𓈊 A Poppy By Any Other Name

Act XI

P        e        s        k        y         b        i        r        d.

That's literally all I have to say.

*   *   *

In the end, the week went by faster than the rate it felt like it had been going, and by the time Friday rolled around, Jimmy had already forgotten ever being upset by Scott.

They'd finally gone through scenes tbree and four by the end of drama club Friday, meaning they were almost finished with reading through Act I. Even Ms. Gold had gotten tired of the first act having gone over the same things multiple times.

Some time during the week, Mumbo had convinced Grian to join robotics club, which the latter wasn't even completely on board with. But, Grian being Grian, he did it anyway, and now Joel was waiting outside the workshop for the first meeting to finish.

It took a while before Grian and Mumbo came out.

"That was a pretty decent circuit you made," Mumbo said as he held the door open for Grian to walk out of the workshop.

Grian huffed a breathy laugh. "You think so?"

Mumbo nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty impressed." He chuckled, wrapping an arm around the smaller's shoulders. "It was pretty creative, too. I'd say you beat mine by a long shot."

The blonde's eyes sparkled while a triumphant grin spread across his lips like butter as he looked up at the blackette. "That means you owe me a smoothie, then," Grian said happily.

"That I do, birdie," Mumbo chuckled, giving Grian's shoulders a small squeeze before letting go.

"Wha-" Grian stopped walking, blinking in a confused manner as Mumbo laughed. "Bir- birdie?" Letting out a small giggle himself, Grian quirked a brow. "Where's that come from?"

Mumbo took a second to calm himself. "You're like a, uh-" He cut himself off with another laugh. "You're like a little- a pesky little parrot."

"A parrot?" Grian echoed, dumbfounded. "A pesky parrot?"

"Yeah, like the ones that repeat everything you say."

The boy in the red jumper paused for a moment before gasping. "Are you calling me annoying, Mumbo?!"

"What? No, of course not," the taller of them objected. "I think it's cute." A little dust pink fell over both of their cheeks, though Grian's face was redder than Mumbo's was.

Grian scoffed and he threw a light punch at Mumbo's shoulder, rolling his eyes and turning away. "You're an idiot," he muttered quietly. He spotted Joel standing across the hall, looking over at the two with a soft smile. "Oh, hey, Joel!"

Mumbo sighed contently, huffing a bit of a laugh as well. "I guess we part now," he said before winking. "See you Monday, birdie."

Grian's cheeks flushed again, sputtering flustered nonsense as he tried to put words together in his head. "W-well, good day to you, too!" he spat back, though there was no venom behind it. He watched from behind as Mumbo threw his head back and laughed while he walked away, and Grian absolutely loved how Mumbo's dark curls bounced around.

"How was robotics, birdie?" Joel asked jokingly, pushing himself off the wall. He nudged Grian when the latter rolled his eyes.

"It was, uh, fun," Grian said almost hesitantly. He laughed. "I built a circuit. Apparently it was pretty good, too."