xp_logs | Madin and Jono, window repairs. Backdated to 23/12.

xp_madin posting in

Early on the 23rd, with the mansion still reeling from the previous night's invader, Madin sets to work on the window problem, with help from an unexpected quarter.

Pretty much the first thing Madin had in the morning - before the sun was even fully up - was count up the number of OSB boards Kyle kept on hand for broken windows, double that number and then added a few extra for the sections of fucked siding. It wasn't like they'd gotten much sleep after the mansion was attacked by some stupid kid anyway.

By nine, they'd already been to Home Depot and had managed to back the trailer around to the north-west corridor heading out from the kitchen where they'd set up with saw horses, the circular saw and a few electric drills and a stack of boards.

That had been the easy part. Now they just had to cover over all the windows until the replacements could be... replaced? Got? Whatever. Kyle had already confirmed that was a glazier job, not a Madin one.

Jono was…….not sure how he’d been roped into this. He was new, he didn’t know anybody, and he had made it as clear as possible with distinct underlines and bold circles on his notepad that he did not know anything about construction work. Maybe they couldn’t read his handwriting?

In any event, it was far too early in the morning to have been buying lumber let alone giving him access to a power saw. Honesty- him of all people, didn’t they know he looked like a 90s slasher villain?

Madin waved. "Hi! You're the one they sent out to help with the windows? The others have got the front siding and I'm on this one and they're joining us when that's finished. We need to make it weather tight before more snow hits." They looked out over the lawn. Or at least, over the snow. "Still hard to believe that there could be more snow, you know?"

Jono blinked back at Madin and shrugged. Had they not told Madin that he couldn’t talk? Did Madin just like the sound of their own voice? Was this some kind of continued punishment for what he’d done to Gayle? Was no longer having a significant part of his body not enough?

Jono did like snow though so he used one of the few signs he knew and held up both hands before slowly moving them downwards while he wiggled his fingers. ‘Snow.’ Yeah that was real intelligible and stirring conversation. A real master of wit he was.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what that means. I don't know how to speak. Um. Sign language." Madin paused awkwardly. "You can hear me, right?" There was clearly no plan b if he indicated that hearing was off the table.

Jono fought the urge to roll his eyes and pulled his notebook out of his jacket, writing down. I can hear you. No mouth. I have no idea what I'm doing.

"Sweet as." Madin nodded with satisfaction. "I hate writing shit down." They soldiered on with minimal regard for the effect those words would have had on Jono. "You don't need to know what you're doing. I looked it up this morning. I'm not from somewhere where it's this cold. Anyway, it's easy as."

Jono did roll his eyes then but took pen to paper once more. So what AM I supposed to to exactly? He raised an eyebrow expectantly and awaited a response.

Madin flushed, embarrassed about the lack of instructions. "I lived in the tropics for years, right? So I had to look this shit up, because I'd have just made sure that rain didn't get in and called it a day only it's way too cold for that shit. So we're doing two layers of plastic on the outside, taped down good to stop drafts, then ply overtop. Once we're done, we go inside and do a plastic and bubble wrap sandwich over it all to keep heat in for a month or so until the windows arrive."

Jono nodded in faux understanding. Sure, can I do tape? It felt like the part of the process he was least likely to fuck up.

Madin tossed him the tape. "Great!"