Mimi's Demons

Chapter 61: We're All a Little Broken

Juli came for lunch dressed like...actually, she didn't know what.

"What are you?"

Juli pouted and adjusted his...weird green jellyfish helmet. Though it was lime green, had what looked like three brains floating about inside, and big yellow foam claws hanging down that reached to Juli's collarbone.

"It's a Metroid Larva," he said. "You know, from Metroid?"

When she just blinked at him, he scoffed.

"We played it a few weeks ago. Metroid? You know, with the kick a—butt lady in the space suit? You wouldn't stop geeking out over that."

That computed in Mimi's head.

"Samus?" she squealed, then squinted at the weird hat/helmet thing on his head. "Those annoying floating things that would attack your face?"

"Bingo."

"...Why are you one of those?"

"Because I've had my eye on this hat for months. I look so sick, don't I?"

"Uh, sick as in sick in the head for thinking they'd look cool with an alien jellyfish hat, yes."

Juli actually looked hurt at that.

"Well what are you?" he snapped. "Rich mafia princess?"

Mimi sniffed. "I actually forgot about Halloween, because a mature adult has no need for it."

"More like a boring person has no need for it..."

She slapped his shoulder. But as Duke had said, it hardly made any contact. Juli didn't even flinch, though he made a show of hunching up his shoulders and shouting in mock agony.

"Oh, the pain!"

"I'll work on it after school! All the scary stuff happens at night anyway."

"What stuff? It's not like your dad will let you go trick or treating."

Mimi scowled at him. "How do you know that?"

"Uh, because I'm not dumb. You were almost kidnapped and Halloween night has all sorts of crap. And because," he stopped so short and abruptly, it was impossible not to be suspicious. "Because nothing!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Spill."

"Nope."

"Now."

"Nu uh."

"I am your master."

"You ain't nutt'n till the boss says so, I learned my lesson. No freak outs today!"

"I don't—" Mimi's face flushed hot. "I'm getting better!"

"Whoa, hey, this isn't a question of how good you're doing with your anxiety stuff," he said, suddenly all softness and appeasement.

She didn't appreciate that at all. From her Papa it seemed loving, from Juli it just seemed patronizing, as though she were weak and whiney, which she was not! Because she was his boss!

"I'm fine!"

"Totally!"

"And you're my minion!"

"One hundred percent!"

She glared. Juli smiled, all teeth and big ears.

At length, Mimi curled her knuckles on her hips like Serena and sniffed.

"Let's get lunch."

Juli saluted and they were off.

There was one thing Mimi had ignored about remembering about Halloween. Since there had been more people out and about, the usually low demon population in the neighborhoods increased, crawling about after teenagers and grinning from the open doorways of houses. They still ducked out of sight when Mimi looked their way, but occasionally she meet the gaze of one hulking in the shadows, of all kinds, and it would grin back at her. She knew not to go those ways. Demons only did so when it would mean suffering for her specifically, and there had been way more than usual out and about.