Shawn considered where he'd seen Dad last, but decided giving too much detail about what he was actually doing at the time would be counterproductive. "I haven't seen him since yesterday." It was unlike Mom to forget to schedule acting lessons. Sure, things had been a little...sporadic since his last big part, but Saturdays were usually acting days, since she didn't have to schedule things around school.

It was unlike Mom to forget such things. Very unlike her. And Shawn could tell that she herself recognized it as well.

Mom through her arms in the air in frustration.

"Dammit!" She yelled. And Mom never cursed. And 'Dammit!' was a curse. At least in Shawn's house. He had seen other kids say it around the playground during that school year. But they were careful to avoid the hall monitor's presence. Careful to avoid being overheard by any adult figure of any consequence.

"Well there goes Saturday!" She exclaimed. And with that, and all of her frustration, she pulled the door towards her, slamming it shut with a loud 'BANG!' as she left Shawn's room.

As if reacting to the noise, A G.I. Joe that had been carefully placed in a standing position on the floor by Ralph fell over onto its face.

Shawn kept silent after his mom stormed out, staring at the action figure he'd been playing with up to now like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. He felt shaken, and embarrassed, and in some weird way like this whole thing was his fault, and needed a moment to collect himself before he could face Bobby and Ralph.

Ralph, for all of the things Shawn had suspected the young boy had seen in the Circus-underworld before they rescued him, appeared to be startled. He scurried under the blanket of the nearest bed, Bobby's, and covered himself with it.

"Mom's...mad." Bobby exclaimed with a dull-sadness. He was completely shocked.

Shawn blew out a breath and straightened himself up, having regained his composure. He didn't look happy per-se, but he tried to project an aura of understanding and compassion. "She's not mad at us, Bobby. I think she's just had a really tough week. I'm sure she'll feel better soon..."

"Oh Brother!" Bobby said, half cheery, half upset. "I can't believe that Mom's mad. I get mad when I had a tough week before. I used to trick people into giving me....things....." Bobby trailed off as if he had a story to tell but was forgetting the details, or not remembering them. He looked confused, the look of a dreamer whose dream had come in contact with the waking world.

Shawn chuckled as if Bobby's vagueness was just part of the way he was delivering the story. Then he brushed past it as if the topic was now concluded. "Anyway, what do you want to do today? Since I guess I don't have acting class."

"Isn't obvious?" Bobby said, sitting up with excitement.

When Shawn didn't return Bobby's enthusiasm, he filled it in.

"You don't know, do you? You haven't seen out the window. Someone has moved in!" Bobby said, referring to the house that he had once locked Ralph in the basement.

"I saw kids! At least two! Two kids moving in across the street. They're in our neighborhood. Now we might have new kids to play with." Bobby said.

Bobby had become more enthusiastic or maybe less cynical since consuming the tweedberry. The liar that had comforted Shawn and reasoned with him, justifying how Shawn had sold out those kids in the cabin, seemed like a distant person now. Gone was the fear of the Circus and indeed, the knowledge of it as well.

"Are they...they..they..they..girls?" Ralph asked, rising from the blankets and joining the conversation, as if he was hoping they weren't girls.

Shawn couldn't help but also find his interest piqued at the idea of new people in the neighbourhood. "Really? When'd they move in? How old are they?"

"Yeah...are..are..are..are..are..are..are..they girls or boys?"

"I saw one kid our age. And then a younger kid. With one of those big, butcher-block heads. I think there might be a little girl too. Or maybe not."

"So there's a girl or..or..or not girls?" Ralph wheedled.

"Oh brother! I don't know Ralph, quit pestering me about whether or not there's a girl or not. At least one of the kids is our age. They were moving boxes off of the truck and putting them in. I saw them moving into the house. So if there's at least three of them, we could probably do something with Manhunt." Bobby said, using the more aggressive term for Hide-and-Seek.

"That'd be cool. Should we go over and say hi?" Shawn knew first impressions were super important, and maybe some more friends would be nice.

"Should we ever!?" Bobby exclaimed, hopping out of the bed.

"Alright. But..but..but..but..if its a girl, we shouldn't play with them." Ralph noted his objection to the possible scenario, looking to Shawn for support.

Shawn gave him a wavy-handed 'maybe maybe not' gesture. Obviously, it'd be better for everyone if it was all boys, since they tended to be more fun to play with. But having worked with girls his age, he wasn't inclined to just discard them based on their gender. "Unless it's a cool girl. Sometimes they're cool."

"Oh brother!" Bobby said, as if that was distant or remote possibility. But he still retained that same excitement in his voice which indicated he wouldn't oppose the idea.

Getting to the front of the room, Bobby was all action. He swung open the door and proceeded downstairs.

Ralph waddled towards the door, leg caught on the blanket, falling over briefly. He lifted himself up, taking off both dirty socks while hopping after Bobby, trying to balance himself and get through the door at the same time.

There was an exciting buzz in the air. Like the addition of new kid would automatically bring with it hours of untold fun.

Shawn trailed along as well, staying behind Ralph and steadying him a little when he lost his balance. Part of it was being nice, but another part was so he wasn't crying when they introduced themselves.

The house outside across the street was  just as Shawn remembered it. With the three boys outside, they approached the front door of the neighbor's house with trepidation.

"OK. Someone has to knock." Bobby said.

"y..y..you do it." Ralph insisted.

Seeing Ralph and Bobby seemed hesitant, and wanting to see who could've just moved in, Shawn stepped forward and knocked politely on the door.

OOC: Shawn Join's Thread

Shawn: The New Neighbors