imjustpicky | 02 - I'll Never Eat Peas Again

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02 - I'll Never Eat Peas Again

[A - Action, Mayfield Elementary]

[The new kid with the bowl haircut seems a lot less nervous than before. Today he's proceeding through his school day with a smile on his face. He'll answer questions in class, he'll sit with you at lunch, he'll even play with you on the playground, but...]

Yeah! I'll be on your team! You guys are so awful, of course you need my help!

[B - Action, Around Town, afternoon]

[That same new kid has the same improved(?) attitude to him. He smiles, he "pleasantly" addresses anyone who talks to him, and he seems content to wander from here to there, bouncing a rubber ball.]

[C - Action, 7132 Brooks Lane, all day]

[So what's this funny-looking green pod doing, leaned up against the side of the house?]

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[Picky trades in that too-perfect smile for a thoughtful look.]

Yeah... I guess it wasn't so bad. I actually got to have cake for a change.

Mom didn't miss you at all. But I bet you already knew that.

[Wow pod!Picky. You sure do know how to hit the right buttons. Pokey almost visibly flinches at that, his frown widening. But it's not nearly as angry as it usually is. This one, in fact, is pretty sad.]

I-

Yeah. I did know that.

Look. I would've taken you with if I could've but I just couldn't.

[The Minch family was not a happy one. Not by a long shot. But few damaged families actually admit it out loud. The unspoken truth finally let out to talk? It hurts.

pod!Picky seems unaffected by all of the emotion he's triggering.]

Of course. Big brother Pokey has lots of important things to do! With your mobsters. Or your giant robots. Or your aliens.

I still think it's mobsters. Is it?

[He's just silent for a moment. What does he even say? He knows by now that the people he's been talking to are some kind of clone and...he needs to find Picky. The real Picky. But God.

He can't walk away from this conversation. Even if it isn't the real Picky. He can't walk away.]

....No. It was aliens.

The one Ness was fighting.

[That... actually seems to stop the pod-Picky short. He had tossed the ball up in the air with the intent of catching it, but instead it passed through his limp fingers.]

Those ones?

[He gives a sudden all-over shake, and then chases after the ball. He has to scrabble to catch it, as it was bounce-rolling away pretty quickly.

When he turns back to face Pokey, he's back to drone-like pleasantness.]

Ha! You're such a joker, Pokey!

[This is a test-run.

This is to get ready for when he has to tell him the truth. If he has to tell him the truth.

No. He does have to. Eventually. Picky needs to know. Deserves to know.

He deserves to know what kind of garbage his brother is. And to have the chance to disown him, completely.

And Pokey doesn't doubt Picky'd be happier that way. To disconnect himself from the Minches entirely, from the one person in the family who did care about him. Because Picky was the best thing to come out of that family. And he deserved so much more.]

No.

I'm not.

I was given a chance, told I had one, to compete against Ness. To be better.

And I took it.

I'm sorry.

[And he does mean that. Even if it isn't the real Picky. He's sorry to this one.

He's just sorry in general.]

[If pod-Picky is enjoying all of the anguish on display, he's showing no signs of it. Ball in hand, he slowly closes the space between him and Pokey.]

I guess you weren't better than Ness. He beat you.

[And he laughs, just as if it was the funniest joke in the world.]

No. I wasn't.

I'm not better than anything. I never was, and never will be.

But you are. And can be. And that's why I never said anything to you about where I was. Where I was going.

[Wow. That laughter hurt. He knew no matter what the response was, it was going to be painful but that was...that was more than he expected.]

[He's still working the last of the laughter out of his system. Isn't an absent big brother's emotional torment funny?]

Aw, c'mon. You're better than dad. You're better than mom.

[...And stopped clocks are right twice a day. What does it matter, after the rest of what he said? He gives his ball another toss upwards. And then he tosses it at Pokey, lightly.]

We're both here now, stupid! Play catch with me!

[And he catches the ball. And just looks down at it for a moment before, slowly, shaking his head.]

No. I'm not. Towards you maybe yes but....not in the end. I probably would've been the worst of all.

[And he just stares at the ball a moment more, before nodding.]

Sure. Let's play catch.

Here.

[And he'll throw the ball hard and far and wide, hoping to force the pod!Picky to chase it. So he can leave. So he can find the actual Picky.]

Catch.

But you'd still be my big brother!

[And a pod-Picky is still Picky, on some level. His whole self turns to see where the ball just went, and then he bolts on after it, full-force.]

Hey! No fair!

[But the protests are already growing faint, as he rushes further and further away....]

I know.

I'm sorry I wasn't a better one.

[And he'll be scampering off now. Anywhere. So he can start looking for the pod the actual Picky might be in. He doesn't know what could actually be happening to Picky in that fricking thing, and he NEEDS to find out. To help him.

He can do that much, at least.]

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02 - I'll Never Eat Peas Again

This is terrible

And wonderful

It's so mean, though

It's alright, it's Pokey

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oh no, Pokey T_T

:3

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