This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 39

"So a bunch of people from her agency were supposed to go on this really nice vacation together, right? But the guy who was supposed to book the hotel didn't reserve enough rooms, so they ended up making a couple of the guys sleep in the bathtub! And they nearly got scammed a bunch of times while they were out in the city! And the shipping company lost literally all of their luggage on the way back!" Mina exclaimed through fits of giggles, trying unsuccessfully to control her laughter, "I guess they could have sued, but I'm pretty sure they would have lost the case! HA! Get it?!"

Uraraka, Midoriya, and Tsuyu laughed amusedly at the terrible joke, grinning brightly as they watched the girl struggle to contain herself, her wheezing and bursts of laughter far more entertaining than the bad pun she was trying so hard to retell. Her cheeks were hot pink as she gripped the soft fabric of her pyjama shorts, half doubled-over from the laughing cramps.

Unknown couldn't remember how she got here. She couldn't recall what exactly she had done to invite this situation, or any of the four students, into her room. And yet here she was, on the floor, sitting amongst the circle of friends that certainly didn't belong there, listening to the illustrious story Mina swore had actually happened to a friend of a friend.

It had all happened so suddenly. Unknown had simply been preparing for bed when she heard a knock on her door, and though she thought it was rather unusual for anyone to be looking for her at this hour, she opened it anyway, only to be jarringly greeted by the enthusiastic shouts of four up-and-coming heroes. Next thing she knew, she found herself sitting in a circle of pillows and blankets they had brought with them, the four diving headfirst into excited chatter and eager conversations as she sat there, utterly puzzled. It was a "sleepover," apparently, though Midoriya would only be staying for a bit to chat, Mina shamelessly declaring they would have to kick him out eventually so they could talk about "girl stuff," whatever that was supposed to mean.

She watched how Tsuyu hugged a pillow to her lap, how Uraraka munched enthusiastically on the bowl of popcorn in front of her, how Midoriya nodded attentively along with each and every word of the story, and how Mina's eyes sparkled as she tried to recall all the funny bits her friend had told her, hands gesturing wildly to emphasize her tale. Unknown had yet to say a word since they invaded her room, merely staring at them as if they were alien life forms she could never hope to comprehend. Was this some sort of... prank? Did they have the wrong room? Were they ok? Questions abound in her poor, baffled mind.

"I still can't believe they did that with the screwdriver..." Midoriya gaped, eyes wide with awe as Uraraka and Tsuyu nodded sympathetically.

"I know! It's crazy, right?" Mina cackled, wiping a tear from her eye before turning to Unknown with the biggest grin.

The girl could only stare back for a moment.

"Uh... yea," she agreed awkwardly, not knowing what they could possibly be talking about.

Mina nodded fervently at her response, beaming in excitement before eagerly diving back into her story. Unknown didn't miss the way the others' eyes flicked to her, smiling encouragingly for a moment before returning their attention to Mina.

By the time curfew rolled around, after Midoriya said his goodbyes to all of them, including Unknown, there were only the girls left, and they showed no sign of tiring. They were now spread out comfortably on the ground, Unknown finding herself peer-pressured into doing the same. Some of them lay bundled snugly in layers of blankets while others remained splayed out carelessly, the now-empty snack bowls forgotten on the sidelines as they huddled close, almost as if they were about to discuss some unspeakable secret.