DRIIINN!
The last bell of the day. School will resume tomorrow. Right now, I must reach a certain friend, hoping that he'd remember the meeting point… what am I saying?! Of course he'll! After all, Hunley is not as stupid as he might sound.
There. I reached the large tree, in the middle of the school's courtyard. All I have to do now is wait, for him… … hmm, I wonder how my face looks now. Better check that mirror I brought with me, earlier in the morning.
Uhm… no one is near me… good. I can see myself, without others noticing me. I'd never show up in the world, if someone would know my face examina
"Hi Mirii!"
EEEEKK!
"Yikes! W-what's wrong?!"
… curses.
"Oh, is that a mirror you're wielding?" Hunley is pointing my small mirror.
"Y-yes. That's correct. I-I just wanted to put it away…" I made that thing disappear, inside my bag.
"Ehm… are you all right? You look so pale…" He scratches his head, with his right hand.
"N-nngh… n-nothing to worry about…"
Great… he's going to think, how vain I'm! Definitively a title, I didn't want to achieve in the least.
"Ah… if you say so…" Hunley lowers his head, slightly, while still looking at me.
Grrr, stop getting red Mirii! You're making the situation even worse!
"Ahem, anyway… I hope you don't have a busy schedule, today."
"Uuuuuh… a schedule is like a list?" He rotates his thumbs around, while looking at his left with the eyes.
"Yes, sorta."
"Oh! Then I have a busy one, indeed! You see, I promised my sister that we'd go shopping around and get… get… wait, I'll take it for you!"
… he's taking a scrambled piece of paper, from his pocket…
"All right! We have to get seamilk, Catfish meat, fresh seaweed, a lot of Inkling water, a jar of Jelly Wel"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
"Huh? Why are you laughing...?"
"Pfff, w-what are you saying?! Iiih ih, I-I'm not laughing…"
"Are you sure? It looks like you're chuckling so hard, behind your hands…"
"N-no! No… sigh, I'm not able to laugh, Hunley."
"Eh?! B-but you just laughed a moment ago." He tilted his back, backwards.
"That wasn't laughter!"
"Oh… so what it was, then?"
H-he's folding his arms… quick! I have to find an excuse! Hmm… ok, I got an idea!
"That was… a S.I.C."
"A sic…?" Good: he's massaging his chin, while looking up.
"Yes. It stands for Stomach Irritation Complex. Basically, it's a rare stomach condition, that makes you laugh once it starts to hurt."
"Really?!" Hunley expanded his eyes, tilting forward.
"Of course, at a first glance it sounds like I'm laughing… but instead, I'm actually screaming in pain." Let's massage my stomach, so he'll believe my story more.
"Oh… oh no! You seriously need to rest, Mirii! I-I'll take"
"No no, this is not a serious problem! Calm down, Hunley. Calm down…"
He starts tapping his right foot very quickly and looking around at the same speed.
"S-so, you're fine right?"
"Correct. It just happens a little more often than usual, in my case… but still, something very harmless."
He dries his forehead with his right arm, while sighing. Perfect, he fell in! Luckily, Hunley isn't bright at all.
"Anyway, I need to know"
"Wait! Maybe we should talk about a very important matter, first!"
He clenches his fists… I wonder what he's up to.
"Which is?"
"You… you don't know how to laugh!"
…
"That's terrible, you know?! Me and my sister love laughing! I want to teach you, how to do it!"
… why he's making me smile?! He said something idiotic! I should complain about his stupidity! But… at the same time…
"Hunley, we'll talk about that later, ok?" TALK ABOUT IT LATER?! WHAT NONSENSE IS COMING FROM MY MIND?!
"H-hey! Why are you looking at me, like that?!"
D-drat! I reacted too much! All right, all right, calm down… he'll forget about that whole laugh argument, don't worry… … ok, that's better.
"Sorry, it's still the S.I.C."
"Oh… ehm, I thought that made you just laugh."
"Screaming, Hunley. Screaming. Also, sometimes it can give you acute pain."
"Uuuuh, how can a pain be cute?"
… PPFFFFF, HAHAHAHAHAHA!
"Y-yikes! The sic is back! It even managed to make you fall down!"
Haaaa… haaaaa… oh my… huff… this guy is… so… soooo dumb… yet s-so clever!
"Mirii, are you all right?! T-that thing is starting to creep me out!"
"Anf, anf… I-I'm fine… thanks."
Hunley helped me getting up, from the ground. His right hand was so warm… … EHM, M-MOVING ON!
"Now, I would like to know"
Wait, let's not be too hasty now. I need to make sure, that Hunley knows exactly what I'm talking about. Uhm… maybe I should be more direct?
"I would like to know…?" He repeated the same things I said earlier.
"Oh! Excuse me, for that. Anyway, do you have something to do today, aside from grocery shopping?"
He's looking up, folding his arms.
"I… I think I don't have much to do, Mirii…"
Yes! He understood, this time! ... no, just a second: he's forgetting something important.
"How about homework, Hunley?"
He expanded his eyes.
"Hey, you're right!" He hits his left palm, with his right fist. "I have to complete those assigned math exercises, too!"
It's a positive result, that he remembers his duties. However, I have the hunch he's going to forget about it, in less than 3 minutes. I'll keep in mind, this observation I made.
"So, in other words: you don't have a very busy day."
"Uhm… you think?"
"Yes, trust me. I have dealt with more complicated and longer busy schedules, for many years."
"Huh… I'd never guess that…" He begins to massage his chin again.
And what does he mean, with that statement?! Oh no… I seriously hope, he doesn't think I'm some sort of otiose creature!
"Wait, what are you talking about now?"
"Ehm, I meant your fondness on food!"
…
"I never thought that you'd buy a lot of food and eat it all up! And yet, fat doesn't seem to exist on you!"
… no… n-no…
"Please, tell me how you do it!" … h-he clenches his pffff, fists… "Like you get all the food in your mouth, like hamsterfish do, and chew everything for at least an hour"
YAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!
"Aaaah! N-not again on the floor!"
HUNLEY! PFFFFF, HOW YOU KEEP, IIH IH IH, HOW YOU KEEP GETTING ME OFF-GUARD?! H-he's making me cry, haa ha ha ha so much!
"Gee, Mirii… I'm sure that it's all that food you gobble up, the cause of all those stomach irritations!"
Pffff, ha ha ha haaaaa!
"Come on, get up! Punching the ground will not solve the problem!"
Uuuuffff, I-I can't stop laughing… this time, i-it was too pffff, eh eh eh, funny! … did I really say funny?
"Also, from now on, you need to go on a di-WHOA!"
I'm sorry Hunley, for grabbing your hand and pulling you, like that. If you keep speaking nonsensical facts, my jaw is going to break! … I'M GRABBING HIS HAND?!
"Mirii, w-what's the matter now?! Why we stop?"
"F-forgive me, Hunley! I-I was definitively too hasty!" No nooo, don't start bowing multiple times, Mirii! There's no reason for that! A-and stop with the blushing, already!
"Oh… I see…?"
"N-now, let's just follow me, ok?"
"Follow you where?" He scratches his back, with his left hand.
"Just do it! I'll explain everything, while walking!"
… he nodded! Phew, finally… no more laughing…
"Ah, I forgot something!"
NOOOOOOOOO
"Can I get my sister too, with us? I don't like the idea, that she's all alone at home."
…
"Sure, no problem about it."
"Thanks, Mirii! I'm sure we'll all have fun together!" He smiles, while closing his eyes.
I stare at him, smiling so warmly… and I couldn't help but noticing a strange sensation, running through my body. I… I… NO, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT! It's very moronic and imperfect! I'll not allow such thought, dominating my brain! I… must… defeat… f-forget… …
Hunley… please, make me laugh again.