Curiosity Kills the Cat (An IDFB Fanfic)

Chapter 18

Her silence was enough to say a thousand words.

With a groan, I pushed myself off the counter I had been sitting on, a small thud from the tiled floor running through the room as I landed. I hesitated, debating whether to walk left or right. It didn't matter all that much. I began walking, barely taking two steps, when GB remarked, "I want you to be an arm's length away from the room, in case you fall. You'll need to hold on to something in case."

I nodded, stepping closer to the wall. My belief in the room growing in size had to be right. There was no way it had been this big. I traced the wall with my hand on it, hoping I wouldn't break my-oh wait. I don't have knees that could feel anymore.

And even if something broke, GB was there to fix it. Such an investment of both time and effort going to waste didn't sound like GolfBall. She'd spend so much time meticulously perfecting her machinery when test results took their time to load. Tennis Ball would come around after working on another invention with his hands smeared in oil. He'd nervously asked her where she had left the cleaning towels and would greet me with a wide smile. He was a bubbly guy.

Other times, he'd sit next to GB, helping her with my prosthetic limbs, helping rearrange them or tune-up certain aspects of the metal. We'd even have small chats.

He'd drink his cup of tea, letting the curls of his hair bounce as he looked towards me. "So," he started, his thumb running across the body of his cup. "How's your garden doing?"

We'd sit, waiting for GB to return with more copy paper for her printer.

I'd swing my legs, smiling at the change of conversation. "Well, actually! We have cosmos and roses growing, and tulips should sprout by next week," I said, a perk of joyfulness making me smile.

I had grown accustomed to a lot of the conversations surrounding my limbs or Coiny. A change of pace did wonders sometimes.

He'd hum in response as he drank again. "That's good. Several plants don't grow here because of too little sun. Although it's weird your cosmos are blooming?" He'd set down his cup, pulling out his memo pad with his pen to take notes. "Cosmos are full sun plants..." He'd trail off, considering the probable reasons for a handful of blooms of cosmos. "Maybe it's the water? Or the soil..."

He'd close his hardcover memo pad with a smack, looking back at me. "You wouldn't mind me collecting some samples from your garden," Tennis Ball would ask with a sheepish smile. I'd just smile in response.

It was fun talking to him.

"Pin!"

I snapped out of my trance, jumping at the sudden yell. A confused expression glazed Golf Ball's eyes as she heaved for her breath. Yet her grin said she was anything but mad.

"You've walked around the entire room twice!"

Twice?

"Oh." I felt a sigh of relief escape my throat. A gentle cascading rain trickled down my back before lightning hit me. "Oh?!"

GB snickered at my reaction, flipping through the graph paper of her clipboard, hurriedly inscribing the words down. "Pin! I don't think you understand what this means," she said, exhilaration running through her voice frantically. She peered behind the board, fire in her eyes.

"The entire experiment has been a success!"

Tennis Ball came running in from behind the strip door, a frown on his face as he carried a beaker in hand. "She yelled. Where's the report?" He sounded so deadpanned as if it was a normal recurring thing.

I hadn't seen GolfBall like this before—so thrilled and gleeful. Usually, it'd be a smile or a nod of acknowledgment, yet never something so impulsive.