^^Another drawing by Iris Walker^^

They stare at me, both studying me as equally hard. A Nurse walks in with a clipboard,

"Alright, all of you check out. You're good to go, even if the cops insist otherwise." She looks up and sees them looking at me. She follows their gaze.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss." Iris says from behind me, encouraging us to straighten our act until we are out of the place that can lock us up. Zuri looks away from me and nods to the Nurse. After a few moments of awkward silence, the Nurse sets our belongings down on the side table and leaves. Instantly Zuri asks,

"Minette, are you sure you're okay? They can always run more tests..." I pull my jeans and T-shirt out of the bucket and grab my purse as well,

"I'm fine. Just thought that we'd have to ask one of the snobby, 'busy' Doctors." Iris snaps,

"Stop it!" Silence. A very, very still silence. Iris never snaps at us. Despite all the shit me and Zuri do, she has never snapped at us. She's not that type of person. And yet, here we are. I slowly turn to face her, Iris and Zuri against me.

This could get ugly.

I take a deep breath and try to avoid what I know is about to come,

"Sorry, I grab your clothes?" Iris' fists are clenched and she is staring at me with a look that can kill,

"You and I both know that isn't it. What is going on with you. This isn't like you!" I see something shimmering behind them and refuse to get an-

Anger. I've met Anxiety, why not anger? That would explain Iris snapping at me, and why tension is so high. But how do I get to it?

Zuri steps between us, seemingly unaffected,

"Look, let's all just get out of the hospital and then get home. We've been through a lot today, and we don't need to add to it." The shimmering form hisses and vanishes just like it appeared, in the blink of an eye. Iris instantly visibly relaxes and looks at me, she blinks a few times. I can see the fury built up before leave her eyes,

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Minette. I didn't... I didn't mean..." I don't have to force my smile this time as I walk over and wrap her in a hug,

"I know, believe me, I know." We break away from the hug and each grab our stuff, changing from the hospital gowns into our normal clothes. This time, the silence isn't so killing. I reach into the Hospital outfit and pull out my seed, placing it in my pocket.

"You still have that thing?" Zuri questions from across the room. I look over my shoulder,

"Yeah. What about it?" She shrugs,

"I just thought you'd get rid of it. I mean, it's just a seed." I resist the urge to smile and reply,

"The Lord works in mysterious ways." Zuri smiles and nods as she turns. We all walk out the doors together.

__________^•^~^•^__________

Somehow, we all end up at the Mall.

Our plan went from, "hey, lets go home" to "let's cross the Mall parking lot" to "ice cream". How? I have absolutely no idea. But, since we all have money on us, we figured it wouldn't hurt to get some. As usual, Iris and Zuri get lost in the anime shop and I stand outside to enjoy my ice cream without being fangirled on or doing the fangirling myself.

I sit down on a couch and lean back.

How long have these couches been here?

I take another bite of my dip-n-dots and sigh in relaxation. It's been a while since I've actually allowed myself to relax, and I didn't picture the Mall being the place I relaxed. Sitting up, I stand and make my way to the trash can to throw away the now empty container.

I guess I could join them in the shop. I've always wondered what type of merchandise this guy sells.

I don't get the chance.