Anomaly

Three days after everything that happened with the residential neighborhood, the gigantic mushroom, and the mind-controlling spores that thing released, I was finally able to return to my usual routine, one that was considerably less chaotic and a little more balanced, something I appreciated quite a lot. Or, at least, as balanced as the routine of an anomaly could possibly be.

Considering everything that had been happening lately, maybe calling it a routine was a bit of a stretch, but I was willing to accept it. Fortunately, those three days had been surprisingly peaceful. There hadn't been any particularly concerning anomalous cases, just a few minor incidents involving completely harmless anomalous objects.

That happened twice during that period, but neither case was serious enough to warrant an alert or require my intervention. In fact, a completely ordinary team managed to handle both situations without any trouble whatsoever.

There was no significant property damage, nobody got hurt, and, best of all, there were no outside casualties. Honestly, that was great news. After all the chaos I'd been through, a few peaceful days were exactly what I needed.

Come to think of it, that isn't necessarily relevant right now, considering all the shit that happened over the past week, but... I got my ice cream. And, literally, plural. Emily and Laura showed up with several different flavors from the ice cream brand I'd been enjoying for a while. They were simply my favorites.

The texture was so creamy that it practically melted in my mouth, and honestly, it didn't matter which flavor I picked. If it was from that brand, it was pretty much guaranteed to be delicious. Maybe I was developing a bit of an addiction. But, honestly, after everything that had happened recently, I think I deserved it.

Anyway, putting my love for ice cream aside... Arthur simply disappeared after the mission. Before leaving, though, he called Emily and Laura aside to talk. He said something with an utterly serious expression, the kind that immediately told you the subject wasn't something to joke about.

I'll admit, I was curious. But I decided not to pay attention. It seemed like something personal, after all, and I had no reason to snoop on someone else's conversation. Well... at least not until Arthur shot me a stern look when I tried to sneak a peek. Wait. How the hell did he know I was trying to listen in?

I was literally standing with my back to him, pretending to be completely interested in the scenery while trying to follow their conversation. There was no way he could have noticed me. At least, there shouldn't have been. I mentally sighed. Just one more weird thing to add to the list of strange things about Arthur.

Anyway, I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but judging by Arthur, Emily, and Laura's expressions, it seemed to have been something pretty serious. There was a different kind of tension in the air, although none of the three seemed particularly interested in talking about whatever they'd discussed in front of me.

Arthur disappeared shortly after speaking with the two of them. According to Laura, he had a few things he wanted to investigate on his own. Something told me that gigantic eye that appeared after the rift had shaken Arthur far more than he was letting on. He'd tried to remain calm, but I knew that kind of behavior.

When someone claimed they were perfectly fine while immediately starting an investigation into something afterward, it usually meant there was something seriously bothering them. As for my relationship with Charlotte's parents... well, things were pretty ambiguous at the moment. Although, thinking about it, that was perfectly natural.

Last week, they probably hadn't been particularly comfortable with the idea of me simply disappearing somewhere with their daughter without a clue as to where we'd gone. And when we finally told them the whole story about where we'd been and what had happened while we were gone... Well, let's just say they started looking at me in a completely different light.

I couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But considering the way they'd been looking at me ever since, I suspected they were still trying to figure that out for themselves. I suppose the fact that Charlotte casually mentioned that I had basically been the epicenter of a thermonuclear bomb didn't exactly help get the image of someone dangerous and destructive out of their heads.

Actually, now that I thought about it, I might have made things even worse. That said, they also seemed to have taken into account the fact that I'd protected Charlotte while we were missing, exactly as I'd promised I would. Apparently, that had carried quite a bit of weight in their assessment of me.

My bond with Charlotte had also grown considerably after everything we'd been through. After all, we'd gone through quite a lot together, and, in a way, I'd kept my promise to protect her. Besides, thanks to some rather persuasive arguments from Emily, and probably a considerable amount of persistence, Charlotte could now return to her parents' house on Saturdays and Sundays.

During the week, however, she received her education inside the organization itself, so she no longer had to commute to school like she used to. Actually, I have a feeling she liked that last part a little more than she should have. Charlotte seemed genuinely pleased with the idea of not having to attend a traditional school anymore. But anyway... who am I to judge her? I don't even go to school.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"What are you thinking about?" My train of thought was interrupted by a relaxed voice coming from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. At the moment, there was only one other person inside my cabin besides me, and she'd been watching me for quite some time as I stuffed my face with ice cream and spent the entire day playing games.

"Nothing particularly important. Besides, I don't want to think about anything for a while" I paused, taking another spoonful of ice cream: "After last week, I just want to play games and eat as much ice cream as I possibly can"

There was so much conviction in my voice that it sounded less like a casual statement and more like a solemn vow. And considering I was literally doing exactly that at the moment, it wasn't like I was just talking for the sake of talking.

Behind me, Charlotte remained silent for a few seconds: "Hmm... so that's why, for the past three days, you haven't done anything besides play games and eat ice cream like your life depends on it?"

There wasn't even the slightest hint of reprimand in her voice. If anything, Charlotte sounded genuinely impressed by my dedication: "More or less?" I shrugged as if that were a perfectly reasonable answer and turned my full attention back to the game.

At the same time, I kept shoveling spoonful after spoonful of ice cream into my mouth without even having to take my eyes off the screen. Honestly, you’d be surprised by the level of skill I’d developed at doing both things simultaneously. It was practically a talent I’d cultivated specifically for this activity.

Anyway, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Charlotte lying on my bed, calmly reading something that, judging by the cover, looked like some kind of comic book. She sighed. It was a long sigh, the kind that carried an impressive amount of exasperation. Apparently, my comment was nowhere near what she had expected me to say. What can I say? I’m subtle.

Or, at least, subtle enough to know that annoying Charlotte is a terrible idea. Trust me, I’ve tried. Yesterday, actually. The result was catastrophic. I was deprived of my ice cream and my video game for two whole hours. Two. Whole. Hours. It was pure torture.

I got to the point where I practically begged on my knees for Charlotte to forgive me. My dignity was completely destroyed in that moment. But, thinking about it... dignity? What even is that? Can you eat it? Will it entertain me for hours? Can it be traded for ice cream or a few rounds of my game?

No? Then it wasn’t important. What really mattered was getting back my two most reliable sources of pleasure and entertainment: my ice cream and my video game. Fortunately, after a few minutes of genuine desperation, I managed to get Charlotte to forgive me.

To do that, I practically had to cling to her waist while begging her to return my precious sources of entertainment. It was humiliating. It was desperate. And, looking back on it... I’d do it all over again. After all, some things were simply worth fighting for.

Naturally, my actions earned me a rather humiliating look from Charlotte. A look that practically screamed, Where is the dignity of the anomaly who practically turned himself into a thermonuclear bomb? Did I care about that look? Not one bit. After all, what the hell did dignity matter when compared to my games and my beautiful ice cream?

I genuinely didn’t care much about how other people saw me. If they wanted to think I was weird, eccentric, or completely lacking in dignity, that was fine by me. I already had far more important things to worry about. Naturally, I still tried to maintain a somewhat more dignified image in front of my little sisters.

After all, I felt that, in a way, I was an example they were supposed to follow. It would be pretty bad if they started imitating every single one of my quirks... Although I had to admit that it was probably already too late for some of them. Still, sometimes there was simply nothing I could do about it.

Certain situations called for different priorities, and in this particular case, a good bowl of ice cream was clearly more important than any abstract concept of dignity. That said, Charlotte was surprisingly understanding when I practically begged her not to tell my other little sisters about what had happened.

As much as I was like this, I still wanted them to keep looking at me with those admiring eyes. Or, at least, almost all of them. Althea, for some reason, sometimes looked at me in such strange ways that I preferred not to even try figuring out what was going through her head.

Anyway... details aside, these three days had been pretty satisfying. I’d had time to rest, get a few things organized, and, for the first time in a while, simply enjoy some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, there was an almost universal rule in my life: the exact moment you start getting too comfortable is when shit decides to hit you all at once, crashing down on your head like a tsunami.

Or, in my case, maybe it would be more appropriate to call it a frost? Either way, if I could go back in time, I’d definitely give my past self a piece of advice from a few days ago: Bring a jacket when you leave the base, you idiot. Maybe that would have saved me from a healthy dose of regret... and a whole lot of freezing my ass off.