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xp_logsEncountering Mondo in the kitchen after school, Yvette gets a peek at the boy behind the Muppet obsession.
Mondo came out of the mail room clutching a package to his chest. He skipped a little bit as he made his way over to the kitchen for a sharp object and maybe something to drink. His package was encrusted with stamps and appeared to be hailing from his home country of Samoa. "Woohoo!" he said randomly, spooking a gaggle of girls who shot him venomous looks when his back was turned.
It was just as well he was being vocal about his excitement, or his entrance into the kitchen might have resulted in Yvette dropping the bottle of juice she was carefully carrying. Instead, she looked up at the larger boy with a smile. "Hello, Mondo," she said. "You are having the mail?" She nodded at the parcel.
Mondo nodded. "I am indeed having the mail." he said happily, making a hoppy little beeline for the fridge. "My parents sent me a care package!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what's inside of it!"
Working the cap off the juice bottle, Yvette held it between her palms as she poured a glass for herself. "This is being good, that you are hearing from your family," she said, mindful of her own mother's letters and how much she looked forward to them.
Mondo nodded. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then took out one of Lorna's sharp knives to cut open the package with. Despite his thick fingers and meaty hands he was surprisingly delicate about the entire thing. "I probably shouldn't spazz out so much, but I'm really happy." he said as he dove into the package, which seemed to consist of many, many, many letters and another, smaller parcel.
"It is being important, the letters from your family." Yvette said, with a hint of firmness. "Would you be wanting a drink? If you could be getting the glass for you?"
"I would, actually." he said, stopping what he was doing to go and retrieve said glass for himself, then pouring his water from the bottle to the glass. It was more elegant that way, more refined. "OK. Let's see what Papa sent me here..." he said, looking at the package. Then he looked over to Yvette, and held it out to her. "Would you mind terribly much doing the honors?" he asked.
She nodded, and pulled off her glove before extending a razor-sharp forefinger talon. The tape around the smaller parcel parted easily under a light brush. "There you are being," she said, smiling again before slipping her glove back on and taking the juice back to the fridge.
"Thanks, Yvette." he said with a smile and looked into the package. "Oh boy!" he exclaimed, forgetting about the whole Indoor Voices thing. "PICTURES!" he said happily, withdrawing the first few polaroids.He hasily grabbed a drink of his water before looking through the pictures. "Lots of them. Would you like to see them?" he asked Yvette with another smile. "I don't want to take up too much room here, and ever since my suitemate got hurt my suite's been very ... noisy. Maybe we could take one of the lounges and spread out a little?" he said, coming close and almost totally succeeding in hiding his irritation at Kyle's emo-muppetry.
"Kyle is being in the very bad mood, yes," Yvette said, a little sadly. He'd been mean to Angel, which worried and confused the little Albanian girl. "And I would very much be liking to see the pictures of your family, if you are being wanting to show me. There is being no-one in the dining room - we could be using the big table?"
"Sounds good to me." he said with a grin. "Let's go!" he said, gathering up his water and his package and awkwardly carrying the whole thing out to the big dining room table.
Yvette followed him, carefully carrying her glass between her hands. Perching on a chair opposite to where Mondo was setting things up, she smiled again, eyes glowing brightly. "There are being many pictures!"
"Sure are." he said, spreading the pictures out on the table. Most of them consisted of various Samoans grinning like maniacs and waving frantically at the camera. Others were of the island itself, or what was presumably Mondo's hometown.
"Wow." he said, letting his fingers lightly trail over the pictures. "I can't believe how much I miss it." he said quietly.
The people in the pictures looked happy, and the place looked warm and tropical. A world away from Yvette's own home. But she understood the longing in his voice. "It is being difficult, sometimes," she said softly, carefully turning one of the pictures with her gloved fingertip, to see it better. "Being the so far away from the family, and the things you are knowing."
"I'm glad to be here." he said, sounding half-convinced and half-trying-to-convince-himself. "I'm incredibly fortunate to be here, learning everything that I can from the people here. But this isn't what I want. Not really." he said. "I want to be back home. With my family."
Now Yvette reached out with another of those hesitant movements for his large, broad hand, and patted it lightly. "I am missing my home, too," she said. "But when we are both being finished with the learning, we can go back, yes?"
Mondo blinked and then nodded, not trusting his voice for a second. "Is it really different in Mesopotamia where you come from like it is in Samoa where I come from?" he asked somewhat confusedly. "When you look around and wonder why _nothing_ makes sense anymore?"
"Kosovo is being very different, yes," she corrected gently. "There is being war there, for the very long time. Many things are not working. And America is being very..." she paused, trying to think of the words to describe how she'd found the country she was living in now. "Loud. Bright. New. And the people are being much different to the people at home, especially in the school. Things are being, how you say? More relaxing? With the teachers and the students being calling them by the first names, and talking when they are wanting to?" She shook her head a little. "My English is not being so good. It is hard to explain in the words."
"It's OK. I think I understand." he said, then said a few words in his own mother tongue. "I've just practiced longer at it. I'm older than you are." he said with a little smile of triumph. "We used to be warriors, way back in the day. But now we just have sports." he said, remembering some of the more epic football matches from his youth. "Oh! Let me show you!" he said, flipping through his pictures. "My cousin Petelo here, he was a really _good_ football player!" he said, showing Yvette one of the seemingly intereminate number of grinning Samoan males. "We had a game once that ranged all up and down the beach. It only ended because I threw Petelo into the ocean to cool him off." he laughed.
Yvette joined in the laughter, looking intently at the picture. "You are being playing the football too?" she asked, pleased that he'd given it the right name. The only football was the game with the round ball and the net.
"I'd love to, but I'm still not supposed to stress my knee like that." he said. "And it's too _cold_ for football!" he said, shivering once for effect. "If I had to pick one thing, that's what I really don't like about this school. It's too _cold_."
"It is being warm all the time, where you are coming from?" Yvette asked, although the palm trees in the pictures sort of gave it away. "My power is not letting me feel the hot and the cold any more. Maybe your powers are being the same, yes?" she continued, remembering how he hadn't been cut by her skin.
"It's very consistent." he said, thinking about it for a moment. "And believe me, I still get cold. And I don't want to stay synched up all the time. I'm _me_, not me-made-out-of-rock or me-made-out-of-steel or whatever. Just me." he said.
She nodded, understanding. "Then maybe you are needing the warmer clothes." She smiled, a little mischievously. "Maybe someone from the cold place can be taking you for the shopping?"
Mondo laughed. "Maybe that might be a good idea." he said. "I thought I had cold-weather stuff from when I was in Japan, but I've lost weight since then." he said. "Miss Marie was nice enough to take me shopping for the Winter Ball." he mused.
"Miss Marie is being the very nice person," Yvette affirmed. Then she paused, and suggested, shyly. "And maybe... I can be doing the helping too? If it is not being too dangerous for me to be coming with you?"
Mondo stopped and thought about that for about 3.4 nanoseconds. "Sure!" he said with a grin.
Yvette nodded, pleased that he wanted her along. "Then this is the plan," she said, trying not to acknowledge the butterflies in her stomach at the idea of leaving the mansion.
"Hey." he said, perceptive to her shift in mood. "It won't be that bad. We might even have fun. Do ... do you play football?" he asked, incredulous at himself. Way to go, Mondo. Ask the little girl if she played football.
She blinked at him a little, then broke into another smile. "Not very well, but sometimes I am playing with the boys in my building, before I am changing." She tilted her head at him. "Is it being too cold outside for you to come play with me now?"
"Let me go see if I can find something suitably warm." he said with a grin. "Help me get all these back into the package so I can drop them off and see if I can find a good coat."
"Okay." After checking her gloves were securely in place, she began sweeping the pictures together, carefully. "And if it is being too cold, there can be the gym, yes?"
"Sure. Won't quite be the same, but ... isn't there a _beach_ downstairs?" he asked with a grin. "Maybe we should go play down there."
Yvette's eyes gleamed brightly. "Yes! This is being the much better idea!" she said, clapping her hands together in delight.
"Tell you what." he said. "Why don't we drop this stuff off in my room, grab a soccer ball, and we'll go downstairs to the beach and kick it around a little, eh? Sound like fun?" he said with an infectuous laugh.
"Yes, it sounds very much like fun," Yvette agreed, carefully handing the photos over to him. "And I am thinking having the fun is a very good thing right now."
Mondo nodded in agreement, then tossed back the rest of his water. "Let's go!" he said, climbing to his feet and gathering the remainder of his things. He laughed, then led Yvette through a madcap dash through the halls.
Mondo came out of the mail room clutching a package to his chest. He skipped a little bit as he made his way over to the kitchen for a sharp object and maybe something to drink. His package was encrusted with stamps and appeared to be hailing from his home country of Samoa. "Woohoo!" he said randomly, spooking a gaggle of girls who shot him venomous looks when his back was turned.
It was just as well he was being vocal about his excitement, or his entrance into the kitchen might have resulted in Yvette dropping the bottle of juice she was carefully carrying. Instead, she looked up at the larger boy with a smile. "Hello, Mondo," she said. "You are having the mail?" She nodded at the parcel.
Mondo nodded. "I am indeed having the mail." he said happily, making a hoppy little beeline for the fridge. "My parents sent me a care package!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait to see what's inside of it!"
Working the cap off the juice bottle, Yvette held it between her palms as she poured a glass for herself. "This is being good, that you are hearing from your family," she said, mindful of her own mother's letters and how much she looked forward to them.
Mondo nodded. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then took out one of Lorna's sharp knives to cut open the package with. Despite his thick fingers and meaty hands he was surprisingly delicate about the entire thing. "I probably shouldn't spazz out so much, but I'm really happy." he said as he dove into the package, which seemed to consist of many, many, many letters and another, smaller parcel.
"It is being important, the letters from your family." Yvette said, with a hint of firmness. "Would you be wanting a drink? If you could be getting the glass for you?"
"I would, actually." he said, stopping what he was doing to go and retrieve said glass for himself, then pouring his water from the bottle to the glass. It was more elegant that way, more refined. "OK. Let's see what Papa sent me here..." he said, looking at the package. Then he looked over to Yvette, and held it out to her. "Would you mind terribly much doing the honors?" he asked.
She nodded, and pulled off her glove before extending a razor-sharp forefinger talon. The tape around the smaller parcel parted easily under a light brush. "There you are being," she said, smiling again before slipping her glove back on and taking the juice back to the fridge.
"Thanks, Yvette." he said with a smile and looked into the package. "Oh boy!" he exclaimed, forgetting about the whole Indoor Voices thing. "PICTURES!" he said happily, withdrawing the first few polaroids.He hasily grabbed a drink of his water before looking through the pictures. "Lots of them. Would you like to see them?" he asked Yvette with another smile. "I don't want to take up too much room here, and ever since my suitemate got hurt my suite's been very ... noisy. Maybe we could take one of the lounges and spread out a little?" he said, coming close and almost totally succeeding in hiding his irritation at Kyle's emo-muppetry.
"Kyle is being in the very bad mood, yes," Yvette said, a little sadly. He'd been mean to Angel, which worried and confused the little Albanian girl. "And I would very much be liking to see the pictures of your family, if you are being wanting to show me. There is being no-one in the dining room - we could be using the big table?"
"Sounds good to me." he said with a grin. "Let's go!" he said, gathering up his water and his package and awkwardly carrying the whole thing out to the big dining room table.
Yvette followed him, carefully carrying her glass between her hands. Perching on a chair opposite to where Mondo was setting things up, she smiled again, eyes glowing brightly. "There are being many pictures!"
"Sure are." he said, spreading the pictures out on the table. Most of them consisted of various Samoans grinning like maniacs and waving frantically at the camera. Others were of the island itself, or what was presumably Mondo's hometown.
"Wow." he said, letting his fingers lightly trail over the pictures. "I can't believe how much I miss it." he said quietly.
The people in the pictures looked happy, and the place looked warm and tropical. A world away from Yvette's own home. But she understood the longing in his voice. "It is being difficult, sometimes," she said softly, carefully turning one of the pictures with her gloved fingertip, to see it better. "Being the so far away from the family, and the things you are knowing."
"I'm glad to be here." he said, sounding half-convinced and half-trying-to-convince-himself. "I'm incredibly fortunate to be here, learning everything that I can from the people here. But this isn't what I want. Not really." he said. "I want to be back home. With my family."
Now Yvette reached out with another of those hesitant movements for his large, broad hand, and patted it lightly. "I am missing my home, too," she said. "But when we are both being finished with the learning, we can go back, yes?"
Mondo blinked and then nodded, not trusting his voice for a second. "Is it really different in Mesopotamia where you come from like it is in Samoa where I come from?" he asked somewhat confusedly. "When you look around and wonder why _nothing_ makes sense anymore?"
"Kosovo is being very different, yes," she corrected gently. "There is being war there, for the very long time. Many things are not working. And America is being very..." she paused, trying to think of the words to describe how she'd found the country she was living in now. "Loud. Bright. New. And the people are being much different to the people at home, especially in the school. Things are being, how you say? More relaxing? With the teachers and the students being calling them by the first names, and talking when they are wanting to?" She shook her head a little. "My English is not being so good. It is hard to explain in the words."
"It's OK. I think I understand." he said, then said a few words in his own mother tongue. "I've just practiced longer at it. I'm older than you are." he said with a little smile of triumph. "We used to be warriors, way back in the day. But now we just have sports." he said, remembering some of the more epic football matches from his youth. "Oh! Let me show you!" he said, flipping through his pictures. "My cousin Petelo here, he was a really _good_ football player!" he said, showing Yvette one of the seemingly intereminate number of grinning Samoan males. "We had a game once that ranged all up and down the beach. It only ended because I threw Petelo into the ocean to cool him off." he laughed.
Yvette joined in the laughter, looking intently at the picture. "You are being playing the football too?" she asked, pleased that he'd given it the right name. The only football was the game with the round ball and the net.
"I'd love to, but I'm still not supposed to stress my knee like that." he said. "And it's too _cold_ for football!" he said, shivering once for effect. "If I had to pick one thing, that's what I really don't like about this school. It's too _cold_."
"It is being warm all the time, where you are coming from?" Yvette asked, although the palm trees in the pictures sort of gave it away. "My power is not letting me feel the hot and the cold any more. Maybe your powers are being the same, yes?" she continued, remembering how he hadn't been cut by her skin.
"It's very consistent." he said, thinking about it for a moment. "And believe me, I still get cold. And I don't want to stay synched up all the time. I'm _me_, not me-made-out-of-rock or me-made-out-of-steel or whatever. Just me." he said.
She nodded, understanding. "Then maybe you are needing the warmer clothes." She smiled, a little mischievously. "Maybe someone from the cold place can be taking you for the shopping?"
Mondo laughed. "Maybe that might be a good idea." he said. "I thought I had cold-weather stuff from when I was in Japan, but I've lost weight since then." he said. "Miss Marie was nice enough to take me shopping for the Winter Ball." he mused.
"Miss Marie is being the very nice person," Yvette affirmed. Then she paused, and suggested, shyly. "And maybe... I can be doing the helping too? If it is not being too dangerous for me to be coming with you?"
Mondo stopped and thought about that for about 3.4 nanoseconds. "Sure!" he said with a grin.
Yvette nodded, pleased that he wanted her along. "Then this is the plan," she said, trying not to acknowledge the butterflies in her stomach at the idea of leaving the mansion.
"Hey." he said, perceptive to her shift in mood. "It won't be that bad. We might even have fun. Do ... do you play football?" he asked, incredulous at himself. Way to go, Mondo. Ask the little girl if she played football.
She blinked at him a little, then broke into another smile. "Not very well, but sometimes I am playing with the boys in my building, before I am changing." She tilted her head at him. "Is it being too cold outside for you to come play with me now?"
"Let me go see if I can find something suitably warm." he said with a grin. "Help me get all these back into the package so I can drop them off and see if I can find a good coat."
"Okay." After checking her gloves were securely in place, she began sweeping the pictures together, carefully. "And if it is being too cold, there can be the gym, yes?"
"Sure. Won't quite be the same, but ... isn't there a _beach_ downstairs?" he asked with a grin. "Maybe we should go play down there."
Yvette's eyes gleamed brightly. "Yes! This is being the much better idea!" she said, clapping her hands together in delight.
"Tell you what." he said. "Why don't we drop this stuff off in my room, grab a soccer ball, and we'll go downstairs to the beach and kick it around a little, eh? Sound like fun?" he said with an infectuous laugh.
"Yes, it sounds very much like fun," Yvette agreed, carefully handing the photos over to him. "And I am thinking having the fun is a very good thing right now."
Mondo nodded in agreement, then tossed back the rest of his water. "Let's go!" he said, climbing to his feet and gathering the remainder of his things. He laughed, then led Yvette through a madcap dash through the halls.
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