Team8s and Counting

169. The Chaos Coordinator

Pin was in the bathroom, finishing getting ready for the day. When she headed back downstairs, she noticed Barf Bag talking to all of the kids about something. Pin was confused, so she went up to Coiny and Needle, who were both, along with the rest of the adults, listening in on the conversation.

"What's Barfy telling the kids?" Pin asked.

"Apparently she's mad that the kids thought it was a good idea to use a string and Thread's wheelchair to pull Sack's tooth." Needle looked back over at them. "Apparently it's dangerous since it can cause damage to the other teeth or something like that."

"Isn't that part of being a kid though?" Coiny questioned. "I'm like 99% sure that I had Snowball do the same thing to me once when we were little. Well, with a bike instead of a wheelchair, but you get the point."

"Eh, I'm less concerned about tooth damage and more concerned about where in the world that string came from." Pin added.

"So next time, if you have a loose tooth that's bothering you, what should you do?" Barf Bag asked the kids, making sure they were paying attention to their conversation.

Dimey raised his hand. "Go to the nurses office."

Barf Bag nodded. "Good, what else?"

Bladey stood up. "Go ask either our parents, uncles, or aunts if they can help."

Barfy smiled at the kids. "You guys seem to get it, just please don't do that again. You guys are free to go now!"

All the kids scattered off to various parts of the house. Sprinkle was annoyed that his amazing idea wasn't approved by his mom, so he went up to Donut to go complain.

"Daaad!" Sprinkle whined. "Why is mommy no fun!"

Donut chuckled at his son. "She just wants to make sure none of you guys get hurt, don't beat yourself up over it!"

"But Uncle Coiny liked the idea!" Sprinkle looked right over at Coiny, who was trying not to make direct eye contact with him. "Right Uncle Coiny?"

Coiny looked down at the floor beneath him in hopes of getting out of this conversation.

"Well, Uncle Coiny." Needle said firmly. "Spit it out."

Coiny sighed. "Okay, maybe I said I thought it was kinda clever, but I didn't love the idea."

"Yes you did, dad!" Thread exclaimed, wheeling right up to Coiny. "You said it was awesome how we all came together to help Sack!"

Pin and Needle were staring down at Coiny, who felt like curling up into a ball. "Well, what can I say, I am proud of them for working together."

Pin rolled her eyes, "Okay, fair. But just because you made stupid decisions as a child, doesn't mean you should go ahead and praise the kids for their antics."

"Exactly," Needle added, crossing her arms. "You're supposed to be setting an example for them, not encouraging them to use Thread's wheelchair as some kind as anything other than a mobility device."

Coiny held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I didn't encourage anything! I just... appreciated their teamwork. That's important, right? Working together?"

Gaty raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I'm glad the kids get along as well as they do... but it shouldn't involve getting your teeth ripped out by a wheelchair!"

Barf Bag walked over, shaking her head with a bemused expression. "Honestly, Coiny, I don't know whether to laugh or send you to the same lecture I just gave the kids."

Coiny gave a sheepish chuckle. "Hey, come on now, Barfy. I'm not that bad."

Bladey, who had lingered by the doorway, piped up. "Yeah, Uncle Coiny just has funny ideas sometimes. Like that time he told us about when he drank gasoline!"