Chapter Text
Wemmbu POV
The first thing Wemmbu learned about moving into a house with thirteen other people was that silence was no longer a real thing.
Silence was a myth.
A fairy tale.
Something people in old books wrote about before humanity discovered the incredible ability to put fourteen college students under one roof and see how long it took before someone screamed.
The answer was:
Approximately eleven minutes.
"WHO TOOK MY HAIR PRODUCTS?"
Wemmbu stood in the middle of his new bedroom, staring at the empty space on his desk where his carefully arranged collection of products had been sitting.
Not stolen.
Not moved.
Not misplaced.
Gone.
A crime.
A tragedy.
A personal attack.
"Bro."
The voice came from behind him.
Wemmbu turned.
FlameFrags was standing in the doorway wearing exactly what everyone expected him to wear.
A shirt.
Sweats.
Chains.
That was it.
No complicated outfit.
No accessories.
No hours of preparation.
Just Flame.
"Bro, are you seriously looking for hair stuff at eight in the morning?"
Wemmbu looked offended.
"Yes."
"Bro."
"Flame."
"Bro."
"Flame."
"You have like thirty things on your desk."
"Exactly."
"Bro, that's the problem."
Wemmbu looked around his room.
His side of the room, specifically.
The purple side.
The glorious side.
The correct side.
Purple clothes hung over the chair.
Purple accessories covered the shelves.
His computer setup glowed with purple lights.
Music discs sat carefully arranged beside his monitor.
A pile of clothes that absolutely looked messy but was actually organized in a way only Wemmbu understood sat near the closet.
"First of all," Wemmbu said, pointing at the room, "this is called style."
Flame crossed his arms.
"Bro, this is called you have a problem."
"It's called personality."
"It's called you bought another purple hoodie yesterday."
"It was different."
"It had the same shade."
"It was a different purple."
Flame stared.
Wemmbu stared back.
Neither moved.
From the hallway, someone yelled.
"WHY IS THERE A SOCK ON THE CEILING?"
Both of them immediately looked toward the door.
A second later:
"WHY IS IT SPOKE'S SOCK?"
A louder voice answered.
"BECAUSE IT LOOKS BETTER THERE."
Wemmbu smiled.
"Okay."
Flame sighed.
"Bro."
"First day of college."
"Yeah?"
"We're already doomed."
The house was enormous.
That was the first thing everyone commented on when they saw it.
The second thing everyone commented on was:
"Why did we think fourteen people could live together?"
The third thing was usually:
"Where is the nearest grocery store?"
The house had two floors, modern architecture, huge windows, a backyard pool, and enough space that everyone could disappear for hours without anyone knowing.
Which sounded peaceful.
It was not.
The common room had already become the unofficial headquarters.
There were couches everywhere.
A giant television.
A table covered in random objects.
A study area that Parrot and MinuteTech had declared a "responsible workspace."
Nobody responsible actually used it.
The snack cabin outside was ManePear's creation.
Nobody knew why someone needed an entire cabin dedicated to snacks.
Everyone knew why ManePear wanted one.
Food.
A lot of food.
Too much food.
"Wemmbu!"
The voice came from downstairs.
Wemmbu immediately recognized it.
Spoke.
Nobody else in the house could make their voice travel through three walls, down a staircase, and somehow reach every person inside.
Wemmbu walked downstairs with Flame following.
The kitchen was chaos.
Which was impressive considering everyone had been awake for less than an hour.
MinuteTech was making breakfast.
Flame immediately walked over.
"Bro, what are we eating?"
"Food."
"Bro."
Minute didn't even look up.
"You asked a question."
"I wanted a better answer."
"You got the accurate answer."
At the counter, Parrot was making coffee while looking at a list.
A very long list.
Wemmbu leaned over.
"What's that?"
"House rules."
Wemmbu read the first one.
Do not leave dirty dishes in the sink.
He looked at the sink.
There were already dirty dishes.
"Interesting."
Parrot slowly looked up.
"It has been twelve minutes."
"Fast record."
Parrot closed his eyes.
"Why do I live here?"
"Because you love us."
"I hate that you're right."
Across the kitchen, Boosfer walked in.
Everyone immediately turned.
Not because he was loud.
Because he was wearing something absolutely ridiculous.
Wemmbu stared.
"Boosfer."
"Yes?"
"What are you wearing?"
Boosfer looked down.
"What? It's comfortable."
"It is a shirt with a giant picture of a confused frog."
"It is funny."
"It is concerning."
Spoke walked in beside him.
Also wearing something ridiculous.
Wemmbu froze.
"No."
Spoke smiled.
"Yes."
"No."
"We matched."
Boosfer nodded proudly.
"We did."
The entire kitchen stared.
Two grown adults.
Matching outfits.
Both looked completely serious.
Theo walked in, looked at them, and immediately turned around.
"Nope."
"Where are you going?" Jaden asked.
"I refuse to participate in whatever this is."
Wemmbu looked around the kitchen.
At everyone.
At the chaos.
At the arguments.
At the people who somehow became his closest friends.
A normal house.
A normal college life.
A normal beginning.
Nothing weird.
Nothing strange.
Nothing that would change their lives forever.
Absolutely nothing.
The problem was...
That was the last normal day they would ever have.
Eggchan POV
Eggchan had learned many things throughout his life.
Books were better organized when arranged by subject.
Plants needed sunlight.
People were usually more complicated than they appeared.
And most importantly:
Wemmbu could somehow make a room messy before actually unpacking.
That last one was impressive.
Not in a good way.
Eggchan stood in the doorway of their shared bedroom, holding a small box of books against his chest, and stared.
The room had two completely different personalities.
His side looked like someone had carefully designed a place meant for studying, relaxing, and existing peacefully.
Soft blankets.
Neatly arranged shelves.
Stacks of books organized by topic.
A small collection of plants sitting near the window.
Everything had a place.
Then there was Wemmbu's side.
Eggchan slowly turned his head.
Purple.
Everywhere.
Purple hoodie.
Purple jacket.
Purple decorations.
Purple lights.
Purple accessories.
A purple chair.
A purple keyboard.
Eggchan was starting to suspect Wemmbu would paint the ceiling purple if nobody stopped him.
"Wemmbu."
No answer.
Eggchan looked around.
"Wemmbu?"
A small noise came from behind a pile of clothes.
A hand appeared.
"Don't judge me."
Eggchan blinked.
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
"I was."
A pause.
"...Fair."
Wemmbu emerged from the clothes pile holding a jacket.
"I was organizing."
Eggchan looked at the pile.
"You were searching."
"Searching aggressively."
"That is not organizing."
"It is if you eventually find what you need."
Eggchan looked at the jacket.
"Did you find what you needed?"
"No."
"Then it was searching."
Wemmbu pointed dramatically.
"You're already judging my methods."
"I'm observing your methods."
"That sounds worse."
Eggchan placed his books onto his shelf.
Another stack.
Then another.
Wemmbu watched.
"How many books did you bring?"
Eggchan looked at the boxes.
"Not that many."
"Weren't those your fifth suitcase?"
Eggchan paused.
"..."
"Were they?"
Eggchan looked away.
"I needed them."
"For what?"
"Books."
"Wemmbu voice:"
dramatic gasp
"Eggchan."
"What?"
"You brought five suitcases of books."
"Yes."
"And I brought five suitcases of clothes."
"That is different."
"How?"
"I can use my books."
"I can use my clothes."
"Your clothes do not teach you anything."
"My clothes teach people that I have good taste."
Eggchan looked at Wemmbu's purple everything.
"..."
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
Eggchan smiled slightly.
"Maybe."
Downstairs, the house was getting louder.
Which was impressive because it was already loud.
Eggchan had spent the first hour of living here trying to understand how fourteen people could create the noise level of a stadium.
He walked into the hallway.
The bathroom door suddenly opened.
Someone jumped.
Someone else screamed.
Eggchan froze.
A few seconds of silence passed.
Then:
"THE LOCK BROKE AGAIN."
Eggchan sighed.
The bathrooms.
The one mystery nobody could solve.
Every bathroom had worked perfectly during the tour.
The second everyone moved in?
Problems.
The first day, the upstairs bathroom door refused to close.
The second day, the downstairs shower randomly changed temperatures.
Nobody knew why.
Nobody knew how.
Everyone simply accepted that the bathrooms were cursed.
When Eggchan entered the common room, he found chaos.
As expected.
Parrot was sitting at the table with his list.
MinuteTech was trying to help him.
Boosfer was annoying him.
Mapicc was making it worse.
Theo was laughing.
Jaden was sitting on the couch watching everything happen like he had already accepted his fate.
Lomedy was placing a small plant near the window.
ClownPierce was silently watching the room.
Ferre was helping move furniture.
ManePear was carrying an unbelievable amount of snacks.
Eggchan stared.
"How much food did you bring?"
ManePear looked offended.
"Not enough."
Eggchan looked at the bags.
There were several.
"That's not an answer."
"It is the correct answer."
Flame walked past.
"Bro, that's literally enough food for a month."
ManePear shrugged.
"Exactly."
"Bro."
Eggchan noticed something.
Everyone was different.
Very different.
If someone looked at them separately, it made no sense that they were friends.
Wemmbu was loud, dramatic, and impossible to ignore.
Flame matched his energy.
Spoke somehow exceeded both of them.
Parrot tried to organize the chaos.
Minute tried to repair the chaos.
Boosfer created chaos because he thought it was funny.
Mapicc created chaos because he thought it was funny too.
Theo created chaos accidentally.
Mane created chaos through food.
Lomedy was probably the only person preventing the house from becoming a disaster.
Clown and Ferre were quieter, but Eggchan could already tell they cared.
Jaden was calm.
Almost suspiciously calm.
And somehow...
It worked.
"Egg."
Eggchan turned.
Wemmbu was standing beside him.
"You okay?"
Eggchan blinked.
"Yeah."
"You got quiet."
"I was thinking."
"About?"
Eggchan looked around the room.
Everyone was arguing.
Someone was laughing.
Someone was complaining.
Someone was stealing food.
Someone was definitely breaking a rule Parrot had written ten minutes ago.
"This is going to be interesting."
Wemmbu smiled.
"That's one way to say it."
Eggchan looked around again.
He didn't know why.
But something about this moment felt important.
Like this house was going to become something more than just a place they lived.
Like these people were going to become something more than just friends.
Of course, Eggchan had no idea how right he was.
Not yet.
Parrot POV
Parrot had discovered something important during his first week living in the house.
The house was not the problem.
The people were not the problem either.
Technically.
The problem was that when you combined fourteen people with different personalities, different habits, and absolutely no sense of self-preservation, the result was a living organism.
A very loud organism.
One that ignored rules.
One that left cups everywhere.
One that somehow managed to lose things despite having an entire house.
Parrot stared at the notebook in his hands.
The notebook was titled:
HOUSE RULES: VERSION 3
Version 1 had lasted approximately two hours.
Version 2 had lasted one day.
This one was different.
This one was organized.
This one had sections.
This one had colors.
Nobody was going to ignore this one.
Probably.
Maybe.
Parrot looked toward the kitchen.
Spoke was currently attempting to balance three cereal boxes on his head.
He immediately crossed out "probably."
"Spoke."
Spoke froze.
The cereal boxes stayed balanced.
Somehow.
"Yes?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Parrot pointed.
"The cereal."
Spoke looked upward.
"Oh."
"Yes. Oh."
"I was testing balance."
"With breakfast?"
"Breakfast is important."
"That is not what I meant."
Spoke carefully removed the cereal boxes.
"They didn't fall."
"That doesn't make it a good idea."
"It makes it successful."
Parrot opened his mouth.
Closed it.
This was the problem.
Spoke could somehow argue his way into making terrible decisions sound logical.
"New rule."
Spoke gasped.
"No."
"Yes."
"You can't just add rules."
"I can if the situation requires it."
"What situation?"
Parrot pointed at the cereal.
Spoke looked.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
The kitchen slowly filled.
That was another thing Parrot had learned.
The house had a rhythm.
People appeared in waves.
First came the early people.
MinuteTech.
Parrot.
Eggchan.
People who believed mornings were important.
Then came the people who were technically awake but spiritually still asleep.
Jaden.
Lomedy.
Ferre.
Then came the chaos.
Spoke.
Theo.
Boosfer.
Wemmbu.
And then...
ManePear.
Not because he was late.
Because he arrived carrying enough food to feed a small village.
"Mane."
"What?"
"Why do you have another bag?"
Mane looked down.
"Groceries."
"We went shopping yesterday."
"Yes."
"So why do we need more?"
Mane looked confused.
"Because we ate the groceries."
Everyone went silent.
Parrot slowly looked around.
"How?"
Mane shrugged.
"We were hungry."
Flame walked in.
"Bro."
Mane looked over.
"What?"
"Bro, you ate an entire week's worth of food."
"It was a good week."
Flame stared.
Then sighed.
"Bro."
The thing Parrot appreciated about this group was that nobody was boring.
Exhausting?
Yes.
Impossible?
Frequently.
Boring?
Never.
Lomedy walked in carrying a small plant.
Parrot looked at it.
"Is that another one?"
Lomedy smiled.
"Yes."
"How many plants do you have?"
Lomedy thought.
"Here?"
"Yes."
"Or total?"
Parrot paused.
"...There is a difference?"
Lomedy looked away.
That answered the question.
Theo leaned over.
"Does your room have enough space?"
Lomedy looked offended.
"My plants have plenty of space."
"That wasn't what I asked."
"The plants are happy."
"That is also not what I asked."
Across the room, Ferre and ClownPierce were moving furniture.
Which immediately caught Parrot's attention.
Because those two were quiet.
And quiet people usually meant one of two things:
They were peaceful.
Or they were planning something.
"Why are you moving the couch?"
Ferre looked up.
"Better layout."
Clown nodded.
"More space."
Parrot stared.
"You two just woke up and decided to redesign the common room?"
Ferre shrugged.
"It made sense."
Clown nodded again.
Parrot looked at the couch.
Then the room.
Then back at them.
Honestly?
It did look better.
That was annoying.
Jaden was sitting at the table with a drink, watching everyone.
Parrot noticed that Jaden did that often.
He watched.
Listened.
Didn't talk much unless he had something to say.
"You okay?"
Jaden looked up.
"Yeah."
"You're quiet."
"I am usually quiet."
"Fair."
A small smile appeared.
"I like listening."
Parrot nodded.
That made sense.
Everyone had a role in the house.
Some people created chaos.
Some people survived it.
Some people cleaned it up.
MinuteTech walked into the kitchen holding a tablet.
Parrot immediately knew something was wrong.
Not because Minute looked worried.
Because Minute looked calm.
Minute being calm usually meant something had already gone wrong.
"What happened?"
Minute looked at him.
"Nothing."
"Minute."
"Nothing major."
"Minute."
"A small issue."
"What issue?"
Minute turned the tablet around.
The house internet usage was displayed.
Everyone stared.
Boosfer slowly looked away.
Parrot narrowed his eyes.
"Boosfer."
"What?"
"Why is your name next to the highest usage?"
"I was researching."
"Researching what?"
A pause.
"Memes."
"Boosfer."
"They were important."
"How?"
"They had information."
"What information?"
"Emotional information."
Nobody spoke.
Minute rubbed his forehead.
"I am going to pretend that made sense."
For a few minutes, the house was almost calm.
Almost.
People ate breakfast.
People talked.
People laughed.
Parrot stood there watching.
He knew everyone was different.
He knew living together would be difficult.
But somehow...
He liked it.
The arguments.
The noise.
The ridiculous moments.
Even the problems.
Because underneath everything, they were all trying.
Nobody said it.
Nobody needed to.
They showed it.
Minute fixed things.
Lomedy helped.
Clown protected people quietly.
Ferre planned.
Jaden supported.
Mane shared food, even if he pretended he didn't.
Spoke made everyone laugh.
Boosfer kept things interesting.
Theo brought energy.
Flame pushed people.
Wemmbu made everything dramatic.
Eggchan noticed things others missed.
And Parrot...
Parrot made sure they didn't accidentally destroy themselves.
Usually.
Then the bathroom door upstairs slammed.
Everyone froze.
A scream followed.
"WHO BROKE THE BATHROOM AGAIN?"
Silence.
Everyone looked around.
Nobody moved.
Parrot sighed.
"New rule."
Spoke immediately raised his hand.
"No more rules."
"New rule."
"What?"
"Nobody touches the bathrooms."
Theo blinked.
"How do we do that?"
"I don't know."
"That seems impossible."
"I know."
Parrot looked around the room.
Fourteen people.
One house.
A thousand problems waiting to happen.
He had no idea what was coming.
Nobody did.
But for now?
He just grabbed his notebook.
And added another rule.
Rule #47: Stop breaking the bathrooms.
He already knew nobody would listen.
FlameFrags POV
FlameFrags had one simple rule for life.
Wake up.
Train.
Eat.
Win.
Simple.
Easy.
Logical.
Unfortunately, Flame had recently discovered that logic stopped working the second you put thirteen other people in a house together.
Especially when one of those people was Wemmbu.
"Bro."
Flame stood in front of the bathroom door.
The bathroom door stared back.
Not literally.
That would be weird.
But at this point?
Flame wouldn't even be surprised.
"Bro, why is the door locked?"
Silence.
He knocked.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Then, from inside:
"Give me five minutes."
Flame blinked.
"Wemmbu?"
"No."
"Bro."
A pause.
"...yes."
Flame sighed.
"Bro, why are you in the bathroom?"
"I needed a mirror."
"You have a mirror in our room."
"Different mirror."
"Bro."
"The lighting is better."
Flame looked at the ceiling.
The first week of living together had taught him many things.
One:
Wemmbu could turn anything into a fashion emergency.
Two:
The bathrooms were cursed.
Three:
Nobody in this house knew how to be normal.
"Bro, we have class."
"I know."
"Then why are you still in there?"
"Because I look bad."
Flame stared at the door.
"Wemmbu."
"Yeah?"
"Bro."
"What?"
"You literally look the same as yesterday."
"Exactly. A tragedy."
Flame walked away before he lost brain cells.
The kitchen was already loud.
Actually, "loud" was not a strong enough word.
The kitchen had become a battlefield.
A battlefield where nobody was fighting.
Yet.
Spoke was standing on one side of the room arguing with Boosfer.
Which was impressive because Boosfer was not even arguing back.
He was just making it worse.
"You cannot convince me that cereal is a soup."
Spoke pointed dramatically.
"It has liquid."
"It is milk."
"It has things floating in it."
"That doesn't make it soup."
"It has a bowl."
"That makes it breakfast."
Theo, sitting nearby, looked up.
"I think soup is just cereal that gave up."
Everyone stared.
A pause.
Then Theo shrugged.
"What?"
Flame walked past.
"Bro."
Theo looked at him.
"What?"
"Never say that again."
"Bro, you're acting like I committed a crime."
"You committed a food crime."
Flame grabbed a drink from the fridge.
Then stopped.
Because the fridge was full.
Not normal full.
ManePear full.
There was enough food inside to survive an apocalypse.
Flame opened the door wider.
"Bro."
Mane immediately appeared.
"What?"
"Why are there six containers of chicken?"
"Different chicken."
"Bro."
"Different."
"How?"
Mane crossed his arms.
"One is spicy."
"Okay."
"One is extra spicy."
"Okay."
"One is for emergencies."
"What emergency needs chicken?"
Mane looked offended.
"Any emergency."
Flame stared.
Then nodded.
Honestly?
He understood.
The thing about Mane was that people underestimated him.
Mostly because he was always eating.
Which was fair.
He was always eating.
But Flame knew his brother.
Mane was competitive.
Fast.
Strong.
Protective.
The type of person who would complain about helping someone and then be the first person there when someone needed help.
Not that Flame would say that.
Obviously.
Because that would be embarrassing.
"Bro."
Mane looked over.
"What?"
"You have class."
"I know."
"Then why are you eating?"
"Because I also have hunger."
Flame nodded.
"Fair."
Outside, the morning air was cold.
The house looked almost peaceful from outside.
Almost.
Inside there were probably already three arguments happening.
Maybe four.
Flame walked toward the cars with everyone else.
College.
First day.
A new start.
That should have felt scary.
But honestly?
Flame wasn't worried.
He had trained for years.
He could handle pressure.
He could handle competition.
He could handle anything.
Except maybe whatever Spoke was yelling about right now.
"WHY DOES THE HOUSE HAVE RULES IF WE DON'T FOLLOW THEM?"
Parrot's voice answered:
"BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FOLLOWED."
"THAT SOUNDS OPTIONAL."
"It is literally written down."
"Words can be ignored."
Flame shook his head.
Bro.
This house was going to be insane.
The college campus was huge.
More crowded than Flame expected.
Students everywhere.
People carrying books.
Talking.
Running late.
Trying to find classrooms.
Normal.
For once.
Normal.
Flame liked that.
He liked routines.
He liked knowing what came next.
The house was unpredictable.
College was simple.
At least, it should have been.
"Bro."
Flame turned.
Wemmbu was walking beside him.
"You look too happy."
"Because we're finally away from the house."
Wemmbu gasped.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You hate us."
"No."
"Bro, you said you were happy to escape."
"I said the house is chaotic."
"Same thing."
Flame rolled his eyes.
But he smiled.
That was the problem with this group.
They were annoying.
Constantly.
Painfully.
But they were his people.
Their first class passed normally.
Mostly.
Spoke somehow answered a question before the professor finished asking it.
Theo almost got kicked out for laughing at the wrong time.
Boosfer made a comment that caused three people to turn around.
Parrot apologized.
Minute fixed someone's broken laptop.
Wemmbu somehow complimented someone's outfit while taking notes.
Flame didn't know how that was possible.
But somehow, it was.
After class, they gathered outside.
Everyone talking at once.
Everyone making plans.
Everyone interrupting everyone.
Flame looked around.
Fourteen people.
One group.
A disaster.
But their disaster.
"Bro."
Wemmbu looked at him.
"What?"
Flame looked away.
"Nothing."
"You're being weird."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"Bro."
"What?"
"Stop talking."
Wemmbu laughed.
And Flame hated that he laughed too.
Because now he was smiling.
And he absolutely was not admitting that he enjoyed this.
Not today.
Not ever.
Spoke POV
Spoke had a very important question.
Actually, he had several.
The first one:
Why did everyone act like he was the problem?
The second one:
Why did nobody appreciate his solutions?
The third one:
Why did Parrot keep taking away the things he considered "dangerous"?
Because honestly?
If someone invented a machine that could launch a spoon across the kitchen at incredible speed, Spoke considered that a useful invention.
Parrot considered it:
"An accident waiting to happen."
Which was a dramatic overreaction.
Probably.
Maybe.
Okay, it had almost hit the ceiling fan.
But the ceiling fan survived.
So technically, success.
"Spoke."
He stopped walking.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Because he already knew that tone.
That was the Parrot tone.
The tone that meant:
I am about to explain why you should not do something.
Spoke turned around.
Parrot stood in the hallway holding the spoon launcher.
The forbidden spoon launcher.
"The spoon launcher?"
"Yes."
"You took it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Parrot stared at him.
"Do you want the list alphabetically or by severity?"
Spoke looked offended.
"That's not fair."
"It is extremely fair."
"Bro, it was a prototype."
"It shot a spoon through a cardboard box."
"Exactly."
"That is not a positive."
Spoke crossed his arms.
"You lack vision."
"I lack confidence that you won't accidentally destroy our house."
"That happened once."
"Three times."
"Three different experiments."
"That makes it worse."
Spoke opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Okay.
Maybe Parrot had a point.
A tiny point.
A microscopic point.
Basically invisible.
The house was loud.
Spoke liked that.
Silence was weird.
Silence meant people were thinking.
And when people were thinking, they started making assumptions.
Spoke preferred when everyone was talking.
People revealed more when they were comfortable.
That was something he noticed about the group.
Everyone was different.
Very different.
Parrot tried to organize everyone.
MinuteTech tried to fix everything.
Boosfer tried to annoy everyone.
Theo somehow managed to accidentally annoy everyone.
Mapicc intentionally annoyed everyone.
ManePear cared about three things:
Food.
Fighting.
More food.
Lomedy was probably the nicest person in the building.
Which was suspicious.
Nobody was that nice.
ClownPierce barely talked.
But everyone listened when he did.
Ferre thought before acting.
Jaden was calm enough that Spoke sometimes wondered if he had secretly reached enlightenment.
Eggchan noticed everything.
Flame treated every conversation like a competition.
And Wemmbu...
Well.
Wemmbu was Wemmbu.
Spoke looked toward the staircase.
A loud argument was happening upstairs.
Something about clothes.
Probably.
Actually definitely.
Spoke didn't need to see it.
He could feel the fashion argument through the walls.
"Spoke."
He looked back.
Mapicc was standing there.
"You ready?"
"For what?"
"College."
Spoke stared.
Then pointed.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You remembered we had college."
Mapicc rolled his eyes.
"I was there when we made the schedule."
"That sounds fake."
"You literally helped."
"I did?"
"Yes."
"Huh."
A pause.
"Interesting."
Mapicc sighed.
Spoke grinned.
That was the thing about Mapicc.
He acted like he didn't care.
But he always showed up.
Every time.
They walked outside.
The morning was colder than Spoke expected.
The house looked different from outside.
Inside, it felt like chaos.
Outside, it almost looked normal.
A normal modern house.
A normal group of college students.
A normal beginning.
Spoke looked back.
The window of the common room was open.
Someone was yelling.
Probably Theo.
Someone else yelled back.
Probably Parrot.
Someone laughed.
Probably Boosfer.
Spoke smiled.
Yeah.
Normal was overrated anyway.
The college campus was huge.
People everywhere.
Groups walking between buildings.
Students carrying books.
Everyone looking like they knew exactly what they were doing.
Spoke immediately knew something.
Nobody knew what they were doing.
They were just better at pretending.
That was comforting.
"Where is our building?"
Jaden looked at the map.
"Over there."
Spoke looked.
Then looked away.
"No."
Jaden blinked.
"No?"
"That building looks like it knows what it's doing."
Everyone stared.
"What does that mean?" Theo asked.
"I don't trust it."
Theo nodded.
"Fair."
Nobody questioned him.
That was concerning.
Their first class was strange.
Not bad.
Just strange.
Everyone was trying to figure each other out.
New people.
New environment.
New expectations.
Spoke leaned back in his chair.
The professor was explaining something.
Something important.
Probably.
Spoke was listening.
Mostly.
Then Boosfer leaned over.
"Do you think pigeons know they're pigeons?"
Spoke turned.
"What?"
Boosfer whispered.
"I'm serious."
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because what if they're just pretending?"
Spoke stared.
Then nodded.
"Honestly?"
"Yeah?"
"I respect the question."
Theo, sitting nearby, immediately joined.
"Okay but imagine being a pigeon."
"Why are you joining this?"
"Because it's important."
"It isn't."
"It could be."
Parrot looked over from his notes.
"No."
"What do you mean no?" Theo asked.
"I mean whatever conversation you are starting, no."
After class, they gathered outside.
Everyone talking.
Everyone moving.
Everyone slowly becoming more comfortable.
Spoke watched them.
People usually thought loud people didn't notice things.
That was wrong.
Spoke noticed plenty.
He noticed when Parrot looked tired but pretended he wasn't.
He noticed MinuteTech fixing someone's laptop without being asked.
He noticed ClownPierce standing slightly away from everyone but still listening.
He noticed Ferre checking if everyone was there before leaving.
He noticed Mane pretending he wasn't sharing his snacks.
He noticed Jaden quietly helping people.
He noticed all of it.
Spoke just didn't always say it.
Because sometimes saying something ruined the moment.
And honestly?
This group was already ridiculous enough.
No need to make it worse.
Then the sound happened.
A cat.
A random cat.
Sitting near the edge of the path.
Everyone stopped.
Spoke stared.
The cat stared back.
Something about it felt familiar.
Not familiar like:
"I have seen this cat before."
More like:
"This cat looks like it has caused problems before."
The cat blinked.
Theo whispered:
"Why does it look evil?"
"Because it is a cat," Jaden said.
"No."
Theo pointed.
"That cat has plans."
Everyone looked.
The cat slowly walked away.
Spoke watched it disappear.
Strange.
Very strange.
But then again...
This was their life now.
A giant house.
College.
Fourteen people.
A suspicious cat.
Honestly?
Not even the weirdest thing that could happen.
Probably.
MinuteTech POV
MinuteTech had a talent.
A very specific talent.
He could walk into a room and immediately identify every problem.
The broken chair.
The misplaced items.
The person who forgot something.
The thing that was going to become a bigger issue later.
It was useful.
It was practical.
It was also incredibly exhausting when the room was occupied by thirteen other people who seemed determined to create new problems faster than he could solve old ones.
And right now?
The biggest problem was standing in front of the front door.
"Nobody touch the bathrooms."
Parrot's voice echoed through the hallway.
Everyone stared.
Nobody moved.
For once, the entire house was quiet.
Minute almost felt proud.
Almost.
Then Theo raised his hand.
Parrot slowly turned.
"No."
"I didn't even say anything."
"I know."
"That's unfair."
"It is accurate."
Theo lowered his hand.
"Okay, fair."
Minute looked around.
Everyone was gathered near the entrance.
Backpacks.
Phones.
Keys.
The normal things people carried when leaving for college.
Except this was not a normal group of college students.
Normal college students did not need a ten-minute meeting before leaving because someone had broken a bathroom door.
Normal college students did not have a snack emergency plan.
Normal college students did not have a notebook called:
Rules That Everyone Pretends Not To See
Minute looked at Parrot's notebook.
Forty-seven rules.
Forty-seven.
They had lived there for less than a week.
That number was terrifying.
"Everyone ready?" Minute asked.
Silence.
Then:
"No."
Minute closed his eyes.
"Who isn't ready?"
Immediately:
"Me."
"Me."
"Actually me."
"Wait, are we leaving now?"
Minute looked at Boosfer.
"Yes."
"Oh."
"Boosfer."
"What?"
"You have your bag?"
Boosfer looked down.
Then slowly looked back up.
"..."
"Boosfer."
"I was going to get it."
"Where is it?"
"In my room."
"You need it."
"I know."
"Then why are you standing here?"
Boosfer thought about it.
"I forgot."
Minute sighed.
This was his life now.
Five minutes later, they were actually outside.
A miracle.
The house stood behind them, looking completely normal.
That was the funniest part.
From the outside, nobody would guess what happened inside.
Nobody would guess that:
one room looked like a fashion store exploded
one room looked like a plant sanctuary
one room looked like a training facility
one person owned enough snacks to supply a small event
the bathrooms were somehow cursed
It looked like a normal house.
A normal house full of completely abnormal people.
"Minute."
He looked over.
Jaden was walking beside him.
"You look like you're thinking too hard."
Minute adjusted his backpack.
"I am."
"About?"
Minute glanced back at the house.
"Everything."
Jaden followed his gaze.
"Fair."
That was one thing Minute liked about Jaden.
He didn't ask unnecessary questions.
He understood.
The walk to campus was loud.
Of course it was.
A group of fourteen people could not walk somewhere quietly.
It was impossible.
Spoke and Theo were arguing about something.
Minute had stopped trying to understand their conversations unless someone mentioned fire, explosions, or property damage.
Which happened more often than he liked.
"You can't just say the pigeon is suspicious."
Theo pointed ahead.
"It looked at me."
"That is what pigeons do."
"It looked at me differently."
"How?"
Theo paused.
"With intent."
Spoke nodded.
"Valid."
Minute looked at Parrot.
Parrot looked back.
Neither spoke.
They both understood.
Ahead of them, Flame and ManePear were walking together.
Which was interesting.
Because they were siblings, but their personalities were completely different.
Flame was energetic.
Competitive.
Always moving.
Mane was calmer.
At least when food was not involved.
"Bro."
Flame pointed at Mane's bag.
"Why is it making noise?"
Mane looked down.
"It's snacks."
"Bro, snacks don't make noise."
"These do."
"What kind?"
Mane shrugged.
"Crunchy."
Flame stared.
"Bro."
Minute almost laughed.
Almost.
He didn't.
But he understood why people liked being around this group.
Everyone was ridiculous in a different way.
At the campus entrance, the group split slightly.
Not because they wanted to.
Because their schedules forced them to.
Minute noticed that immediately.
Everyone reacted differently.
Some people complained.
Some people accepted it.
Some people immediately started planning where to meet afterward.
That was another thing Minute noticed.
They had only lived together a short time.
But already, everyone had started creating routines.
People naturally grouped together.
Not because they had to.
Because they wanted to.
His first class went smoothly.
Mostly.
Minute appreciated smooth.
Smooth meant predictable.
Predictable meant manageable.
Unfortunately, his friends were also there.
Which lowered the chances of smooth.
He sat down beside Parrot.
Across the room, Boosfer was already distracting Theo.
Minute didn't even need to hear what they were saying.
He knew.
Something ridiculous.
Always something ridiculous.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Parrot whispered.
Minute looked over.
Boosfer was making a hand gesture.
Theo looked impressed.
"Something that will probably make our lives harder."
"Accurate."
After class, Minute found himself sitting outside with several others.
The campus was busy.
People moving around.
Students talking.
Everyone trying to figure out their new lives.
For a moment, Minute just watched.
Not the crowd.
His friends.
Lomedy was sitting nearby, talking about a plant he wanted to get for the house.
"I think the living room needs more green."
Boosfer immediately replied:
"The living room needs a giant statue of me."
Nobody answered.
Boosfer looked offended.
"Why is nobody supporting my vision?"
"Because your vision is terrible," Mapicc said.
"Wow."
"Accurate."
"Wow."
Lomedy smiled.
"I think a plant would be better."
Boosfer looked betrayed.
"Even you?"
"The plant doesn't cause problems."
Everyone looked at Boosfer.
A pause.
"..."
"Okay," Boosfer admitted. "Fair."
Nearby, ClownPierce and Ferre were talking quietly.
Minute didn't hear everything.
He didn't need to.
Those two were interesting.
Clown was intimidating to most people.
Even within the group, he had that presence.
The kind where everyone noticed when he entered a room.
But Minute had noticed something.
Clown always paid attention.
He noticed when someone was uncomfortable.
He noticed when someone needed help.
He just didn't say much.
Ferre was similar.
Less intimidating.
More analytical.
Always thinking.
Always planning.
Minute understood that.
Different methods.
Same purpose.
Jaden sat down beside Minute.
"You always do that."
Minute looked over.
"Do what?"
"Watch everyone."
Minute paused.
"Is that bad?"
"No."
Jaden looked at the group.
"I think someone needs to."
Minute smiled slightly.
That was probably true.
Everyone had their own strengths.
Some people fought.
Some people created.
Some people protected.
Some people made everyone laugh.
And some people noticed the things everyone else missed.
Then his phone buzzed.
The group chat.
Parrot.
Parrot: Reminder. Nobody touch the bathrooms.
Immediately:
Theo: define touch
Minute stared.
Then:
Boosfer: too late
Minute closed his eyes.
"Boosfer."
"What?"
"Did you touch the bathroom?"
"No."
A pause.
"..."
"Boosfer."
"Technically I touched the door."
Everyone went silent.
Parrot slowly turned.
"Why?"
"I needed to enter."
"That's not what I meant."
Minute looked at the sky.
He had a feeling this was going to be a long year.
But strangely...
He didn't hate that.
The chaos.
The noise.
The impossible people.
The constant problems.
It was a lot.
A ridiculous amount.
But when he looked around and saw everyone laughing, arguing, and being themselves...
He understood something.
This wasn't just a house full of roommates.
It was a group.
A strange one.
A chaotic one.
A group that probably needed someone keeping track of everything.
Unfortunately for him...
That someone was him.
MinuteTech POV
MinuteTech had expected college to be difficult.
That was normal.
New environment.
New classes.
New professors.
New responsibilities.
What he had not expected was for his biggest challenge to be explaining to a professor why three of his classmates were arguing about whether a chair could be considered a weapon.
"Technically," Theo said, leaning back in his seat, "anything can be a weapon."
Minute slowly turned.
"Theo."
"What?"
"Please don't say things like that during our first week."
"Why?"
"Because people are still deciding whether we're normal."
Theo looked around the classroom.
Then at their group.
Then back at Minute.
"Are we?"
Minute opened his mouth.
Paused.
Closed it.
"...No."
Theo smiled.
"Exactly."
The classroom was already filling up.
Students talking.
Laptops opening.
People finding seats.
The usual first-week college chaos.
Except their group created a completely different kind of chaos.
They didn't even mean to.
It just happened.
Minute sat near the middle with Parrot beside him.
Across the aisle were Spoke and Mapicc.
Behind them were Theo and Boosfer.
Flame and ManePear sat together.
Lomedy was next to Jaden.
Clown and Ferre were farther back, quietly discussing something.
Eggchan was already reading.
Wemmbu was somehow organizing his notes while also checking his reflection in his laptop screen.
Minute noticed.
He chose not to comment.
Some battles weren't worth fighting.
The professor walked in.
Everyone immediately became quieter.
Mostly.
"Good morning, everyone."
A few students responded.
The professor looked at the room.
Then at their group.
Minute watched the exact moment the professor realized something.
Fourteen people sitting together.
The same group.
The professor blinked.
"Are all of you together?"
Spoke immediately raised his hand.
"No."
The professor looked relieved.
Then Spoke continued:
"We're worse separately."
The room went silent.
Minute covered his face.
Parrot whispered:
"I hate that he's right."
The professor looked confused.
"Okay."
A pause.
"Well, welcome to your first day."
Theo leaned toward Boosfer.
"Do you think he knows?"
"Knows what?"
"That we're weird."
Boosfer looked around.
"Probably."
"How long?"
"Five minutes."
Theo nodded.
"New record."
The first assignment was simple.
Introduce yourself.
A normal activity.
A normal class.
A normal opportunity.
Which meant their group was immediately going to make it complicated.
The professor pointed to the first student.
"Name?"
The student answered.
"Major?"
Answered.
"Interesting fact?"
Answered.
Simple.
Then it reached their group.
"Alright."
The professor looked at Spoke.
"You."
Spoke stood up.
"Spoke."
"Major?"
"Undecided."
"Interesting fact?"
Spoke thought.
Minute immediately became concerned.
"I can talk for twelve hours without stopping."
The professor stared.
"..."
Spoke sat down.
"That was useful information."
"Was it?" Minute whispered.
"Yes."
"No."
Next was Flame.
"Name?"
"FlameFrags."
"Major?"
"Sports science."
"Interesting fact?"
Flame shrugged.
"Bro, I play basketball."
The professor smiled.
"That's not exactly unusual."
"Bro, I'm good."
A few people laughed.
The professor nodded.
"Confident."
"Bro, accurate."
Minute watched.
The professor was trying very hard not to smile.
Then ManePear.
"Name?"
"ManePear."
"Major?"
"Still deciding."
"Interesting fact?"
Mane thought.
Minute already knew this was dangerous.
"I have a personal snack storage system."
The professor paused.
"A what?"
"A snack storage system."
"Why?"
Mane looked genuinely confused.
"Because snacks need organization."
The professor looked at the rest of the class.
Nobody defended him.
Except maybe Minute.
Because honestly?
It did sound like something Mane would organize.
Then Lomedy stood.
"Name?"
"Lomedy."
"Major?"
"Environmental studies."
The professor smiled.
"Interesting fact?"
Lomedy looked thoughtful.
"I have a lot of plants."
The professor nodded.
"That's nice."
A normal answer.
Finally.
Minute relaxed.
Then Lomedy added:
"Some of them have names."
The professor stopped writing.
"How many?"
Lomedy looked away.
"..."
"How many?"
"Depends if we're counting the small ones."
The classroom laughed.
Minute smiled.
At least Lomedy's chaos was peaceful.
Then Boosfer.
Minute immediately knew this was going badly.
"Name?"
"Boosfer."
"Major?"
"Technology."
"Interesting fact?"
Boosfer smiled.
Minute recognized that smile.
The dangerous smile.
"I once convinced someone an entire conversation was a prank."
The professor blinked.
"What?"
"It worked."
"How?"
Boosfer shrugged.
"Confidence."
Minute sighed.
Of course.
Then the professor reached ClownPierce.
The room quieted slightly.
Not because Clown did anything.
Just because he had that effect.
"Name?"
"ClownPierce."
"Major?"
"Undecided."
"Interesting fact?"
A pause.
Clown thought.
Then:
"I like training."
Simple.
The professor nodded.
"Sports?"
"Something like that."
Ferre, sitting nearby, smiled slightly.
Minute noticed.
Clown didn't talk much.
But when he did, people listened.
Finally, after everyone introduced themselves, the professor looked exhausted.
Minute felt bad.
A little.
"Alright," the professor said.
"Any questions?"
Silence.
Good.
Normal.
Peaceful.
Then Theo raised his hand.
Minute immediately knew.
"No."
The professor looked at Theo.
"Yes?"
Theo lowered his hand.
"Nothing."
"Then why did you raise your hand?"
"I forgot."
The professor stared.
Minute looked down.
This was going to be a very long semester.
After class ended, the group immediately started talking.
Not leaving.
Not quietly packing.
Talking.
Everyone at once.
"That professor definitely thinks we're weird," Jaden said.
"He knows," Parrot replied.
"How?" Eggchan asked.
Spoke pointed.
"Because we're memorable."
"That's one word for it," Minute said.
Theo looked proud.
"I think we made a good impression."
Everyone looked at him.
"No."
Theo frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because," Minute said, "you asked if a chair could be a weapon."
Theo nodded.
"An important question."
"No."
Minute watched everyone leave the classroom.
A professor probably thought they were strange.
Other students probably thought they were strange.
Honestly?
They probably were.
But somehow...
It worked.
Fourteen completely different people.
Fourteen different personalities.
Fourteen different kinds of chaos.
And somehow they were friends.
Minute smiled.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message.
Parrot: Reminder. Study session tonight.
Minute immediately replied:
Minute: Who is actually studying?
Three seconds later:
Spoke: Not me
Theo: depends
Boosfer: define studying
Wemmbu: can I study fashion
Minute stared at the screen.
He already knew the answer.
Nobody.
Nobody was going to study.
Lomedy POV
Lomedy liked quiet moments.
Not silence.
Silence was different.
Silence felt empty.
Quiet was when things were peaceful.
Like sitting near a window while rain hit the glass.
Like watching a plant slowly grow.
Like drinking something warm while nobody was arguing about whether a toaster had emotions.
Unfortunately, living with thirteen other people meant quiet moments were rare.
Very rare.
Almost legendary.
Which was why Lomedy appreciated every single one.
Even if they only lasted about thirty seconds.
"LOMEDY."
Thirty seconds exactly.
He looked up.
Spoke was standing across the hallway.
"Yes?"
"Important question."
Lomedy smiled.
"Okay."
"Do plants have opinions?"
Lomedy blinked.
That was not the question he expected.
"Why?"
"Because I think this one dislikes me."
Spoke pointed at one of Lomedy's plants.
Lomedy looked at it.
Then back at Spoke.
"Why would it dislike you?"
"Because every time I walk past it, the leaves move."
"That's because you walk near it."
"Exactly."
Lomedy stared.
Spoke stared back.
Then Lomedy nodded slowly.
"I think we need to have a conversation about how plants work."
"Can the plant join?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it is a plant."
"Sounds like something a plant would say."
Lomedy laughed.
He couldn't help it.
That was Spoke.
The group had left class a few minutes ago.
Everyone was scattered around campus.
Not separated.
Just scattered.
There was a difference.
Their group never really separated.
Even when they were doing different things, everyone somehow ended up nearby.
It was strange.
But nice.
Lomedy sat outside with Jaden, watching people walk around.
Jaden was quiet.
Comfortably quiet.
"You like it here?" Jaden asked.
Lomedy looked around.
The campus was full of people.
Different groups.
Different lives.
Different stories.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Lomedy thought.
"Because everyone is starting something new."
Jaden nodded.
"That's true."
"What about you?"
Jaden shrugged.
"I think I'm just seeing what happens."
Lomedy smiled.
That sounded exactly like Jaden.
A loud voice interrupted them.
"Bro."
Flame walked over.
Lomedy looked up.
"What?"
"Why are you carrying another plant?"
Lomedy looked down.
He was holding a small plant.
"Oh."
"Bro."
"What?"
"You already have enough."
Lomedy tilted his head.
"How many is enough?"
Flame paused.
"Bro."
"That's not an answer."
"It is."
"No, it isn't."
Flame looked at Jaden.
"Is this normal?"
Jaden looked at the plant.
Then at Lomedy.
"Honestly?"
"Yeah?"
"I stopped knowing what normal was after moving in."
Flame nodded.
"Fair."
The funny thing about Flame was that he acted like everything was a competition.
Everything.
Walking somewhere?
Competition.
Eating?
Competition.
Choosing seats?
Somehow a competition.
But Lomedy noticed something.
Flame always checked where everyone was.
He always noticed if someone was missing.
He always made sure people were okay.
He just hid it behind:
"Bro."
Lomedy smiled.
"You care a lot."
Flame immediately looked confused.
"What?"
"You care about everyone."
"No I don't."
"You do."
"Bro."
"You just said bro twice."
"Because you're wrong."
"You're proving my point."
Flame looked away.
"Whatever."
Lomedy smiled.
That was enough of an answer.
After lunch, the group gathered near the campus garden.
Lomedy immediately stopped walking.
Because it was beautiful.
There were flowers.
Trees.
Small paths.
A little pond.
He stared.
Everyone else kept walking.
Then noticed he wasn't there.
"Lomedy?"
He didn't answer.
"Bro."
Flame waved a hand in front of him.
"You good?"
"Yeah."
Lomedy looked around.
"I just like this place."
Spoke looked at the garden.
Then at Lomedy.
"Do you want to live here?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Because you looked like you were planning a move."
Lomedy laughed.
"Maybe a little."
Then came the problem.
The professor.
Not their normal professor.
Another one.
A campus staff member walking by.
He looked at Lomedy's plant.
"Did you bring that from home?"
Lomedy looked down.
"Oh."
A pause.
"Yes."
The professor smiled.
"Taking care of plants?"
"Yeah."
"That's nice."
Lomedy nodded.
Then the professor looked behind him.
At the rest of the group.
At Spoke.
At Theo.
At Boosfer.
At the absolute chaos standing nearby.
Then back at Lomedy.
"You seem like the responsible one."
Everyone immediately reacted.
"No."
The professor looked confused.
"No?"
Parrot shook his head.
"Not exactly."
Minute nodded.
"He's responsible."
A pause.
"But he lives with us."
The professor understood immediately.
"Oh."
Lomedy felt bad.
"Sorry."
"No, no."
The professor smiled.
"I think I understand."
He looked at the group.
"Good luck."
Then he walked away.
Everyone stared.
Theo broke the silence.
"He wished us luck."
"Because he thinks we're difficult," Minute said.
"He believes in us."
"No."
"He believes we are a challenge."
"Yes."
Later, the group started walking home.
Well.
Most of them.
ManePear was walking slightly slower.
Because he was eating.
Again.
Lomedy looked at his bag.
"Mane."
"Yeah?"
"How much food do you have?"
Mane looked offended.
"Enough."
Everyone groaned.
"Why does everyone say that?" Jaden asked.
"Because it works."
"It doesn't."
"It does for me."
When they finally reached the house, Lomedy went straight to his room.
His plants were waiting.
Not literally.
Probably.
He placed the new plant by the window.
Then looked around.
His room was a little crowded.
Plants everywhere.
Small decorations.
Animal-themed items.
Things he liked.
Things that made the room feel like his.
Outside his room, the house was loud.
Someone was laughing.
Someone was arguing.
Someone was probably doing something they shouldn't.
Lomedy smiled.
He liked this.
The chaos.
The noise.
The people.
It wasn't peaceful.
Not really.
But it was home.
Then there was a knock.
"Lomedy?"
He opened the door.
It was Boosfer.
"Yes?"
"Question."
"Okay."
"Do plants get annoyed if you talk to them?"
Lomedy looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because I think your plant judged me."
A pause.
Lomedy looked at the plant.
Then at Boosfer.
"I think it might have."
Boosfer looked shocked.
"See?"
"Boosfer."
"What?"
"It is a plant."
"Exactly."
Lomedy laughed.
And honestly?
Maybe Spoke had a point.
Maybe plants did have opinions.
Because if they lived in this house...
They probably had a lot to say.
ClownPierce POV
ClownPierce had noticed something.
This house was never quiet.
Not really.
Even when nobody was talking, something was happening.
A door closing.
Someone searching for something.
Someone yelling from another room.
Someone asking a question that should never have been asked.
Today was no different.
The difference was that today, everyone had agreed on something.
They were leaving the house.
Not for class.
Not for chores.
Not for a study session that would somehow become a three-hour argument.
Just to hang out.
A normal activity.
Which meant there was a high chance it would become anything except normal.
"Are we actually ready?"
Parrot stood near the door, looking at everyone.
Nobody answered.
Clown already knew why.
Everyone was checking something.
Flame was fixing his jacket.
Wemmbu was deciding between two outfits.
Minute was checking that everyone had their things.
ManePear was checking his snacks.
Spoke was...
Clown looked over.
Spoke was talking.
Nobody knew to who.
Possibly himself.
Possibly the wall.
Possibly an invisible person.
With Spoke, there were too many possibilities.
"Spoke."
Parrot sighed.
"What?"
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Do you have your phone?"
Spoke froze.
A pause.
"..."
"Spoke."
"I was ready emotionally."
Minute looked up.
"That doesn't answer the question."
"I forgot the phone."
Parrot closed his eyes.
Clown watched.
This happened often.
Everyone here was good at something.
Remembering important things was not Spoke's thing.
Flame walked past Wemmbu.
"Bro."
"What?"
"You're wearing that?"
Wemmbu looked down.
"Yes."
"Bro, we're walking."
"And?"
"You dressed like you're going somewhere important."
"I am."
"Where?"
"The hangout."
Flame stared.
"Bro."
Wemmbu stared back.
"You're just jealous."
"Of what?"
"My style."
"Bro, I wear a shirt and I'm done."
"Exactly."
"Exactly what?"
"Exactly why you need help."
Flame looked offended.
"Bro."
Clown almost smiled.
Almost.
Eventually, they left.
A miracle.
Seven out of fourteen people leaving a house without something breaking was impressive.
Clown quietly wondered why the other 7 refused.
Lomedy. "We have a garden... I feel it calling me."
Jaden. " I hear Lomedy calling me to help"
Mapic. " I jumped off the stairs... IDK IF MY LEG IS BROKEN OR NOT OK?"
Ferre. "I am taking this kid to a hospital"
Eggchan. "I am actually going to study"
Boosfer. "I would come... But my fans need me to do another ragebait video."
Theo - Parrot made him stay home after he tried to check if you put metal into a microwave, would it actually explode.
The seven walking together stayed near each other.
Not because they had planned it.
It just happened.
They always ended up together.
Clown noticed things like that.
Small things.
Patterns.
Flame and Wemmbu argued, but never walked far apart.
Parrot complained, but always checked everyone was okay.
Minute pretended he was annoyed, but always helped.
ManePear shared food while pretending he wasn't sharing.
Spoke caused problems and somehow became part of the solution.
They were strange.
But they worked.
The walk was peaceful.
For about three minutes.
Then:
"Bro."
Flame stopped.
"What?"
"The sky looks weird."
Everyone looked up.
Clown looked.
The sky looked normal.
"What are you talking about?"
Flame pointed.
"The clouds."
Spoke looked.
"Those are clouds."
"I know."
"Then?"
"I thought they looked suspicious."
Silence.
Minute sighed.
"We have been walking for five minutes."
"Bro, I'm just saying."
"You are saying nothing."
"Exactly."
Then it happened.
A splash.
Cold water.
Everyone stopped.
Clown looked down.
His sleeve was wet.
Around him, the others were reacting.
"Seriously?"
ManePear wiped his shirt.
"That was cold."
"Bro."
Flame looked up.
"Did the building just attack us?"
Wemmbu laughed.
"You lost a fight to a puddle."
"It was not a puddle."
"Bro, it was water."
"Water with bad intentions."
Spoke immediately nodded.
"I believe him."
"Why?"
"Because it sounds funny."
Minute looked at the dripping pipe above them.
"Probably just a leak."
Nobody argued.
Nobody thought about it.
It was water.
Nothing more.
They kept walking.
But above them...
Three people were staring.
Wifies did not speak.
He didn't move.
He simply watched.
The container.
The window.
The seven people walking away.
Wato looked outside.
Then at Wifies.
Then back.
"Interesting."
Kenadian stared at both of them.
"Interesting?"
Wato nodded.
"Yes."
Kenadian looked back outside.
The seven were completely unaware.
Laughing.
Arguing.
Normal.
Kenadian slowly sighed.
"We're cooked."
Wifies remained silent.
Which somehow made it worse.
The hangout spot was exactly what they needed.
Open space.
No responsibilities.
No homework.
No house problems.
Well.
No immediate house problems.
They sat around talking.
For once, nobody was rushing.
ManePear opened his bag.
Everyone stopped.
"How much food is in there?"
Minute asked.
ManePear looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Mane."
"What?"
"That is your third snack bag."
"It's not."
"It literally says snack bag three."
ManePear looked down.
"Oh."
A pause.
"I forgot about that one."
Flame stared.
"Bro."
"What?"
"How do you forget about food?"
ManePear looked offended.
"You don't understand."
"No, I really don't."
Spoke immediately started a conversation nobody understood.
"So if a fish learned how to walk, would it still be a fish?"
Minute looked tired.
"We have been here for ten minutes."
"And?"
"And somehow this is already happening."
Wemmbu shrugged.
"I think it's a good question."
Parrot looked betrayed.
"Why are you encouraging him?"
"Because it's funny."
"That's the problem."
Clown sat slightly away from the center.
Not far.
Just enough.
He watched.
The laughter.
The arguing.
The chaos.
He had spent a lot of time around competition.
Around people who wanted to prove themselves.
Around people who wanted to win.
This was different.
Nobody here cared about winning.
They cared about being there.
That was rare.
Later, Flame challenged everyone to a race.
Nobody was surprised.
"Bro, come on."
Minute immediately refused.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because every competition becomes a problem."
"It does not."
Everyone looked at him.
Flame paused.
"Okay, sometimes."
"Always."
"Bro."
Clown stood.
Everyone looked.
Not because he demanded attention.
Because they noticed.
"Fine."
Flame smiled.
"Finally."
Parrot sighed.
"I already regret this."
The race was chaotic.
Of course it was.
Nobody followed the rules.
Spoke changed the rules halfway through.
Wemmbu argued about fairness.
ManePear stopped halfway because he found food.
Minute tried to keep track.
Parrot gave up.
Clown watched them all.
And for a moment...
Everything was simple.
No expectations.
No pressure.
Just friends.
When the sun started going down, they finally decided to return.
Nobody wanted to leave.
That was normal.
Five more minutes always became an hour.
Clown looked back at the group.
They were loud.
Annoying.
Impossible.
But they were his people.
And that mattered.
They walked home.
Completely unaware.
Completely normal.
Completely changed.
Wifies POV 🧪
Wifies liked answers.
Not easy answers.
Easy answers were usually boring.
Anyone could look at something obvious and understand it.
The interesting things were the ones that made no sense.
The strange things.
The impossible things.
The things that made everyone else say:
"That's weird."
And made Wifies think:
"Why?"
That was usually where the fun started.
Unfortunately, sometimes the fun started because he accidentally created a problem.
A very large problem.
The room was quiet.
Not completely quiet.
The computers hummed.
The fans spun.
The occasional keyboard click echoed through the room.
But compared to the rest of the house?
It was silent.
A rare resource.
Wifies appreciated it.
Their room was different from the others.
Not because it was cleaner.
It wasn't.
Not exactly.
It had a purpose.
Notes covered parts of the desk.
Screens showed different pieces of information.
Equipment sat organized in places only the three of them understood.
To anyone else, it probably looked like a mess.
To Wifies?
It was organized chaos.
Everything had a reason.
Everything had a place.
Mostly.
Kenadian looked over from his computer.
"Wifies."
Wifies didn't look away from his screen.
"Yeah?"
"You've been staring at that for ten minutes."
"I'm thinking."
"You're always thinking."
"Yes."
Kenadian sighed.
That was the problem.
Wifies was always thinking.
Not because he was trying to ignore people.
Not because he didn't care.
His brain just never really stopped.
There was always another question.
Another possibility.
Another thing to figure out.
Wato leaned back in his chair.
"Honestly, I think it's interesting."
Kenadian turned.
"You say that about everything."
"Because everything is interesting."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
Wifies finally looked over.
The two of them were arguing.
Not seriously.
They rarely did.
Kenadian was practical.
Wato was curious.
Very curious.
Sometimes dangerously curious.
They balanced each other out.
Usually.
The three of them worked well together because they were different.
Kenadian was the one who asked:
"Should we do this?"
Wato was the one who asked:
"What happens if we do?"
And Wifies was usually the one who said:
"We need more information."
The problem was that sometimes they all ended up doing it anyway.
The project on the desk was unfinished.
A small container.
A strange liquid.
A lot of notes.
The idea had started simple.
Enhancement.
Evolution.
Possibility.
They had wondered what would happen if they could unlock abilities that normal creatures didn't have.
Not randomly.
Not magically.
Through understanding.
Through science.
Through experimentation.
They didn't want to make a weapon.
They wanted to understand potential.
At least, that was the original goal.
"Still no results?"
Kenadian asked.
Wifies looked at the screen.
"No."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing obvious."
Wato leaned forward.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning something might be happening, but we don't have enough information."
Kenadian stared.
"That sentence is exactly why I worry when you say things."
Wifies looked confused.
"Why?"
"Because 'something might be happening' is never followed by something normal."
Wato nodded.
"That's true."
Wifies looked between them.
"You both act like I'm the problem."
Silence.
Then:
"Are you not?"
Wifies considered.
"..."
"Fair."
The cat was not supposed to be involved.
That was important.
Very important.
The cat had appeared earlier.
Nobody knew where it came from.
Nobody knew why it kept showing up.
Nobody knew why it seemed to have a personal interest in causing problems.
Wifies didn't trust it.
Not because it was a cat.
Because it was a cat that behaved strangely.
There was a difference.
Normal cats knocked things over because they were cats.
This one looked like it knew exactly what it was doing.
The moment happened quickly.
Too quickly.
A movement.
A sound.
A crash.
Wifies turned.
The container was gone.
For one second, his brain refused to process it.
Then he saw the window.
Open.
The cat.
Gone.
The empty space where the container had been.
No words came out.
Not because he had nothing to say.
Because there were too many possibilities.
Kenadian noticed immediately.
"Wifies?"
No response.
"Wifies."
Still nothing.
Wato stood.
"What happened?"
Wifies walked toward the window.
Slowly.
Outside.
Below.
People.
His friends.
Walking.
Laughing.
Completely unaware.
The liquid had fallen.
Not onto the ground.
Not somewhere empty.
Onto them.
The seven people continued walking.
Spoke.
Wemmbu.
Flame.
Parrot.
Minute.
ManePear.
Clown.
They didn't notice.
They just kept going.
Talking.
Arguing.
Being themselves.
Wifies watched.
His expression didn't change.
But his mind was moving faster than ever.
Kenadian came beside him.
He looked outside.
Then at the empty container.
Then back.
A long silence.
Then:
"We're cooked."
Wato walked over.
Looked outside.
His eyes narrowed.
"Interesting."
Kenadian turned.
"Interesting?"
Wato nodded.
"Yes."
"That's your reaction?"
"Yes."
"We might have accidentally changed seven people."
"Yes."
"And your response is interesting?"
"Correct."
Kenadian stared.
"I don't know if that's better or worse."
Wifies said nothing.
He kept watching.
That was what he did.
He watched.
He analyzed.
He noticed.
The others downstairs didn't know.
They didn't feel different.
They didn't act different.
There was no dramatic change.
No sign.
Nothing.
Which almost made it worse.
Because if something obvious happened, they could react.
They could fix it.
But this?
This was unknown.
"Should we tell them?"
Kenadian asked.
Wifies didn't answer immediately.
Because that was the real question.
Not what happened.
Not how it happened.
What came next.
If they told them:
Would they believe them?
Would they panic?
Would everyone in the house find out?
Would everything change?
If they didn't:
They were hiding something from their friends.
Neither option was good.
Wato looked back outside.
"They seem normal."
Wifies nodded.
"For now."
Kenadian sighed.
"That phrase is exactly what I didn't want to hear."
The seven eventually disappeared from view.
The moment was over.
But the problem remained.
Seven people.
One accident.
Unknown consequences.
And the three people who knew the truth.
Wifies looked back at the room.
The unfinished project.
The empty container.
The notes.
Everything that had led to this.
A question had been answered.
The experiment worked.
But now there was a much bigger question.
What exactly had they created?
For the first time in a while...
Wifies didn't immediately want an answer.
Because sometimes answers changed everything.
And sometimes...
You weren't ready for what they revealed.