe you're right," he said, "but... I... I guess I..."
"You're putting yourself on hold until Agumon comes back, aren't you?"
"Guess so."
Everything Joe was saying made him more surprised; he hadn't realised the other boy was perceptive. But Tai didn't want to confront his feelings.
"What about you?" he snapped suddenly, "you're not saying anything either!"
"I don't have anyone to tell," said Joe, simply, "besides, I'm used to dealing with things on my own. You're more outgoing."
"Fine then," said Tai, "I'll tell you my problems if you'll tell me yours."
"You go first."
The two suddenly started laughing at the absurdity of it.
"Well, I dunno, I never really thought about it before... maybe I never let myself... well, it just feels like a letdown being back in normal life. Playing soccer a lot kinda helps, but it's not the same. I mean, it feels like I'm not doing anything useful, and I got all this energy..."
"I think I know what you mean," said Joe, "when I came back, it was like I was waiting for something, but there didn't seem any point in looking for it. "
"Yeah! I didn't know how to look for it."
"Do you think it's our Digimon we were waiting for?"
"Well, I've felt a bit better since I heard they were coming here. But in a way it's worse, 'cos now I'm just, like you said, on hold until they show up."
"And this world is so different to the digiworld. It feels weird being back in it, everyone seems to act so strangely."
"I know! One minute you're trying to work out how to beat this horrible threat that's gonna destroy both worlds, and the next you're sitting in class listening to the people behind you talk about how so-and-so has a crush on such-and-such..."
"Yeah, and nobody knows the risks we ran, the things we did..."
"Going from the legendary digidestined, saviours of worlds, to 'that kid with the weird hair' or something. Just another kid sitting in class."
"Do the others feel the same way?"
"We haven't really talked about it, I guess."
"That's bad."
"But I think some of them might feel that way sometimes. How couldn't they?"
"What were you doing last week?"
"Huh?"
"Risking your life or something, I heard?"
"How'd you know about that?!"
"Mimi mentioned it to me, actually. Why were you doing that?"
"Guess I got addicted to danger!"
"Be serious!"
"I am!"
"Huh..."
There was a pause.
"Tai, do you ever get... bad dreams?"
"Bad dreams? Nah, I don't remember my dreams. Except one, and that was pretty cool, Agumon came to our world as a human except he had orange skin and he kept pepper-breathing every rotten teacher I have, and then I kicked the winning goal and Agumon suddenly got wings and he was waving candles around, and Sora showed up carrying the soccer ball, which for some reason was bright purple... why, do you get 'em?"
"Well, yeah. Every night, actually."
"What about?"
Joe stared at the ground.
"Mostly... bad Digimon, I guess. Monsters attacking, and me standing there helpless or something. My friends dying. Gomamon turning into Metalseadramon and attacking me... people screaming... both worlds being ripped apart."
"Woah. So you're having some trouble getting to sleep?"
"How'd you work that out?"
"Your eyes. You've got these huge bags under them. What did you mean before when you said you couldn't talk to anyone? You've got friends now, haven't you?"
"Well, yeah, but we don't talk about serious stuff a lot. Anyway, how can I tell people I only met a few days ago that I miss a talking sea-mammal with a mohawk?"
"Why can't you talk to your family?"
"Hah! You obviously don't know my parents."
"You never talk about them."
"I wouldn't know what to say. They've been acting weird lately. Mom's way less protective than she was before, it's like she doesn't care any more. And I never have a clue what Dad's thinking."
There was another pause.
"So, what're you doing this weekend, Joe?"
It was an obvious attempt to lighten things, and Joe grinned a little.
"I thought I might go to the beach tomorrow."
"With your friends from school?"
"Nah... it's like we were talking about before, it's like I'm looking for something. Anyway, the beach reminds me of..."
"Gomamon..."
"Right. It'd be kind of strange having people who didn't understand around some place like that."
"You have a point. Well, I really should go before I miss my bus. Got to keep up my soccer practise!"
"And homework," added Joe, a smile playing around his lips.
"Homework? Oh yeah, yeah, homework! Of course!... heh... well, catch you around!"
Joe gave a little wave and Tai jumped up, walking on down the street. He glanced back at Joe, who was staring at the street, muttering something to himself. Tai couldn't help smiling a little. He might have been clumsy and awkward and kind of funny, but Joe was pretty good to talk to.
~~Mimi~~
Mimi sighed a little, tucked her hair carefully behind her ears and settled herself comfortably in a beanbag. What a week! Just the time for some r&r. She opened a can of soft drink and turned on the TV.
"Oh, Mimi," said her mother, coming into the room, "you're home! Wonderful! How about a mother-daughter night? Your father said he'll be late home, so we could go out and catch a movie, or just veg out, paint our nails, that sort of thing!"
Mimi forced a smile. Her mother had been a little strange lately. She got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Mom," she said, "but I sorta feel like being alone right now."
She realised, with surprise, that this was true. Usually she would hate to be by herself for more than a couple of minutes, but even her mother expected her to act a certain way, and she just wanted to escape that sort of thing for a little while.
Her mother reacted with consternation.
"Oh dear, really? But are you sure that's good for you? You know how proud I am of you! How about we go out and I'll treat you to a nice strawberry milkshake at the cafe down the road! You love those!"
Mimi was tempted but shook her head.
"C'mooon, Mimiii," implored her mother, "smile! Is something on your mind? You can tell me about it, right?"
"You wouldn't understand," said Mimi.
"Of course I'd understand," said her mother, "please, darling!"
"STOP BOTHERING ME!" shouted Mimi, losing her patience, and she ran into her room, slamming the door.
Mimi's mother looked after her daughter and sighed. She had been worried about Mimi but she couldn't get her to talk about anything serious. Maybe it was a problem with her... maybe her daughter didn't respect her enough to confide in her.
She leaned back against the kitchen counter. Well, surely things would improve with time. She could make strawberry milkshakes herself, anyway. Right?
Mimi sat on her bed and stared at the door. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Her mom was only trying to help. Now she could hear her banging things around the kitchen. Probably about to embark on another culinary disaster.
Maybe her mother was right though... maybe she should talk to someone. But who? None of her normal friends would understand, they didn't know she had been in Digiworld and when she tried to tell them, nobody believed her anyway. Her digidestined friends... well, it was kind of embarassing to talk to them at school. Tai was so rough, and looked like he had put his clothes on with a shovel. Sora was the type of girl she heard her friends bitching about, Kari and TK were too young to talk to - just the other day she had seen TK blowing bubbles in his milk - and Izzy was always buried in the computer club room, like a nerd or something.
She cringed involuntarily. Really, her friends were kind of... well, embarassing.
Matt was usually okay, but she was kind of mad at him ever since he introduced her to his annoying friend, Jake. Jake had been bothering her for most of the week, waiting casually by her locker (which was halfway across the school from his, so who did he think he was kidding?) or accidentally meeting her in the corridors.
And then there was Joe, who was probably more of an embarassment than all her other friends put together. But then, he'd always made her feel kind of good about herself. She had surprised herself by talking to him more that week than anyone else; long phone conversations each night, usually ended by him having to go do some more study.
Would it have been the same if they went to the same school? Would she have dared to be caught dead with him, with his daggy clothes and large glasses and weird clumsy way of moving? She suspected it would have been an awful lot more difficult.
She suddenly thought that maybe she was being kind of shallow. Maybe she shouldn't be so embarassed about her friends just because of how they seemed; really, they were the best friends she had ever had. Maybe.
What would it be like when Palmon came, though? She would be a bigger embarassment than any of them. Mimi pictured her as a human, short and dumpy, with green warty skin and weird frizzy hair. Palmon would be counting on her to be her friend, especially because she probably wouldn't be able to get many others. Palmon had been such a great friend to her in the digital world, but would she be able to return the favour?
She suddenly remembered waving goodbye to her friends, Ogremon, Frigimon, Meramon, and the small musical Digimon. Her own voice, saying "they may not have the best fashion sense, but they're the best friends we ever had!"
What had happened to that? Was her friendship with the other girls so much more important than those real, sincere friendships she shared with people who were closer to her in the ways that mattered?
Yes, Mimi had a lot to think about these days, but usually pushed it aside. Who needed deep and meaningfuls? They didn't help, better to be bubbly and a little ditzy. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. People like Izzy, who thought too much, ended up with only a few friends, no parties to go to after school, and a computer for a best friend.
But the last week, sprinkled with girls making shallow, insincere comments, or gossiping, hadn't given her much compensation. She thought back over the last week.
***
"Claire, Sera! Katarina! Wait up!"
"Hi, Mimi!"
"Hey, Mimi, heard that Jake Tsuyosa was making eyes at you earlier today!"
"That guy's head-over-heels for you!"
"I'm so jealous!"
"Well, it's not that great... he's kind of getting on my nerves, actually."
"Oh come on Mimi, Jake's pretty cute!"
"Yeah, what's the problem?"
"It's just hard keeping up with so many guys chasing me!" Mimi laughed. Actually, her parents said she couldn't date until she was fourteen, and she didn't really want to anyway. It had never stopped her from flirting before, though. Now, it just seemed kind of like a stupid idea. Why lead someone on and make them feel bad?
She unconsciously glanced down at her chest, almost expecting to see her crest light up as a result of thinking something like that. But crests were just digital data, weren't they? Not belonging to the real world.
"Hey, speaking of guys," said Katarina, leaning forward conspiratorily, "did you hear that Tekuza has the hots for Sora Takenouchi?"
"THAT tomboy?!" laughed Sera, "well, they say love is blind, guess Tekuza is too!"
"He's a bit of a runt anyway," said Claire, "don't they deserve each other?"
Katarina grinned. "Well, of course Sora's oblivious to the whole thing. She's too busy flirting with the whole soccer team."
"Sora, flirting?" asked Mimi, "that doesn't sound like her."
"She's constantly joking around with all the guys!" said Sera.
"Oh yeah, that's right, you're a friend of hers, aren't you," said Katarina.
Mimi looked surprised.
"Well, that's what Sora said, anyway! Of course she's not really our type, I wonder where she got that idea."
"Yeah, I don't know why she'd say that," said Mimi, swallowing hard. She immediately felt bad, and like her crest would have disappeared forever even if it were capable of showing up in this world.
Yet she knew that saying they were friends would lead to a surprised suspicion, maybe even hostility, and that was the last thing she wanted right now. It was bad enough that they said bad things about other people, but she didn't want any of that aimed at her. Every time someone fighted she saw flashbacks in her mind.
She would rather avoid those than face them.
***
"Oh Joe, I'm just not sure what to do."
"Have you spoken to any of them about it?"
"Oh, of course not! That's part of the problem, you can't just talk to people like that about things!"
"You don't need friends like that!"
"Oh, I shouldn't say mean things about them, I think I make them sound worse than they really are! They're actually quite nice most of the time, and they're really fun to hang out with! Plus they make good shopping buddies, or..."
"Or?"
"I don't know. When I put it like that, it just seems, like... oh, I don't know. I probably sound pretty silly!"
"Not at all."
In their conversations, where they didn't have to see each other's faces, they built up a picture of how the other was faring. He heard about how she was torn between friends, battling insincerity, worried about some of the other digidestined kids. How she was worried about Palmon fitting in, how schoolwork was boring her to tears and how her parents had been fussing over her more than usual.
And she heard about how he had some new friends, someone to sit next to in a class or talk to at lunch. But he said that was as far as it went and although he thought they were pretty decent - he'd met them because they were on his side during the fight, although they hadn't spoken out at the time - they didn't usually talk seriously, and of course none of them knew he was in the digiworld.
About how his mother was also coddling him, yet seemed strangely nervous of him, like she always wanted to say something but didn't know how. How his family never hugged or said they loved each other. How Jim had a girlfriend and was spending more time away from home, how his father seemed to have shaken off his son's heroism, deciding that life should go back to normal, and thus hassling him about his grades again.
They were both kind of worried about each other, but it was - easier - on the phone. No social group segregation, no feeling stupid for being honest.
***
Mimi smiled suddenly. No more compromising her integrity. She could fit into both groups without embarassment, surely. And she would love Palmon whatever she looked like.
Her mother rapped on the door.
"Mimi, sweetie," she called, and Mimi could tell her mother was nervous, "I made strawberry milkshakes, you don't have to drink it with me or anything, I just thought you might like one anyway!"
Mimi hesitated, tears suddenly appearing in her eyes. She brushed them aside and opened the door.
"Thanks, Mom," she said, "sorry about before. We can drink them together, it looks really delicious!"
Her mother's face brightened, and the two sat at the dining room table, taking long sips.
"It tastes really delicious too!"
"Oh, you really think so?"
"Of course! They're not as nice even at the cafe down the road!"
Mimi politely decided not to mention the huge mess that the kitchen had become. Her mother would never be the 'ideal housewife', but she was her mother, after all.