Chapter 3: Deal?
Mimi stared at Philip in bewilderment. "What do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for an answer.
Philip just stared at her and slowly responded. "I wasn't trying to sneak-" But he was swiftly cut off.
"I know, I know...whatever you can do to scare Poor Little Mimi, right? Well this is just not funny, Philip and if you think you can come out and scare me and get away with it, well you-you can just forget it!"
"Hey, cut it out!" Philip responded when Mimi started poking him in the chest with her finger, obviously trying to make her point, whatever that was. Philip was tired, but now he was becoming downright irritable. He moved back, crossing his arms in front of himself, annoyed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?"
"I'm waiting till you're finished", Philip said sounding utterly calm. Actually, he was ready to start laughing any minute. And before he knew it, he was. He was laughing so hard that he was shaking and his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Mimi looked at him with indignation. "What are you laughing at?!"
"You!" Philip was trying desperately to get the words out, but he was having a hard time because he couldn't stop laughing. "You-you-should see yourself and-and-how you look right now, standing there with your-your- hands on your waist and that-that-big frown, your eyes all big..." Philip finally stopped laughing. He looked at Mimi quizzically. "Oh yeah, and with your nose all scrunched up, you look so...so...adorable." Wait a minute; did he just say that she looked adorable? Nah, he didn't say that...did he?
Mimi forgot all about her anger and became flustered. "Adorable, you think I'm adorable?" she asked tentatively.
"No, I didn't say that...I...I just meant that you look...you look funny." From the look on her face, that remark did not make her happy. Philip wasn't sure if he should apologize or start yelling at her in frustration. The irritableness that he was feeling was getting worse and he was having a hard time trying to figure out how this conversation or maybe he should say argument, even got started.
"Boy Phil, aren't you the charmer? You just know all the right things to say to the girls." Mimi replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you still haven't told me what you're doing here."
"I was waiting for you to give me a chance to."
"You're the one that snuck up on me."
"Oh, let's not start all that again."
"Well...!"
"Well, what?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"WALKING HOME FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE!"
His answer caught Mimi totally by surprise. "Oh. Well, don't you have a chauffer (you know the one who takes you to the school dances) to pick you up from places and drive you around?"
"He's not my chauffer. He my dad's and I can't just order him around to take me anywhere. Besides, I need the exercise after the island and everything..."
"It's not like you're out of shape." Mimi said noticing that he looked a little tired, but other than that, his usual self.
"Actually I am. I've been away from football practice for weeks because of...well you know...the island. Anyways, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I was just walking home, it was kind of dark, I heard a voice, it was yours, and I was really surprised to see you. I know Shawn and I like to tease you and Belle sometimes, but I wouldn't sneak up on you in the dark. I wouldn't scare you like that Meems", Philip said in all seriousness, looking down at her.
"Hey what about that 'creature from the black lagoon thing'?" Philip started to protest, but Mimi cut him off with a wave of her hand and a twinkle in her eye. "It's okay Phil, I was just kidding. Look I'm sorry for jumping all over you. I just got scared...but I'm glad it was you." And she was glad. When she heard the noise, she had been afraid that someone was following her, but now it was such a relief to know that it was just one of her friends. One she had been thinking about a lot lately. Okay, she mused, let's just keep that thought to yourself.
"You mean instead of the creature from the black lagoon?" Philip laughed softly unable to resist. He liked to joke with Mimi because she could take his jokes and throw her own back at him.
"Ha, ha. Very funny", Mimi said, but she laughed too and smiled up at Philip.
He smiled back at her, but the smile faded with Philip's next words. "Now I have a question for you. What are YOU doing out here all by yourself Mimi when it's practically dark?"
"What do you think Philip? I'm walking home from school too."
"This late?" Philip asked, shocked.
"Remember Philip my 'carefree high school days are over'?" To Philip's blank response, Mimi answered "The locker rooms, Philip. I was cleaning out the locker rooms. Fun. Fun. Fun. I know, I have no right to complain and believe me, I'm very thankful right now for not being in prison. Anyway, you asked and there's your answer."
Philip gave her a half smile. "Look, you made a mistake and now you're dealing with it. That's what matters. Still Meems, you shouldn't be out here by yourself...Hey, where's Jan? Isn't she supposed to be helping you clean too?"
"Well, Jan stays late on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have to stay late on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We both have to stay late on Fridays, so much for TGIF, huh, and then we walk home together as painful as that is. Let's just say I either have to listen to Jan complain or we don't talk at all."
"Ooh. Ouch! Not very pleasant, huh? Listen. I have an idea. Since you have to work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have to stay late because of football practice, why don't we just walk together?"
"Philip, my house is practically in another direction. Are you sure? Though, I wouldn't mind the company and I'm not crazy about walking home in the dark. But if it's too much of a bother..."
"Don't worry about it Mimi. Like I said, I need the exercise and it is only two days a week. Besides, I'll feel better knowing you're safe."
"Oooooh! You going to protect me Phil?"
"You better believe it, Baby!" And with that both of them started laughing and smiled at each other.
Philip held out his hand to shake it with Mimi's. "Deal?"
Mimi stared at him for a minute and then brought out her own hand, feeling him take it in his. "Deal."
The Start of Something More: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Take My Hand
The sun was shining on a bright day. It was the start of summer and Mimi was in high spirits. She was enjoying a fun filled day at Salem Park with her three best friends: Shawn, Belle and Philip. They had come over to her house earlier in the morning and the four of them practically skipped all the way to the park.
Once they got there, they played Frisbee, tag, climbed on the jungle gym and pushed each other on the tire swing, laughing endlessly as it spun around and around making them dizzier and dizzier. Before they finally sat down for some afternoon snacks, they played train, going down the slide, one right after the other, waiting at the bottom for the train to build until finally they fell down onto the ground in a heap of squeals.
This was the best, Mimi thought. She loved spending summers at the park. Philip and Belle usually ended up going on long family vacations, frequently just leaving Shawn and herself in Salem, but they hadn't left with their respective families yet. Mimi was happy that she still had a couple of more weeks left with them.
First grade was fun, but second grade was going to even be better. For now, though, school was the last thing on her mind. Summer was here and it was time to have fun, fun, fun.
Mimi was sitting down on a swing next to Philip. Shawn was up to his usual teasing self and had chased Belle away with a rubber spider. He chased her all the way to the other side of the park, leaving a laughing Philip and frowning Mimi. Boys! Mimi thought before she saw a dangling spider right in her face. She nearly screeched, but took one look at Philip's smirking face and batted the dumb rubber thing away. "You boys can be so dumb!"
"You boys can be so dumb!" Philip said in his best high-pitched voice. Mimi stuck out her tongue at Philip's mocking. He stuck his own tongue out at her in return and started to bump his swing against hers. He continued to hit her swing and Mimi started to hit him back with her own. Before Mimi knew it, they were playing a full-fledged game of bumper swings, giggling and laughing.
After some more goofing off, she looked over at him, noticing how even after a day at the park, Philip managed to stay clean and mostly neat in appearance, wearing casual, but designer clothing. Both he and Belle were similar in that way. Meanwhile, Mimi and Shawn were the ones who usually had a smudge somewhere and their clothes were not bad at all, but not designer clothes either.
Mimi nearly jumped from the swing as she felt it start to turn around and around, the chains winding together repeatedly. She should have known Philip was up to something when he had looked at her, given her a sly grin, jumped off his swing and started to twist hers. Now he had wound it tight and given her a playful look before he let it go. Mimi felt herself turn faster and faster, the swing jumping as the chains came undone. Philip watched her, laughing his head off.
"Wow, you looked so goofy, your pony tails in your hair swinging everywhere and boy, were you ever scared!" Ha, ha ha! Philip continued to laugh.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Ooooohh, you're going to get it Philip Kiriakis!" Mimi got off the swing and started to run, but Philip was faster than she was and was halfway to the other side of the park when Mimi tripped and fell down hard on the cement. She looked down at her knee and saw that she had skinned it and tried to be brave. It hurt so much. But no way was she going to let dumb old Philip see her cry. A sob came out and she tried hard to stop it when she sensed someone near her. Then she heard a voice. Just minutes ago that voice with its teasing had made her so angry. Now it sounded a little sad and pleading.
"Don't cry Meems. It'll be OK. We'll put a Band-Aid on it and make it feel better." Mimi kept holding her knee close to her body and even though she was still mad at Philip, since it was all his fault she was hurt, she was glad that he was there with her. It was better than being all alone. Through her pain, she only heard half of what he was saying as he continued to talk trying to make her feel better.
"...okay, Meems? We can even go over to the ice cream stand and get some ice cream. All right, Meems?"
Mimi looked at the hand being offered to help her up. With a choked sob, Mimi took it, finally looking up at a solemn faced Philip.
***
Mimi looked up at Philip feeling his hand shaking hers as she wondered about the vivid childhood memory that had just crept into her mind. They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but she had never thought about what their friendship meant until recently. Maybe it was because of the closeness they had shared on the island or maybe it had to do with the fact that for one horrible night Mimi had thought she might lose her childhood friend forever. She didn't know why. All she knew was that things had changed between them and that had made her think more about many things.
Philip ended the handshake and looked at Mimi wonderingly. She seemed to be a thousand miles away. He thought about a little girl who he had fun playing with and teasing. A little girl often with a slight smudge on her face from days spent at the park. A little girl with two pony tails who at times could make him feel aggravated and at other times make him laugh so hard that he nearly fell over. A girl that...
Philip was once again amazed at where his thoughts were taking him tonight. He was just going to walk her home so why was he thinking about Mimi when she was a child. He had never spent this much time thinking about her. He started to walk, aware of her falling into step beside him.
"So Phil how was football practice?" Mimi asked him starting up a conversation for the walk home.
Philip smiled ironically remembering the long practice that had tired him out. It hadn't been any different from any other practice. It was just that with the time he had spent away from football he felt out of it. "It was okay, I guess. It was my first time back since...everything that happened on the island. Usually my first day of practice feels so great, but this time I felt, I don't know, so out of it. Even Shawn was playing better than me and we know that never happens-"
"That's what I love about you Philip, your modesty." She shot him a wry grin.
Philip chuckled. "Yeah well, I know how it sounds, but...I just...I want to play the way that I did last year. At this rate, I don't know if I'll even be scoring any touchdowns. What if the coach decides to give me a lesser position on the team? I guess, I'm just kind of worried Meems."
"You're just tired Philip. You went through a lot on the island and you're still healing. Give it time." Mimi tried her best to comfort her friend. She could hear the frustration in his voice and words. "It's going to take time and before you know it, you'll be scoring all those touchdowns and I can get on your case about being a big show-off. Besides, you can focus on other things too. Football isn't everything."
"I know that. In fact, this year I decided to take my schoolwork a lot more seriously and I've been doing pretty good with that so far. Oh, and thanks for the things you said Meems."
"Sure. Though none of it really helped, did it?" Mimi gave Philip a sidelong glance as they walked.
"No, it did Mimi. Thanks." Philip gave Mimi a small smile. "Anyway, how was your afternoon?"
"Don't ask."
"Oh, no. You're not getting away from the question that easily. I told you about football. Now you tell me about cleaning out the locker rooms."
"Why do you even want to know about it?"
"I just do. Now tell me about it." Philip answered in a voice that left little room for argument.
Mimi sighed. "Well, the good part was that it wasn't Friday. Friday's the worst, because, like I said, Jan and I have to spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I'd rather just do it all on my own. I hate the work, but it's better than being in a cell and I know I have to pay the price for what I did...Look, it's not that bad. And I know it could be a lot worse. It's just tiring and messy, but at least it's not as messy when Jan's not there." Mimi laughed feeling it was the only thing she could do. She had to laugh because then she didn't feel as bad about everything she was missing out on...
"You know that's one thing that I've always liked about you Mimi. How you can laugh at things. Even when it means laughing at your own expense. It's a good trait to have." Philip gave Mimi an encouraging smile.
"Why?"
"Because it makes you strong."
"Yeah, right." Mimi answered in a completely sarcastic tone.
"You are strong Meems. I wish you could just see it and stop listening to all the dumb things Jan says."
"I don't listen to anything Jan says anymore."
"Good." Philip smiled at his friend again and then both of them lapsed into silence. Only, it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Secretly even, both felt themselves looking forward to Thursday afternoon.
Mimi stared at Philip in bewilderment. "What do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?!" She stood there with her hands on her hips waiting for an answer.
Philip just stared at her and slowly responded. "I wasn't trying to sneak-" But he was swiftly cut off.
"I know, I know...whatever you can do to scare Poor Little Mimi, right? Well this is just not funny, Philip and if you think you can come out and scare me and get away with it, well you-you can just forget it!"
"Hey, cut it out!" Philip responded when Mimi started poking him in the chest with her finger, obviously trying to make her point, whatever that was. Philip was tired, but now he was becoming downright irritable. He moved back, crossing his arms in front of himself, annoyed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing?"
"I'm waiting till you're finished", Philip said sounding utterly calm. Actually, he was ready to start laughing any minute. And before he knew it, he was. He was laughing so hard that he was shaking and his eyes were starting to fill with tears.
Mimi looked at him with indignation. "What are you laughing at?!"
"You!" Philip was trying desperately to get the words out, but he was having a hard time because he couldn't stop laughing. "You-you-should see yourself and-and-how you look right now, standing there with your-your- hands on your waist and that-that-big frown, your eyes all big..." Philip finally stopped laughing. He looked at Mimi quizzically. "Oh yeah, and with your nose all scrunched up, you look so...so...adorable." Wait a minute; did he just say that she looked adorable? Nah, he didn't say that...did he?
Mimi forgot all about her anger and became flustered. "Adorable, you think I'm adorable?" she asked tentatively.
"No, I didn't say that...I...I just meant that you look...you look funny." From the look on her face, that remark did not make her happy. Philip wasn't sure if he should apologize or start yelling at her in frustration. The irritableness that he was feeling was getting worse and he was having a hard time trying to figure out how this conversation or maybe he should say argument, even got started.
"Boy Phil, aren't you the charmer? You just know all the right things to say to the girls." Mimi replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you still haven't told me what you're doing here."
"I was waiting for you to give me a chance to."
"You're the one that snuck up on me."
"Oh, let's not start all that again."
"Well...!"
"Well, what?"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"WALKING HOME FROM FOOTBALL PRACTICE!"
His answer caught Mimi totally by surprise. "Oh. Well, don't you have a chauffer (you know the one who takes you to the school dances) to pick you up from places and drive you around?"
"He's not my chauffer. He my dad's and I can't just order him around to take me anywhere. Besides, I need the exercise after the island and everything..."
"It's not like you're out of shape." Mimi said noticing that he looked a little tired, but other than that, his usual self.
"Actually I am. I've been away from football practice for weeks because of...well you know...the island. Anyways, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I was just walking home, it was kind of dark, I heard a voice, it was yours, and I was really surprised to see you. I know Shawn and I like to tease you and Belle sometimes, but I wouldn't sneak up on you in the dark. I wouldn't scare you like that Meems", Philip said in all seriousness, looking down at her.
"Hey what about that 'creature from the black lagoon thing'?" Philip started to protest, but Mimi cut him off with a wave of her hand and a twinkle in her eye. "It's okay Phil, I was just kidding. Look I'm sorry for jumping all over you. I just got scared...but I'm glad it was you." And she was glad. When she heard the noise, she had been afraid that someone was following her, but now it was such a relief to know that it was just one of her friends. One she had been thinking about a lot lately. Okay, she mused, let's just keep that thought to yourself.
"You mean instead of the creature from the black lagoon?" Philip laughed softly unable to resist. He liked to joke with Mimi because she could take his jokes and throw her own back at him.
"Ha, ha. Very funny", Mimi said, but she laughed too and smiled up at Philip.
He smiled back at her, but the smile faded with Philip's next words. "Now I have a question for you. What are YOU doing out here all by yourself Mimi when it's practically dark?"
"What do you think Philip? I'm walking home from school too."
"This late?" Philip asked, shocked.
"Remember Philip my 'carefree high school days are over'?" To Philip's blank response, Mimi answered "The locker rooms, Philip. I was cleaning out the locker rooms. Fun. Fun. Fun. I know, I have no right to complain and believe me, I'm very thankful right now for not being in prison. Anyway, you asked and there's your answer."
Philip gave her a half smile. "Look, you made a mistake and now you're dealing with it. That's what matters. Still Meems, you shouldn't be out here by yourself...Hey, where's Jan? Isn't she supposed to be helping you clean too?"
"Well, Jan stays late on Mondays and Wednesdays and I have to stay late on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We both have to stay late on Fridays, so much for TGIF, huh, and then we walk home together as painful as that is. Let's just say I either have to listen to Jan complain or we don't talk at all."
"Ooh. Ouch! Not very pleasant, huh? Listen. I have an idea. Since you have to work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I have to stay late because of football practice, why don't we just walk together?"
"Philip, my house is practically in another direction. Are you sure? Though, I wouldn't mind the company and I'm not crazy about walking home in the dark. But if it's too much of a bother..."
"Don't worry about it Mimi. Like I said, I need the exercise and it is only two days a week. Besides, I'll feel better knowing you're safe."
"Oooooh! You going to protect me Phil?"
"You better believe it, Baby!" And with that both of them started laughing and smiled at each other.
Philip held out his hand to shake it with Mimi's. "Deal?"
Mimi stared at him for a minute and then brought out her own hand, feeling him take it in his. "Deal."
The Start of Something More: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Take My Hand
The sun was shining on a bright day. It was the start of summer and Mimi was in high spirits. She was enjoying a fun filled day at Salem Park with her three best friends: Shawn, Belle and Philip. They had come over to her house earlier in the morning and the four of them practically skipped all the way to the park.
Once they got there, they played Frisbee, tag, climbed on the jungle gym and pushed each other on the tire swing, laughing endlessly as it spun around and around making them dizzier and dizzier. Before they finally sat down for some afternoon snacks, they played train, going down the slide, one right after the other, waiting at the bottom for the train to build until finally they fell down onto the ground in a heap of squeals.
This was the best, Mimi thought. She loved spending summers at the park. Philip and Belle usually ended up going on long family vacations, frequently just leaving Shawn and herself in Salem, but they hadn't left with their respective families yet. Mimi was happy that she still had a couple of more weeks left with them.
First grade was fun, but second grade was going to even be better. For now, though, school was the last thing on her mind. Summer was here and it was time to have fun, fun, fun.
Mimi was sitting down on a swing next to Philip. Shawn was up to his usual teasing self and had chased Belle away with a rubber spider. He chased her all the way to the other side of the park, leaving a laughing Philip and frowning Mimi. Boys! Mimi thought before she saw a dangling spider right in her face. She nearly screeched, but took one look at Philip's smirking face and batted the dumb rubber thing away. "You boys can be so dumb!"
"You boys can be so dumb!" Philip said in his best high-pitched voice. Mimi stuck out her tongue at Philip's mocking. He stuck his own tongue out at her in return and started to bump his swing against hers. He continued to hit her swing and Mimi started to hit him back with her own. Before Mimi knew it, they were playing a full-fledged game of bumper swings, giggling and laughing.
After some more goofing off, she looked over at him, noticing how even after a day at the park, Philip managed to stay clean and mostly neat in appearance, wearing casual, but designer clothing. Both he and Belle were similar in that way. Meanwhile, Mimi and Shawn were the ones who usually had a smudge somewhere and their clothes were not bad at all, but not designer clothes either.
Mimi nearly jumped from the swing as she felt it start to turn around and around, the chains winding together repeatedly. She should have known Philip was up to something when he had looked at her, given her a sly grin, jumped off his swing and started to twist hers. Now he had wound it tight and given her a playful look before he let it go. Mimi felt herself turn faster and faster, the swing jumping as the chains came undone. Philip watched her, laughing his head off.
"Wow, you looked so goofy, your pony tails in your hair swinging everywhere and boy, were you ever scared!" Ha, ha ha! Philip continued to laugh.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Ooooohh, you're going to get it Philip Kiriakis!" Mimi got off the swing and started to run, but Philip was faster than she was and was halfway to the other side of the park when Mimi tripped and fell down hard on the cement. She looked down at her knee and saw that she had skinned it and tried to be brave. It hurt so much. But no way was she going to let dumb old Philip see her cry. A sob came out and she tried hard to stop it when she sensed someone near her. Then she heard a voice. Just minutes ago that voice with its teasing had made her so angry. Now it sounded a little sad and pleading.
"Don't cry Meems. It'll be OK. We'll put a Band-Aid on it and make it feel better." Mimi kept holding her knee close to her body and even though she was still mad at Philip, since it was all his fault she was hurt, she was glad that he was there with her. It was better than being all alone. Through her pain, she only heard half of what he was saying as he continued to talk trying to make her feel better.
"...okay, Meems? We can even go over to the ice cream stand and get some ice cream. All right, Meems?"
Mimi looked at the hand being offered to help her up. With a choked sob, Mimi took it, finally looking up at a solemn faced Philip.
***
Mimi looked up at Philip feeling his hand shaking hers as she wondered about the vivid childhood memory that had just crept into her mind. They had been friends for as long as she could remember, but she had never thought about what their friendship meant until recently. Maybe it was because of the closeness they had shared on the island or maybe it had to do with the fact that for one horrible night Mimi had thought she might lose her childhood friend forever. She didn't know why. All she knew was that things had changed between them and that had made her think more about many things.
Philip ended the handshake and looked at Mimi wonderingly. She seemed to be a thousand miles away. He thought about a little girl who he had fun playing with and teasing. A little girl often with a slight smudge on her face from days spent at the park. A little girl with two pony tails who at times could make him feel aggravated and at other times make him laugh so hard that he nearly fell over. A girl that...
Philip was once again amazed at where his thoughts were taking him tonight. He was just going to walk her home so why was he thinking about Mimi when she was a child. He had never spent this much time thinking about her. He started to walk, aware of her falling into step beside him.
"So Phil how was football practice?" Mimi asked him starting up a conversation for the walk home.
Philip smiled ironically remembering the long practice that had tired him out. It hadn't been any different from any other practice. It was just that with the time he had spent away from football he felt out of it. "It was okay, I guess. It was my first time back since...everything that happened on the island. Usually my first day of practice feels so great, but this time I felt, I don't know, so out of it. Even Shawn was playing better than me and we know that never happens-"
"That's what I love about you Philip, your modesty." She shot him a wry grin.
Philip chuckled. "Yeah well, I know how it sounds, but...I just...I want to play the way that I did last year. At this rate, I don't know if I'll even be scoring any touchdowns. What if the coach decides to give me a lesser position on the team? I guess, I'm just kind of worried Meems."
"You're just tired Philip. You went through a lot on the island and you're still healing. Give it time." Mimi tried her best to comfort her friend. She could hear the frustration in his voice and words. "It's going to take time and before you know it, you'll be scoring all those touchdowns and I can get on your case about being a big show-off. Besides, you can focus on other things too. Football isn't everything."
"I know that. In fact, this year I decided to take my schoolwork a lot more seriously and I've been doing pretty good with that so far. Oh, and thanks for the things you said Meems."
"Sure. Though none of it really helped, did it?" Mimi gave Philip a sidelong glance as they walked.
"No, it did Mimi. Thanks." Philip gave Mimi a small smile. "Anyway, how was your afternoon?"
"Don't ask."
"Oh, no. You're not getting away from the question that easily. I told you about football. Now you tell me about cleaning out the locker rooms."
"Why do you even want to know about it?"
"I just do. Now tell me about it." Philip answered in a voice that left little room for argument.
Mimi sighed. "Well, the good part was that it wasn't Friday. Friday's the worst, because, like I said, Jan and I have to spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I'd rather just do it all on my own. I hate the work, but it's better than being in a cell and I know I have to pay the price for what I did...Look, it's not that bad. And I know it could be a lot worse. It's just tiring and messy, but at least it's not as messy when Jan's not there." Mimi laughed feeling it was the only thing she could do. She had to laugh because then she didn't feel as bad about everything she was missing out on...
"You know that's one thing that I've always liked about you Mimi. How you can laugh at things. Even when it means laughing at your own expense. It's a good trait to have." Philip gave Mimi an encouraging smile.
"Why?"
"Because it makes you strong."
"Yeah, right." Mimi answered in a completely sarcastic tone.
"You are strong Meems. I wish you could just see it and stop listening to all the dumb things Jan says."
"I don't listen to anything Jan says anymore."
"Good." Philip smiled at his friend again and then both of them lapsed into silence. Only, it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Secretly even, both felt themselves looking forward to Thursday afternoon.