Mob was better now.

Well maybe better wasn't the best word for it. She wasn't better because nothing had been wrong with her. She had thought, before, that she had been dying but now she knew that she wasn't. She had just been going through something that almost everyone went through, even Minegishi, and she knew that it would happen again. Every month until she got to be about dad's age…and she didn't know if she wanted that….well she didn't…and also there was nothing she could do but wait for the whole thing to happen again…

She was not looking forward to that.

But it wasn't all bad. She had smoked with dad…which had been weird….but they had gotten really close…and also he had stopped being clingy. Now he was doing that thing where he didn't really talk to her…but he wasn't avoiding her either. He talked to her when she talked to him and he didn't leave the room when she came in…so many that had finally found a happy medium. She hoped so. Then maybe something good would have come from all of this between her and dad. Good things had happened between her and Sho, though, so maybe she should have just been happy about that. Sho had been doing a lot of listening lately. He ate his salad without complaining and also he did his homeschool work without complaining and also he had even drawn his own bath.

He had even gotten in on his own, too.

"Sho? Do you want to come out yet?" asked Mob as she knocked on the door. She could hear Sho watching TV in there….but also she could hear the water moving so she knew that he was in the water. She was glad. Sho…he was getting older. He was almost eleven and maybe he had finally grown out of the water thing. That was good. He was scared of the water, like the Awakened, and she had hoped that he wouldn't end up like them….

And now he hadn't. Everything had worked out.

"No! Just…ow….a few more minutes….ow….ok? Ow…" said Sho. Mob frowned. She didn't like the sound of that…or the way his aura looked.

"Sho, if the water is too hot you should get out and then put in some cold water and then get back in." said Mob. She wasn't sure if she should have trusted Sho to draw his own bath. It was very easy to let the water get too hot. She reached down and felt her leg. It was very easy to burn yourself….and she could almost feel it….but she knew that she was being weird. That accident, the one where she had ruined the bathroom, had been years ago. She was fine now. She was fine and…and Sho knew better than to sit in very hot water. He was ten and…and also he was almost eleven so….

So maybe Mob should have gotten them a bath thermometer like when they had been little.

"Thanks….yeah. I'll do that. You can just go away and…and make me my reward poptart now. I might get out soon." Said Sho. She could hear him cursing, too, under his breath…and she was definitely going to order that bath thermometer. Sho may have been getting bigger but he hadn't drawn a lot of baths in his lifetime, not like her. She had drawn all of their baths since mom had left.

"Ok, but I'm just going to get one out of the box for you. I'm not Shibata, I have no idea how to make them from scratch and I don't want to bother him to cook this late. He's winding down now and if he winds back up then he'll be up all night." Said Mob. She wanted Sho to be happy, she really did, but she also didn't want to ruin her friends' night. If Sho wanted homemade poptarts then he should have said something earlier in the day. Mob knew that she was being mean but…well sometimes you had to be a little bit mean….and if Sho was sad that he wasn't getting homemade poptarts then she could let him have double poptarts for his reward…or maybe a can of frosting to go with.

"From the box is fine…but make sure that they're the double fudge kind. Some of them are just regular fudge and that's not enough fudge…but the s'mores kind are best if we have any left." Said Sho

"I don't think that we have any s'mores ones but I'll look…and if we only have the plain fudge kind then I'll just open up a can of chocolate frosting for you. Alright?" asked Mob

"Big sis, you're the best." Said Sho. Mob smiled. She liked it when he said nice things. He had been really happy these past few days, which was very good, because she didn't know what she would have done if he had been upset. She knew that he had been scared by what had happened to her, almost as scared as she had been and she was the one that it had happened to in the first place, but knowing that he was ok now….it was good. He was ok…he was more than ok. He was taking a bath on his own without her having to beg him, or plead with him, or chase him around the house.

And for that he earned a can of frosting whether or not the poptarts were just fudge.

Mob was her way down the stairs and away from the bathroom. She could hear Sho going 'ow' over and over again…and she wanted to go in there and just put the cold water on for him…but then she would have seen him naked. She wasn't sure exactly when it had stopped being ok for her to see her brother naked, maybe around the time she had stopped wanting him to see her naked, but she knew that he didn't want her to see him naked anymore. They didn't even change in the same room together. Maybe it was time for them to get their own rooms….

Maybe when they moved to Osaka.

Minegishi was from there….or maybe somewhere else. She remembered that it had started with an 'o' sound. That was good, though, if that was where they were from. They might have been happy to be back…or maybe not because she had never heard them say anything good about their childhood….Mob didn't know. Maybe she was just trying to find something good about moving again. Dad…he had always left them for weeks and sometimes even months…and now she and Sho had to go with him…but it could be hard. Moving all the time. Looking up at the ceiling and not knowing where you are. Not being able to understand the people around you, not without trying, and having to think for a minute when you saw the street signs…

At least they were moving to another part of Japan.

Even though dad had just painted the house blue. Maybe they would be staying for a while since the new paint smell wasn't even all the way gone, yet. Mob didn't know. All she knew was that she had to get Sho his reward poptart, coke, and frosting….and they were out of s'mores poptarts like she had thought. She used her powers to get his reward ready, complete with a can of chocolate frosting because he was such a good little brother to have taken a bath on his own. Yes…this would be a good reward. She got it all ready on his special Zooptopia plate and set his can of coke down next to his Zooptopia glass, she knew that he didn't like this one as much as his old one, and then reached into her skirt pocket to get out her phone. They needed more poptarts and more soda…and dad was probably running low on eggs again…and she would have to figure out how to get him to eat more foods…maybe more ketchup…she added all of that to the list. She'd order the food later once she looked through the whole kitchen…or maybe now because Sho did love poptarts…

Now was good.

Well not would have been good if her phone hadn't started ringing in her hand. She accidentally made the table jump, she couldn't help it, she almost never got called. She knew that this wasn't anything bad, though, because Minori was calling. Mob tried to do some quick math…and then settled on it being earlier or later in the day where she was staying…not that she would ever ignore Minori, no, she didn't like to be ignored. She said that people who ignored her were b-words…

Well she said that about everyone.

But Mob didn't want Minori to say that about her. She was her friend, her best friend according to Minori, and she was not going to ignore her best friend who was not as good a best friend as Minegishi but still someone she cared about. Mob hit the answer button….and sat down. She knew what was coming. Mob hadn't been good about texting or liking Minori's pictures. She had been giving a lot of one word or even worse, one emoji, texts and she had only been liking Minori's pictures and not writing comments about how great she looked or how awesome she was….

Ok, Mob had been kind of a b-word….but she had been going through a lot….but she had been sort of a b-word….

"Shige!" said Minori. Mob nodded even though she couldn't see her. She knew that it was just a reflex. People liked it when you smiled and nodded when they talked to you, especially people with a lot to say like Minori, and Mob…well she had been doing a lot of smiling and nodding in their friendship.

"Hi Minori. How are you?" asked Mob. That was a good way to start a conversation…and she had to start this conversation off well. She knew that someone must have been a b-word to Minori, that was usually why she called, and Mob…well she didn't want to put Minori into a worse mood than she already was.

"Fine, I'm fine….a little pissed that you've been trying to ghost me though. What's up with that?" asked Minori. Mob…well this was ok. Minori wasn't shouting and she hadn't called Mob a b-word…and it would have been ok if she had. She knew that Minori was probably hurt….and she knew that even if she was going through a lot she'd still had to be a good friend….but she had to make sure that Minori knew that she wasn't trying to ghost her….which she thought meant ignore but she would have to check.

"Ghost?" asked Mob. She knew that meant ignore…but also ghosts were real…and also she had not been ignoring Minori. They were friends and Mob had made sure to reply to her at least a little….but maybe that hadn't been good enough. She didn't know.

"Ignore! Shige, you've been ignoring me for days!" said Minori. Mob wondered if her phone was broken or something. They hadn't been talking as much as usual but it wasn't like Mob had just been ignoring her. That would have been mean and Mob was not a mean person. No, dad was the mean one, but Mob hadn't gotten any meanness at all from him even though she was his kid.

"Oh…no I haven't. I replied to all of your texts and liked all of your pictures." Said Mob. She wanted to check, now, if her phone was broken….but she wasn't going to just get out of the call. They had to catch up…and also if her phone was broken then she would have to go and see Hatori…well in the morning…or maybe now because he liked to stay up late…and she did want to see him…but she knew that once she saw him then he would be all that she could think about. He was just so…Hatori.

"Yes but, like, half assed." Said Minori. Mob….well he knew that she had been…like that…and she was sorry. Even though she had been having…all of that…it was still a lot and she should have been sorry and stuff. So she was.

"But…I'm sorry. I've just been….going through a lot." Said Mob. She hoped that Minori didn't ask her what she had been going through. She didn't even know if Minori even knew what a period was. Mob hadn't….but she didn't have a mom to teach her this stuff…but Minori didn't have a mom either. They were the same like that. Minori only had a dad and dads didn't know about this kind of stuff because it didn't happen to them….and she hoped that once it happened to Minori, if it hadn't already, she had someone in her life to take care of her and teach her what to do. Mob would have been that person but she was miles and miles and miles away.

"Like what? Is your brother hiding poptarts in his pillowcase again?" asked Minori. Mob…well she could at least answer that one.

"Maybe, I haven't checked in a while….but that's not it. Just…something happened to me and I was really freaked out…and then my whole family was freaked out…but I'm fine now and we'll have better texting conversations and I'll write better comments for your pictures from now on." Said Mob. There. Maybe, now, Minori would tell her who had been a b-word to her and then Mob could make her feel better and then that would be it.

"You'd better….and post some stuff, too. You're supposed to be my best friend! You have to try and look just as cool as me! What are people going to think?" asked Minor

"Oh…sorry. I haven't been good about that lately either….sorry. I was just kind of bedridden…well couch ridden…for these past few days." Said Mob. She didn't if couch ridden was even a thing. What did you call it when your dad and brother wouldn't let you get up without being carried and also they tried to spoon feed you like you were a baby?

"Why? Did you get sick?" asked Minori

"Um…no…but I don't even think that I needed to be bedridden…well maybe…but…." Said Mob

"What happened? Come on, you had better have a good excuse." Said Minori

"Um…ok. Do you know what a period is?" asked Mob. She reached over and held down Sho's plate. It was trying to float away. So was his glass. So was she. She….knew that Minori was a girl…and she knew that it happened to most girls….and she knew that they were friends…but she still just…didn't know if it was ok to talk about this….

Not that Minori would ever be mean to her.

On purpose that is. Minori could be kind of mean in general but that was just how she was. Some people were just mean and that was just…the way that they were. There was nothing that anyone could do about it. Some people were just mean and…and Minori was still Mob's friend even though she was one of those people…and she wouldn't make fun of Mob for this. Minegishi had said that it was stupid for one girl to make fun of another for this…and Minori wasn't stupid….

But she had been quiet for a while.

"Of fucking course I do why….WHAT?!" asked Minori. Mob had to pull the phone away from her ear. Too loud. Way too loud. She didn't know what she had done to make Minori mad…and Mob was going to assume that she was screaming because she was mad…but whatever it was she would fix it as best as she could. She had to. She didn't ever want to make any of her friends mad. Ever.

"Um…I thought that you might not know what it was because you don't have a mom and I don't have a mom and….and moms are the ones who explain it to you because dad's don't know about that stuff." Said Mob. Minori must have thought that she was called her dumb or something. She hated it when people called her dumb….not that Mob would ever call her friend something so mean. She just…well Minori could take stuff the wrong way sometimes. That was just how she was.

"I have a mom, she's just dead, and of fucking course I know what a period is, Shige. Why, did you seriously not know?" asked Minori. Well that was good, Minori would wake up all covered in blood and scared, and also…also Mob was not jealous that she would never have to wake up covered in blood and scared…because Mob wanted her friends to be happy and stuff.

"Um….no. My dad didn't know what it was, either, he just….well we both thought that I was dying….but I'm ok now. Anyway are you ok? Is that girl from your English class still being mean to you? And also that girl from your art class? And that girl from your homeroom class?" asked Mob. Minori loved talking about people who were mean to her. Mob didn't much like hearing about people being mean to her friend but she would have gladly sat there all night listening to Minori tell her over and over and over again about every single time someone had been a b-word to her since the day she had been born as long as it meant that they didn't have to talk about periods. Ever.

"…we were supposed to do everything together…." Said Minori. It took her a minute to say that…and Mob had no idea why. She thought that Minori had just been going over, in her head, every single time someone had been mean to her…but no. She had just said….well something that didn't make any sense at all.

"But….how could we do that together? That's kind of…I don't control that…and also…also wouldn't that be sort of…weird? I mean-" said Mob

"Not literally! God, you are so socially challenged. I just meant…whatever. Fine. It's not like…like that's anything special." Said Minori

"You're right. It's just a think that happens to almost every girl. But did something happen to you? How have you been? Is your dad going to let you come back to Japan?" asked Mob trying her best to change the subject. Good, they both agreed that it wasn't anything special. Now they could get back to their normal conversations where Minori complained and Mob listened to her complaining.

"No, he's still being the same old asshole he always is but you know what? I don't even want to come back anymore." Said Minori. Mob…well that was good. Now Minori would be less upset…and maybe that was what she had called to tell Mob about. That was weird, though, because she never called with good news. Mob had always felt sorry for her, actually, that so many bad things happened to her. Her dad wouldn't let her come back to Japan and all of her friends had betrayed her and all of the people where she lived now were b-words to her…and stuff. That was a very sad life she had told Mob about…but good things were happening now so that was good. Good things were happening to both of them.

"Why?" asked Mob. Well then this was going to be a short conversation. She didn't want to talk about anyone who had been mean to her and she didn't want to complain about her dad…but then what else was there for them to talk about together?

"Because while you were off having your period, which I don't care about bleed all you like, I…found a friend with benefits." Said Minori. Mob didn't like bleeding, actually it was downright gross and terrible, but that wasn't the part that made her almost blow the power to the whole house. Minori had found a….a boy to kiss her and stuff….like how Shimazaki and Minegishi were…and that was…it was something alright….something….

Mob was happy for her friend.

"Oh." Said Mob. That was all she could say. She wanted to know if Minori had kissed him yet, if they had held hands yet, but most of all she wanted to know why she had a friend with benefits and not a boyfriend. Mob didn't think that she could do anything like that with a boy who was not her boyfriend….but she also knew that she and Minori were totally different people.

"So, yeah, I guess we aren't doing everything together after all." said Minori. There was a tone there that Mob could not place. Her brain was too busy to try and figure out tones. This was…wow. Minori had a friend with benefits…and now Minegishi had a boyfriend…and Mob had nobody at all….

"No, I guess we can't but….but….why not a boyfriend?" asked Mob. She wanted to ask how this had happened. She wanted to say that it wasn't fair. Mob…she wanted someone to like her…and she wanted someone she liked back and….and she really wanted someone to kiss her and to be in love with her and….and she just…she had no idea how to even find that person….and she just…was very happy with…with this. With what had happened to Minori. Of course she was happy for her friend. That was what friends did. They were happy for each other when good things happen…and this was a good thing…even if she didn't have a boy to be her boyfriend…or even her…boy she did kissing stuff with.

"Because we're keeping it loose for now in case I have to move, duh, think Shige." Said Minori. Mob….was thinking. She was thinking that….she wanted….she was thinking too much about herself and not enough about Minori. This was about her. This was her good news. She almost never had good news so…so Mob was happy that something good had happened to her.

"Sorry for not thinking…um…..how did you meet him? What's he like?" asked Mob. Those seemed like the right questions to ask in this situation. Ones that would give her time to think. Minori…well they were supposed to do everything together….but Mob…she didn't know any boys…well she knew Hatori but…but Minegishi had told her a million times that asking him to be her…anyway…was a bad idea.

"His name is Kevin and he's fourteen, it's ok I told him I was thirteen and he bought it, and he's just…he's really great. He's tall and he's got blue hair, well mostly blue, and he's always got these really cute gym shoes on and…and he's so fucking tall. Anyway, he goes to the same life drawing class I do and….oh my God he's great! He drew my portrait and then he wrote his number on the back and, like, guys give me there numbers all the time I'm hot I can't help it, but I decided to call him because….well he's just…he's so great! Anyway we both ditched class and then we went to this ice cream place and then on our way back to the building he grabbed my hand and he was all 'I would really like to kiss you right now' and he said it in Japanese, like not good Japanese of course but whatever, and then he kissed me right then and there….and then anyway…well I'm still a virgin but…well I might be less of a virgin next time I call you. I'm not sure yet. I like him a lot, and he kissed really well for a middle schooler, but I haven't even let him feel me up yet but…well he might be the one….well not THE ONE but….well it's good to mess around with someone when there's no strings attached. That way you know what you're doing when you get a real boyfriend." Said Minori. Mob…was so happy for her. She sounded happy, she hardly even took a breath, and…and Mob was happy for her. Really…she really was.

"…you're right Minori….and I'm so happy that this happened to you….I really am…" said Mob. She wasn't lying….she really was happy for Minori…and how she had a boyfriend…well a boy to kiss…and that was….that was great. That was just….it was really f-wording great.

"Yeah, I knew you would be. Anyway now you have to get a friend with benefits so we're even. Ask glasses boy, you're into him and it doesn't look like anyone else is, so you've definitely got a shot." Said Minori. Mob shook her head even though she knew that Minori couldn't see her.

"But….I mean I like him….but he's twenty and I'm eleven." Said Mob. That was….Hatori was a boy she liked and….and he was great. He was tall and nice and he smelled good and…and she liked him a lot. She liked him but Minegishi had said that he was too old to be her…anything….and Minegishi knew a lot about this stuff…and also…also Mob…she didn't know. She just…she wanted…she wanted a lot of things that she couldn't have.

"So? Older guys are awesome anyway. You should totally ask him….or someone. Come on, everything we do we do together. One of us has to be taking that seriously and I thought that it would have been you since you're all about love and friendship and whatever." Said Minori. Mob….was her friend and…and maybe it would be ok to…to ask Hatori…because….well she was Minori's friend and they had agreed that…that they would do everything together…and stuff.

"N-No, I am. Just…well….ok. Everything we do…we do together." Said Mob. She…was going to do this. She was never more sure of anything as she was about that. Minori…had said that it would be a good idea…and also she had a boy who was older than her…not by nine years but…but there wasn't a big difference between three years and nine years. Just three times as much…which wasn't a very big difference at all…

Mob didn't know.

She just…wanted a lot of things. She wanted them so badly that she had even stopped listening to Minori. She just nodded and said 'ok' and 'that's good' a lot…and she knew that she was being rude but…but she just couldn't think. She just….she was going to do this. This was…this was ok. Hatori…was nice….and he liked her…as a…something….friend…..something good.

Good things had been happening to her, things had been getting better, and maybe they could get even better still.