Kelly looked up at the ceiling and then got up and went over to Lilo. "Lilo, I have to ask a question."
"What?"
"Why do you think my father went so long without trying to look for me?"
"I don't know. I guess with trying to catch Stitch, and then starting to look for his experiments, Jumba became a little busy."
"I guess." Kelly sighed and went back to bed. She remembered how happy Jumba had been while they spent hours together laughing over nothing. She also remembered how she gave 625 his lunch and how nice he had been to her. Kelly's mind wandered as she tried to remember what went wrong with her father's sock making experiment and then laughed softly. It had once shoved a pair of Jumba's sweaty socks into the toaster and 625 had put them on a sandwich. She had never seen the experiment move that fast before when he had raced to the bathroom and brushed his teeth for an hour. Kelly sighed and then thought back to that day….
…Kelly was in the middle of making lunch when she saw a pair of hands shove something into the toaster. Turning, all Kelly could do was watch in something akin to horror as 625 entered the kitchen and grabbed the bread that had been toasting nicely in the toaster. 626 entered and watched also as 625, without noticing, made a sandwich that included a smelly sock. The mate to it, thankfully, fell to the floor. After one bite, the disgusted Experiment raced to the bathroom where he proceeded to brush his teeth for the next hour. During that time, Jumba was on the normal every day hunt for a clean pair of socks. When a pair was created for him, he put them on and went about his next daily activity, trying to find 625. Too bad on this day he didn't think to look in the bathroom…
Elsewhere 625 shuddered. Gantu saw the movement and demanded, "What's wrong with you?"
"Just a bad memory."
"About what?"
"Dirty, smelly socks. Did you know that Jumba lost a pair and they wound up in the toaster? Talk about the grossest thing known to alien! Some days I can still taste that sandwich."
"And why… No, I don't want to know." Gantu returned to his report. Hamsterveil was starting to become a pest by demanding verbal and written reports. 625 turned back to his sandwiches and checked them for socks. He then stopped and said, "Hey, Big Guy. Let me ask you a question."
"What now?"
"Never mind… It's kind of dumb."
"Ask and we'll see."
"Could you… Could you think of a name for me?"
"A name?" Gantu turned to look at 625.
"Yeah, a name. You know, something that doesn't include a number."
"This whole thing is bothering you isn't it?" Gantu was starting to understand. Jumba never thought of his Experiments as his children. They were just 'things' to him. Kelly was created and made to be what Jumba thought would make him stand apart. Gantu looked thoughtful and said suddenly, "I will undertake this with as much seriousness as I can."
"You will?"
"Why not?"
"Because that would mean treating me like a…" 625 couldn't bring himself to say the word.
"It would mean that I am treating you like a friend." Gantu finished the thought for 625. "And…I would like to think of you as such." 625 looked pleased with the idea. He then went over and gave his new found friend a hug. While Gantu was looking up names for 625, Hamsterveil contacted them. "GANTU, YOU FISH FACED FOOL! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT I WANT THAT GIRL AND THOSE REPORTS BEFORE THE RISING OF THE SUN! YOU HAVE 238 REPORTS TO WRITE, EXPERIMENTS TO CATCH AND A GIRL TO BRING TO ME! WHY ARE YOU FALLING BEHIND IN YOUR DUTIES?"
"PUT A CORK IN IT, YOU LOUDMOUTHED MORON! YOU CONSTANTLY YELL ORDERS, BUT NOT ONCE DO YOU EVER DO ANY OF THE WORK! MY BUDDY TRIES TO DO EVERYTHING YOU ASK AND YOU NEVER SAY THANKS AND YOU NEVER GIVE HIM ANY TIME OFF! WELL GET THIS THROUGH THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS AFTER YOU CLEAN OUT THOSE EARS OF YOURS: FOR THE NEXT WEEK, GANTU IS ON VACATION!" 625 yelled at Hamsterveil, taking the scientist and Gantu by surprise. Stomping over, 625 deactivated the monitor and fixed it so that it would not turn on unless he turned it on. Gantu gaped at him, surprised that his friend stood up for him in such a manner. 625 turned back to Gantu and said, "Let's get a pass to take a break on that "Forbidden Island."
"I…I would enjoy that. Thank you." Gantu turned back to his research and began looking for something that would describe 625 perfectly. He then found it. The name was Kalil, which meant "best friend".