Intro To Existing Again

On Task

"Sure," He said, voice cracking slightly. "Is there anything specific you'd like to eat, or..?"

Trophy shrugged. "Preferably something warm. I was thinking of sitting on the porch and looking at the snow."

"Really?" 3GS raised an eyebrow. "But it's so cold out there!"

"Then wear a jacket? Duh? I'm gonna go root through the fridge for some leftovers. You can come with if you want."

Well, he didn't have anything better to do, so why not? So he followed Trophy into the kitchen and watched him root through the fridge, pull out a container of god-knows-what, then stick the container into the microwave.

"Hey can you maybe, I dunno, quit hoverin' over me like that?" Trophy asked while waiting for his food. "It's freaky."

"Oh!" 3GS stepped back. How could he be so stupid?" "Sorry!"

"Ugh, whatever."

Oh god, what did that mean? Why did he sound so annoyed? 3GS really couldn't stop messing up, could he?

The microwave beeped. Trophy gave his container a second to cool off before picking it up, then walked toward the door. He turned to 3GS.

"You gonna grab anything?" He asked. 3GS just stared at him. "What?"

"I thought... you were just going to eat. And I'd just follow you."

"What? That's stupid. Get a snack, dumbass!"

3GS didn't particularly like being called "dumbass," but it was best not to talk back. He gave Trophy a quiet "okay," then opened the refrigerator.

There were so many choices. The large variety of food and drinks was only narrowed down by the few containers with names written on them. 3GS had never even tasted half of these things. He felt so dumb, overwhelmed by the contents of a fridge, but he couldn't help it.

"Alright..." Said Trophy from behind him. "Take your time, I guess. Meet me on the porch."

"Mhm..."

3GS thought it over. What would he do with nobody guiding him? What did he even like to eat? Why was making decisions so hard?!

He thought about breakfast the other day. That guy Paper was too busy to make breakfast that day, so OJ told everyone to just grab whatever. 3GS was, as usual, having trouble deciding, so Test Tube and her aggressive helpfulness chose for him. She brought him some fruit and yogurt. 3GS really liked it. It was sweet and simple, which was all 3GS could ask for in such an overwhelming environment.

He decided he'd eat yogurt again. No fruit this time, he was too lazy to do all that cutting. He grabbed a small container of it, then left to meet Trophy.

—

"Sorry I took so long!" MePhone3GS exclaimed as he threw the hotel's heavy doors open. He was startled by the sudden blast of cold air on his face, but didn't say anything about it.

"It's fine," Trophy shrugged. He was sitting on the front steps, staring out at the void of white surrounding the hotel. He patted the spot next to him, a gesture 3GS actually understood now.

"You finally decide on something?" He asked as 3GS scrambled to sit next to him. 3GS nodded. "Cool."

It was quiet for a while.

"Do you like snow?" 3GS asked.

"I guess," Trophy replied. "Sometimes it feels surreal when I'm actually out in it. It didn't really snow back where I'm from. Until I moved up for the show I only ever saw it on TV an' shit."

3GS nodded. "I get it. I was never really... allowed outside. Not that it even mattered. Meeple's above the clouds, so weather doesn't take effect there."

"Damn."

"It feels so weird existing again. You know, I was shut down back in... 2010-ish. Maybe late '09. I'm having a hard time grasping that I didn't exist for that long."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were dead."

"Everything feels so different now. I mean, there's a whole new model of MePhone that I didn't know about! And he's a jerk!"

"Psh, tell me about it. Wait, have you met him."

"Yes, I have. I only talked to him once, and it was on like, my first day here. He wasn't very nice. I mean, he's clearly way more advanced than me, which kind of shattered my ego, but then he went on some 'Mr. Cobs is an idiot,' tangent. Seriously, what's with that?"

Trophy didn't respond. 3GS turned his head to see that he looked pretty confused.

"What's with that face?" 3GS asked. "I don't like that face."

"Cobs? Like, the weird greasy guy?"

"Don't call him that! Mr. Cobs founded Meeple. The gazillion dollar company? He deserves some respect, you know!"

"Dude, why?" Trophy asked. "Didn't he, like, beat you guys?"

3GS froze, then gave Trophy a glare.

"Who on earth is telling you that? Mr. Cobs wouldn't harm us!"

"Psh, that's not what MePhone says."

"Explain!"

"He says that Cobs did some really shitty things. Like, he's had whole ass mental breakdowns in front of everyone because he remembered shit that happened on Meeple. This is the guy who refuses to talk about his emotions, by the way."

"I-"

"Honestly, I think Meeple is the whole reason MePhone's such a dick all the time. It's not like he can't be nice, but it seems like that place fucked him up real good."

"How do you know all this?" 3GS asked, mostly to avoid talking about Meeple.

"Two words. Group therapy."

"Huh?"

"Test Tube forced me and him and Nickel of all people to have therapy sessions together. Said some bullshit like 'it's easier to open up to people who have trauma similar to yours,' like we don't all hate each other to death. The therapy part isn't even that bad, it's just that Fan's dumbass keeps calling us the Daddy Issues Trio!"

3GS couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Trophy made a face.

"Seriously, it's annoying as hell. Nickel doesn't even have a dad, so that nickname doesn't work! Tissues suggested calling us the Shitty Parents Committee, but honestly, I think we shouldn't have a group name because we're not friends."

"I like the sound of Shitty Parents Committee."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

There were a few more minutes of silence. MePhone3GS had a love-hate relationship with silence. He liked being able to take his time processing everything, but he hated being alone with his thoughts.

Two people now had suggested that Mr. Cobs was a bad person, when that couldn't possibly be true! Mr. Cobs was a genius! He had created the MePhones and given them a home on the cloud, with only some conditions that weren't too hard to follow! Sure, his memories were all super unclear, and he was clinging desperately onto the good ones, and he'd had that awful flashback at the mall, but no amount of time not existing could erase memories of being beaten. Trophy had clearly been fed lies and exaggerations by that MePhone4 jerk, but 3GS wasn't gonna take any of it. He could change someone's mind easily! Trophy seemed like a decent enough guy who could understand the truth if he were convinced enough, and 3GS felt like he could prove that.

But he didn't have the words right now, so he just sat in silence, ate his yogurt, and stared at the snow. It was simple. 3GS liked simple.