It had been ten minutes since Shawn fell through the window of the Book and back onto the floor of his room. Bobby had rushed over to help Shawn over to the bed, the smell of the room familiar, the air fresh, the sight of his room comforting. In the corner, Ralph was snoring on a pile of blankets, his face down.

Bobby had begun to relentlessly question Shawn once Shawn had reached the edge of his bed. It wasn't a rapid-fire questioning, as that wasn't Bobby's style. But Shawn, having been a liar himself, noticed the roundabout way that Bobby had gotten at the questions. Working his way slowly from the mundane to something related, and then in a friendly, direct way, posing a question that was wide enough. Like a fisherman casting a wide net, waiting for the fish to bring themselves there. That was the way Bobby tried to elicit the information from Shawn. The questions came through though loud and clear.

What was Shawn doing there? Who did he meet? Did he find a way out of this mess? Did he find anything else about Bobby's family? Did the Clowns attack him? What was going to happen next? What did they need to do? Was Bobby himself mentioned?

Having lived with Bobby for a while, there was no doubt that it came natural to Bobby. For his part, Shawn was certain that there was no malign intent on Bobby's part. He wasn't trying to sneak something by Shawn or elicit information in an underhanded way. Rather, Shawn got the impression that this was Bobby's way all the time. Shawn didn't know why or how Bobby became like this, but he guessed from the bits and pieces that he had placed together, that it had been born out of survival. Whatever experiences Bobby had had prior to meeting Shawn, it had made him practiced in this type of chicanery.

"I talked to Ralph. He had a lot of things to say." Bobby said. "But we can talk about that later. Once you get yourself settled Once you're feeling good enough to talk more.." Bobby smiled. All smiles. Both genuine and fake. Real and false. That was Bobby.

Shawn didn't waste much time before relaying what happened to Bobby. It was important, and it'd be cruel to leave him hanging. At least that's what Shawn tried to tell himself. Maybe what he really wanted was someone to tell him he'd made the right choice, he'd only done what he'd had to do.

So Shawn went with (almost) full disclosure. He told Bobby about Gaggles, the Master Maker, Ralph, the curious structure of the Circus, the agreement he'd taken to wipe away Bobby's debt, even the confirmation of Bobby's parents' death. The only thing he left out was the soul rocks. He didn't want Bobby to get any ideas.

Tears welled up in Bobby's eyes as he confirmed, for the second time, that his family was gone. But the tears didn't fully materialize. They seemed delayed in some way, as if perhaps Bobby didn't have the strength or willpower to force them out. Instead, Bobby took in the information with knowing and measured nods of his head.

"Thanks.  You really helped me. You really saved me. I owe you one." Bobby promised. "I think if they're looking for Ralph, we've got to do something about that now." Bobby reasoned, now moving towards the implications of what Shawn said."I mean, what if they find him here? Then we'd be a cooked goose. They'd definitely take something out on us. More than that, they'd probably make us...make us...makes us live in the Circus forever."


"Ralph said that he left his rubbah-sucky in the Circus and he won't shut up about it. It's something about...I don't know. It's a stupid kid blanket or something. Something that he rubs with his fingers and sucks on with his thumb. Seems a little old to be doing that. But he won't shut up about it.  The stupid idiot tried to get to the Book so he could go back and get it."

"Okay, we'll definitely have to keep a closer eye in the future - make sure at least one of us always has an eye on Ralph or the Book. They didn't know Ralph was with us when they came and got me this time, so I think as long as we can stop him from going into the Circus, he might be safe." It was rough, but annoying as he was, Shawn didn't want to just abandon Ralph. But it was hard to think of a place he'd be safe. Was there a way back to that cabin? "Has he described his blanket to you? Maybe we can get another one somewhere and tell him it's the same."

"Good idea" Bobby agreed. "The blanket is stupid."

Then he realized this wasn't information that was particularly valuable. So he quickly filled the empty space with something that Shawn might be able to use to identify something similar.


"It's pink and it had holes in it. He said it was made of a soft, felt kind of feeling in the blanket. So we should try to find something that is light-pink. And something that is made of felt. If it doesn't have holes in it, maybe we'll punch a few in there.  It's nothing that the Joes would use. They like colors like blue and green.  American colors." He offered.

"Also, you're Mom says that it's time for you to 'check into school again.' She was looking for you. I told her you were sleeping." He pointed towards a lump of blankets that looked like it had a kid underneath.

"Do you know what 'check into school' means?"

Shawn knew what that meant. A  school for professional children. Or maybe, 'another school' since Shawn had been gone for so long this year recovering from what happened. But it's not like it mattered. Shawn had trouble staying in school during the best of times. He was constantly looking attending special schools that focused on professional kids: actors, dancers, athletes, who miss a lot school due to the commitments. During any of these schools, he started classes at 8:45 a.m. and was out of school at 1 p.m., allowing time for acting classes, coaching, and auditions. When he had to miss school for months at a time his schoolwork was available in a package his mom brought home. Though she never really pressured him to do it. Sometimes he would only go to school once every few weeks.

"It means I've gotta start going to school again, probably." Shawn looked a little put out by the idea, but honestly, he had so many problems happening right now that school only sort of registered. "I'd better go see her - keep an eye on Ralph and the Book, okay?"

"Alright." Bobby said. "You can count on me. I'm undercover."

OOC: Shawn Join's Thread

Shawn: Checking in at School