I haven't gotten to steal anything yet, so that sounds good to me. [ let's steal!!! even though she is maybe even more conspicuous than usual since there's still dried paint all over her. ]
[ yeah she probably should have cleaned up but whatever too late for that. they are already heading to ikea. ]
You're in luck then. Kind of one of my specialties. [ stealing! sometimes you can joke about being a klepto because there's maybe some tiny shreds of truth in that. ]
[ she's valid. he rolls his eyes at the nickname but he doesn't say anything at first as they walk.
eventually, though, he offers something. ]
...it was sort of just a thing to do sometimes instead of sticking around my house by myself. See what would happen. [ he doesn't elaborate beyond that, but he figures alex can read between the lines. it was something he sometimes dabbled in or at least considered while his mom was sick and his dad was spending time with her. ]
[ alex definitely understands not wanting to be at home. she understands feeling that way when the house is too empty and she understands feeling that way when it's too loud. after michael had died, it had fluctuated back and forth between both.
but acting out like that is more foreign to her. and like all the little things jonas tells her, it's interesting, and she thinks about it for a moment before asking for more. ]
... Did you want to get caught?
[ if it were her, that would have been the motivation. ]
I don't know. [ it feels more like the answer is reflexive than a real one, but there is something in the tone to suggest that it's a possibility, too. ] Probably at least a little, but every time I didn't was another thing I beat the odds of.
[ being caught, at least, would have been something to at least...change the pattern. but not being caught was a way of jonas being able to have some control over something when everything else was beyond his control. ]
I might've had better luck getting caught if it were a bank or something instead of the gas stations and big-box stores we went to.
[ she might not have an exact handle on the goal or the precise emotions going on there, but she does understand the... catalyst, maybe. that it's related. it's not the same thing, but she had started skipping school, and that probably feels different, but it comes from the same place.
she thinks. it's at least close enough. ]
Repercussions would be worst, though. If you're gonna get caught, it's better to get caught taking small stuff.
[ she's quiet for a moment, because "and then things were starting to get kind of bad" seems like it needs some space. but that's not really something to pry into.
and it's like even though she knows it's kind of a way of acting out, she also doesn't exactly. care? enough to discourage it. who cares. things are bad and sometimes you steal. that's none of her business. ]
... It's for the better. I mean it's—it'll help us out, here.
We already have a lot but it can't hurt to have more. [ a pause. ] I guess I should buy some other clothes, too. [ speaking of t-shirts. he won't steal clothes yet. ]
Yeah, well, sorry I didn't think of packing an overnight bag before dying. [ dry. ] I'm working on it. I...want to make sure we have enough money to cover anything we might actually need. It's fine, I washed some stuff in the sink when everybody else was out.
[ he is not saying anything because he is determined not to make it weird again. ]
Yeah and depending on what it is...we don't know how much stuff is going to cost or how we're earning extra money. [ but alex has a point. ] I'll get around to it.
I wasn't sure what "team bonding" meant when the reapers mentioned it, but it was pretty fun. [ he can agree on that. ] You think we might've actually earned money from it? It counted as amission.
Maybe it's like...we all get points this time because we were all doing work and completing the mission. But it won't be like that all the time. Next time maybe the mission's an actual competition.
[ he does not say "instead of screwing around pranking each other" because he knows she had a good time and he had, too.
instead, they walk into ikea. ]
It's why I've been wondering if points and money can count as the same thing. Their rulebook said they'll give us an allowance every week but we can do more to earn more. Maybe the missions are points and bonus pay.
That's—kind of annoying if that's how it works. That would mean the rules are more unclear than we thought.
[ which she's kind of used to, because that's something the ghosts had told her. there are rules, and she has to follow them, and it's her own fault for starting this in the first place. 'not knowing any better' doesn't count for anything.
she had liked thinking the rules here were at least a little more transparent. ]
Yeah...I mean we're not going to really know until we get the results back. It was just a thought.
[ it doesn't mean much, is what he means. he doesn't quite get what she's thinking, but it does kind of annoy him, too, to think there might be things that aren't spelled out for the game. then again he had gotten the sense a lot of this was about luck and finding answers themselves.
[ he's not thrilled with the waiting game either, but..it is what it is. he lets her pick up a shark and grabs another for himself, eventually starting to walk again in search of towels. ]
The good thing is we probably won't be waiting for long?
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I haven't gotten to steal anything yet, so that sounds good to me. [ let's steal!!! even though she is maybe even more conspicuous than usual since there's still dried paint all over her. ]
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You're in luck then. Kind of one of my specialties. [ stealing! sometimes you can joke about being a klepto because there's maybe some tiny shreds of truth in that. ]
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and unfortunately she doesn't think too deeply about the klepto joke and just internally goes: haha. cool. ]
Well, you are bad-boy Jonas.
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eventually, though, he offers something. ]
...it was sort of just a thing to do sometimes instead of sticking around my house by myself. See what would happen. [ he doesn't elaborate beyond that, but he figures alex can read between the lines. it was something he sometimes dabbled in or at least considered while his mom was sick and his dad was spending time with her. ]
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but acting out like that is more foreign to her. and like all the little things jonas tells her, it's interesting, and she thinks about it for a moment before asking for more. ]
... Did you want to get caught?
[ if it were her, that would have been the motivation. ]
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[ being caught, at least, would have been something to at least...change the pattern. but not being caught was a way of jonas being able to have some control over something when everything else was beyond his control. ]
I might've had better luck getting caught if it were a bank or something instead of the gas stations and big-box stores we went to.
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[ she might not have an exact handle on the goal or the precise emotions going on there, but she does understand the... catalyst, maybe. that it's related. it's not the same thing, but she had started skipping school, and that probably feels different, but it comes from the same place.
she thinks. it's at least close enough. ]
Repercussions would be worst, though. If you're gonna get caught, it's better to get caught taking small stuff.
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[ he stops, deciding not to elaborate. ]
Moved on to other stuff. But...still skills I have, I guess. For better or worse.
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and it's like even though she knows it's kind of a way of acting out, she also doesn't exactly. care? enough to discourage it. who cares. things are bad and sometimes you steal. that's none of her business. ]
... It's for the better. I mean it's—it'll help us out, here.
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...yeah. So towels. Maybe a few more of those sharks? We could even try for a few actual pillows. Like those small ones people use for couches.
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And I won't say no to starting a shark collection.
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[ she says, having waited Way Too Long Also to get more clothes. ]
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Clothes are still a need. If we need something, we'll pool together for it.
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Yeah and depending on what it is...we don't know how much stuff is going to cost or how we're earning extra money. [ but alex has a point. ] I'll get around to it.
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... I hope we can earn money in fun ways. Like how the task turned out to be fun.
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Maybe? We don't know how they're calculating the points from all that or anything. Like, we don't know... How anyone gets ahead from that.
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[ he does not say "instead of screwing around pranking each other" because he knows she had a good time and he had, too.
instead, they walk into ikea. ]
It's why I've been wondering if points and money can count as the same thing. Their rulebook said they'll give us an allowance every week but we can do more to earn more. Maybe the missions are points and bonus pay.
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[ which she's kind of used to, because that's something the ghosts had told her. there are rules, and she has to follow them, and it's her own fault for starting this in the first place. 'not knowing any better' doesn't count for anything.
she had liked thinking the rules here were at least a little more transparent. ]
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[ it doesn't mean much, is what he means. he doesn't quite get what she's thinking, but it does kind of annoy him, too, to think there might be things that aren't spelled out for the game. then again he had gotten the sense a lot of this was about luck and finding answers themselves.
so instead, he heads toward more blahaj. ]
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[ following along, naturally. and just immediately picking one up when they get to them and hugging it. touch week for sharks, too. ]
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The good thing is we probably won't be waiting for long?
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Probably not. Think it'll just be another text announcement? Maybe Shakespeare again?
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