Mob had never been invited to a house meeting before.
That was probably because she didn't live in the house with everyone. Mob, well, she had her own house, next door with her family, so she wasn't entirely sure why she had been invited to this meeting. She didn't know why she was sitting in the kitchen with everyone while Shibata stood at the stove. She didn't know what he was making but she hoped that Serizawa liked it. She didn't know what kinds of foods he liked, actually, or much of anything about him…but that was ok.
Being friends meant getting to know someone.
She would get to know him and then she would become very good friends with him and then he would become very good friends with everyone. He really should have been out there in the house meeting, not her, since he lived her too now. He needed time though, a few days or weeks maybe, to be comfortable coming out of his room. She wished that she could make time go faster, she really wanted him to be friends with everyone, and also she really wanted him to come to the party. New friends were always so exciting!
This was so exciting!
Serizawa being in the house, not this meeting. Not sitting here in the kitchen with everyone. She had to help Serizawa unpack and she had to make something for Sho to eat and she had to come back here and hang out with Serizawa….and maybe Sho would have liked to come too he liked making new friends. Mob wasn't sure. She wasn't sure about anything, really, but that was ok. Good stuff was happening. It was always a good thing if good stuff happened.
Especially to her friends….old and new.
"So…what's the meeting about? And if it's not that important we should wait until Serizawa is ready to come out of his room. He lives here too and if this is a house meeting we should ask him to come." Said Mob. She looked around…and she didn't get what everyone was looking at her like that for. They seemed…well she wasn't sure what they seemed…but their auras seemed sort of mad. Mad and…tired? Well that was Minegishi and they were always tired.
But that was ok.
Minegishi could take a nap in their room….with Shimazaki. Really this was great. Serizawa had needed a room and Minegishi and Shimazaki were a couple now so, of course, they would share a room. That was what couples did. Mob had gotten a big bed for them to sleep in and everything. This had worked out great. She didn't know what she had done if Serizawa had joined the group back before Shimazaki and Minegishi started going out together. He could have shared with Hatori, they both liked games and hiding in places when they got scared, and it could have helped Serizawa make friends…but he was scared of people and Mob didn't want her friend to be scared.
She just wanted everyone to get along.
"Well I don't know about the rest of you but I'm starting a circle. Mob, you get greens because you're the girl of the hour." Said Shimazaki. Mob didn't know why she was the girl of the hour. She had just brought a new friend into the house…maybe that was it. She brought them a new friend. Everyone needed friends. Everyone didn't seem very happy, though, and Mob didn't get it. Serizawa was great! Well he would be, anyway, once he calmed down. This was all new to him. He hadn't been around people in fifteen years. It would take him a while to get used to them and it would have gone a lot faster if they had made more of an effort to get to know him.
And include him in the circle, too.
Circle times were the best times. Usually they had circle times in the living room and watched funny stuff on TV or listened to music. Serizawa would have liked that. He had spent the past fifteen years playing games and watching TV and listening to music. He probably knew a lot of good stuff that they would like. Also smoking might calm him down. His aura was always so upset. Even now it was upset. It was trying to stick to hers. He held onto her when he got upset…and that was ok. Everyone needed someone and she was his first friend so of course it was ok for his aura to stick to hers like that and stuff.
They were friends and that was what friends did.
"Thanks Shimazaki. This is fun, it really is guys, but we really should invite Serizawa. It's not nice to leave people out." Said Mob as Shimazaki picked up his pipe and handed it and his lighter to Mob. Minegishi shook their head. Mob didn't know what they were shaking their head for. She hadn't even started yet. She knew to use moderation. She had to use moderations because she had to teach Sho, and Serizawa now, moderation and she couldn't teach what she didn't know.
That was why she only inhaled once and passed it to Minegishi.
They did the same and passed it over Hatori's head to Shibata. He waved his hand and shook his head no. He was trying to bring his tolerance down. He had way too much tolerance because of how big he was. It took two who economy sized bottles of wine to make him feel even a little bit of anything. Poor Shibata…but also it was good to have someone who could take care of the people who overdid it…not that anyone would overdo it. They had someone new in the house and Serizawa wasn't used to this so no overdoing it until he learned about moderation.
Hopefully it wouldn't take too long.
"It's also not nice to just bring people into the house without asking." Said Minegishi. Mob…didn't get it. She made friends and then those friends came and lived in the house. That was how this worked. She had made friends with Minegishi and they lived in the house and Sho had made friends with Shimazaki and then he moved into the house and then they had both made friends with Shibata and Hatori and then they moved into the house. The house next door was reserved for her and Sho's friends, dad had said so, and this was ok then.
They had a lot of fun together after all.
Like now. They were having circle time. They didn't usually have it in the kitchen but they were still having fun. Well Shimazaki was having fun…and he was taking way too much. It was puff and then another puff and then pass. Mob had only done one because she was using moderation. Minegishi had done the same. Shimazaki was on three now…which was a lot…but he didn't know about moderation. That was just how he was.
He was a lot of things….and she'd have to talk to him, later, about being nice because Serizawa could not handle him being mean. Mob could tell.
"What do you mean?" asked Mob. Minegishi shook their head again and rubbed their eyes. She didn't know why they were like this…maybe because they were tired. Well if they were tired then they could have taken a nap with their boyfriend on their new super big bed. Mob wished that she had a super big bed…or a boyfriend…but now was not the time to think about this. Now was the time to think about her new friend…her new friend who was getting scared even though nothing was happening…
He really needed to join this circle.
"Exactly what I said, Mob. You can't just dump people into this house without consulting us. Especially not complete strangers…and especially not complete strangers with pretty severe mental issues." Said Minegishi. Mob frowned and reached for the pipe. It was her turn now. Shimazaki tried to pass it to her but Minegishi took it…even though now the order was messed up. That was also a mean thing to do. She had no idea why they were being so mean. Maybe they were tired. That…might have been it…because Minegishi was mean sometimes but….
Well calling people crazy and messing up the circle time order was just…a different level of not nice.
"Minegishi…that's not a nice thing to say about people." Said Mob. She reached for the pipe again before pulling her hand back. If Minegishi was in a bad mood then they needed the pipe more than she did. Mob…well she didn't want to change the person who Minegishi was, because they were her best friend, but she did want them to maybe be a little nicer. Serizawa was so sensitive and delicate, even worse than Hatori, so really they all just needed to be on their very best behavior for the time being. They could all do that….right?
That wasn't so much to ask….right?
"Well it's the truth." Said Minegishi as they coughed. Finally they passed it to Mob…and she wanted them to keep it…but she also wanted a turn. It had been a long day. She had spent most of the day in the car or with Serizawa, it was mean to think of him as being tiring because they were friends but he could be kind of tiring, and now she was here and she just….needed a minute. Serizawa was still trying to stick his aura to hers…and she wished that he wasn't scared all the time…but she could deal with this. That was what good friends did, they dealt with things.
And Mob had always considered herself to be a very good friend…and smoking would help her become an even better friend.
"Toshi, come on. We're all a little crazy. This is Claw, isn't it? We wouldn't all be here if we didn't have serious social and emotional problems." Said Shimazaki. Mob…didn't think that everyone in Claw had serious social and emotional problems. Ok, sure. Shimazaki acted like a crazy person and Hatori was kind of dramatic sometimes and Shibata, well he was normal, and Fukuda had turned into a real a-word…and also dad was the President and he was really weird…but…well ok….a lot of people here were weird….but that didn't make them crazy.
"Hey, I don't have problems." Said Hatori. Mob didn't say anything to that. She wasn't going to be mean….and also it was kind of hard to talk to Hatori these days. Even while smoking it was kind of hard to talk to him.
"Yes you do, we all do, but none of us are anywhere near that guy's level….not even Ryou. You can't just go dumping people like that into the house, Mob." Said Minegishi. Mob…well Shimazaki acted like a crazy person sometimes….a lot of the times….but there weren't levels. There were only levels to fun circle time things. There were no levels of craziness because nobody in this house, or in Claw, was crazy. They were all friends and friends did not say things like that about each other. It wasn't nice and when you were friends with someone you had to be nice to them. That was how being friends worked.
"But he's not crazy, he's nice." Said Mob. Minegishi was just tired. When they felt better then they would come around and become friends with Serizawa just like they had become friends with Shibata and Hatori. Then everyone would get along they'd have a new friend and everything would be perfect.
"Mob…I'm sure he is. I'm sure he's very nice but it sounds like what Minegishi is saying is that it would have been nice for you to warn us about this. I mean it's always great meeting new people but…well it can be a lot too." Said Shibata. Mob watched him for a moment. He was making…well she had no idea but it smelled good and….oh! How could she not have thought this through?! She was the worst friend ever….
"Oh, I get it now. Because you don't know how much food to make now. Maybe if you served a lot of bread it would fill people up. Sort of like how in restaurants they give you unlimited bread so you can't tell how tiny the portions are." Said Mob. She should have called ahead so that Shibata would have been able to order enough food for everyone. If he was cooking in the middle of the day, and making something new based on how often he had been looking at his phone, then this was a cooking project day or a recipe perfecting day and….and she should have warned him to get enough ingredients for an extra person.
"Mob…that would work but…well that's not what I meant." Said Shibata. Well if that wasn't what he had meant then what had he meant? This was so confusing…and not just circle time confusing. Sometimes when she smoked too much her brain worked slow…but she hadn't even smoked that much. Her socks felt normal and she hadn't had the pipe in a while. Maybe they should have spent less time talking about this confusing stuff and more time smoking….not that she was going to forget about moderation or anything like that.
"I don't understand….so maybe we should talk about this later. Who's turn is it at the pipe? We should be more careful about the order I think…that way people won't get left out." Said Mob. She wondered if maybe she should bring Serizawa out here….or maybe she could bring the circle to him. That way he would have been able to relax and everyone could have gotten to know him and Minegishi could, maybe, realize that calling someone crazy was mean and wrong.
"Mob, for the love of-" said Minegishi running their hands through their hair. Mob wished that she could just understand what was going wrong. Minegishi was saying mean things, well that was normal for them, but she had to figure out why they were saying these things about Serizawa. They didn't know him at all so they couldn't just say things like that…and also it was mean….but that was ok. Mob would find out what made them say things like that and she would fix whatever went wrong. Friends had to get along and she hated it when her friends fought.
"I think what everyone means is that…well it's kind of a lot to have to move rooms and-" said Hatori. Mob couldn't look him in the eyes. She looked at the bridge of his nose, that was a trick that dad had taught her to get people to think that she was looking people in the eye, and she knew that she was being rude but…well it was hard to look him in the eyes. After what she had said to him….and asked him to do….
He hadn't said anything but she knew that he was still thinking about it…she knew that she was.
"I don't like to be interrupted." Said Minegishi. Hatori made a yelping sound and looked down at the table. Mob was sort of glad that he did that. Not because he got scared but because he wasn't looking at Mob anymore. She knew that things would get back to normal between them but…well that would take time. When they got back to normal then she would be able to look at him again. Right now she played with the hem of her sweater, there was a loose thread, and she let Serizawa's aura stick to hers. It had gotten startled when Hatori's had gotten startled…but that was ok. It was ok to be scared sometimes.
Maybe if Hatori and Serizawa became good friends then Hatori could give him tips on how to be less scared all the time…when he figured out how to be less scared all the time.
"Toshi, come on. This isn't so bad. This is pretty fucking great, actually. We have another Hatori in the house and-" said Shimazaki. Mob knew that she was being mean, interrupting like this, but she had to put a stop to this before it started. She shouldn't have let it go as far as it had, the way Shimazaki treated Hatori, but she had been little when that had started but she was bigger now, eleven and a half almost, and she wasn't going to let her friends be mean to one another.
Also Serizawa was like…five Hatoris put together it felt like….so it was a bad idea to mess with him…especially because he had the same exploding problem that she and dad did.
"No. Shimazaki, don't be mean to Serizawa. He's not crazy like Minegishi thinks but he's…like me and dad. He can't control his powers and also he's already afraid enough of people. He doesn't need to be scared and freaked out…" said Mob. And also there was always the potential for explosions and….and Mob…well she had enough to do as it was making friends with him and helping him get back to being in the world…and stuff. But she didn't say all of that. She knew that if she said all of that then maybe things wouldn't go well…and she needed them to go well. She needed all of her friends to be, well, friends with Serizawa.
"Can't I just-" said Shimazaki. Mob knew that he was going to start negotiating…and she knew from dad that negotiating took away her power…not that she liked having power over her friends….and not that she liked using it either…but she had to. She had to use her power for good.
"No. End of discussion…and I don't like saying that….but Serizawa is super fragile and we all need to be extra nice to him." said Mob. She hated being bossy but she had to be. Serizawa could really hurt someone if he exploded…and she could kind of contain it, being the explosion into her….somehow, but the others couldn't and…and she was just going to have to spend almost all of her time with Serizawa until he got better. That was fine. She could do that.
"Until when?" asked Minegishi. Mob…well she didn't have a calendar in front of her…not that she would ever say something so mean to her friend….but she knew that it wouldn't be that long. Not if everyone helped her. Everyone just had to be on their best behavior and everyone had to make an effort to be nice to Serizawa and then they he would make friends and be happy and he would be ok and then they'd all have a new friend.
"I'm sure that Mob doesn't have a set time-" said Shibata. See? Shibata got it. He always got her. He always got everyone. He would be a really good friend to Serizawa. Hatori too. Shimazaki…she'd have to talk to him more…and Minegishi…well when they were in a good mood then they were just the nicest person in the world. The only problem was that right now they weren't in a good mood…but that was ok. Everyone got into bad moods sometimes. Even Mob…but not now. Now she was happy. Even if they were having a real weird circle time…she was still happy.
"Until. When. Mob….you didn't think this through. This guy…you can't just bring someone new, and with that many problems, into our lives like this….and don't bring up Hatori because I know that you're going to tell us that this is just like with Hatori. We all a least knew Hatori and we figured that you were going to bring him into the house. You just brought this guy here without warning us." Said Minegishi. Mob didn't get it. Minegishi had been listening when Mob told her about what she was going to be doing today, right? She had been very clear…but then again she wasn't the best when it came to these talking things.
"But I told you guys that I was going to Baked Goods City to meet someone new. I mean…I did and…well maybe I just didn't say it right…or something." Said Mob. She was playing with the loose thread in her sweater again. The pipe had been passed over her. Minegishi had it…and they needed it. They were in a bad mood and they needed it more than she did. She was just…she was fine. Well she would be once her best friend stopped being mad…possibly even mad at her…for some reason….
"But you didn't say that he was going to live in the house with us…and where were you intending on putting him? There isn't enough room for another person in any of the Claw houses that we stay at…and I would have liked the warning that I would have been expected to give up my room." Said Minegishi. Oh. Their room…right. They had never shared before. Mob forgot that not everyone shared rooms. She had spent her whole life sharing a room with Sho…and also sometimes she shared with dad…and stuff. Well that sort of made sense then…but then again it didn't. They were in a relationship with Shimazaki, they had said 'I love you' and everything….so why wouldn't they be happy that the got to share a room with their boyfriend? If Mob had a boyfriend she would have kissed him before bed every single night and then fell asleep in is arms while he told her how he much he loved her.
"But you get to live with Shimazaki now in the same room…and you're boyfriend and theyfriend. Isn't this what boyfriends and theyfriends do when they're adults? They live in the same room?" asked Mob. She had no idea why Minegishi didn't want to share a room with their boyfriend. Adults….they were so weird and complicated sometimes. Especially now. This was just…she hoped that she never got this complicated when she was an adult…because this was just…a lot. It was a lot and if she had been a meaner person she would have even said that this was ruining circle time.
"Yeah…Toshi, is that what this is about? Because we were talking and-" said Shimazaki. He didn't get it either…which meant that it might have been a Minegishi only thing. They were so…well Mob didn't understand them when it came to love and stuff like that. She knew that they had been dumped by their girlfriend, and Mob had never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend before and she had never been dumped but she knew that it must have been hard, but like Elsa had said 'the past was in the past' and stuff. She knew that Minegishi and Shimazaki loved each other and she knew that Shimazaki would never have dumped Minegishi…and she wondered why Minegishi couldn't see it too. The way that he talked about them and held them and kissed them…it was like something out of a movie. That was what love must have been like. They loved him but they didn't want to live with him…so weird….and stuff.
"A drawer. Ryou, you know full well I was talking about a drawer and a free outlet for your charger. I didn't think that I was going to have to wake up and just…have all of your stuff being moved into my room." Said Minegishi. Mob didn't get it. Now they had a whole second dresser in their room and they didn't even need to clear out one of their drawers. That was a good thing, right? Now they wouldn't need to worry about any extra work and stuff. They hated doing extra work more than anything else.
"But this is what you want…right? I mean like Mob said this is-" said Shimazaki. Good. He was agreeing with her too. That meant that she was making sense. That meant that she wasn't being clueless and stuff. Then maybe Minegishi could see it too and then they could realize how weird they were being about this whole thing.
"Mob is a child." Said Minegishi. They said it simply and….yeah. It was the truth and…and they had just come out and said it like that and…and she knew that she was only eleven and a half. She knew that she was still short and she barely could see the top shelves in the kitchen and…and she knew that she was young but….but she didn't think that she was that young. She didn't think that…Minegishi was just in a bad mood, that was all, and they just…were maybe upset about how small their room was with two people and two dressers and a big bed and…and that made sense. People liked big rooms. There. Now Mob knew what the problem was and she could fix it.
"Minegishi, if you want I could switch it around so that you and Shimazaki are in his room…because it's bigger. I just put Serizawa in that room because it's closest to the bathroom. That way he won't have to walk very far….oh! I forgot to say. He can't leave his room if there are people in the house so when he has to go to the bathroom and stuff everyone has to go outside for at least fifteen minutes. His mom told me that." Said Mob. She didn't know what she had said that was so wrong but now everyone was staring at her. What was so bad about what she had said? Fifteen minutes wasn't that long…and it wasn't like it would be forever. Just until Serizawa felt better…and stuff. That wouldn't be that long at all….right?
"Wait…so are we talking at, like, three in the morning or something or-" said Hatori
"We'll do whatever we need to do to make the new guy feel welcome…even if that means getting out of bed in the middle of the night so he can go to the bathroom without freaking out." Said Shibata
"Yeah but….seriously?" asked Hatori
"….you know what? I don't have the energy for this. I'm going to lay down for a while. The rest of you just…deal with this." said Minegishi. Mob had no idea what there was to deal with. This wasn't that bad. Serizawa just needed a few days or weeks to adjust and then they'd all be having circle time together and listening to Shimazaki explain why Paul was the best Beatle or watching something funny on TV or something like that, maybe something that Serizawa would show them. He'd be in the group and their friend and they'd include him in everything…and it would all be really great….and stuff. But it couldn't happen if they didn't start including him and being nice to him and stuff…but that was ok. Everyone else just needed time to adjust too. That must have been what this meeting was for, everyone trying to figure out how to adjust and stuff.
Well that was ok, really, because it was important to have these circle time friendship meetings in that case.