"Hi"

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"This is really good." John complemented quietly. Elena giggled.

"That is the reason why this is Mika's favorite dish." She smiled. "Now tell me, how did you kids meet?" The three exchanged glances and decided to amuse her.

"They were new students, decided to help them and they paid me lunch. They helped me with Britt and they made me realize that I am not alone all the time. And that I am important." Mika snorted. "Well, the least they let me think of me."

"Of course you are." Ryan nudged Mika on the side with his elbow softly playfully.

"Oh, sweetie, of course your important." Elena comforted. "I'm so sorry if I can't do anything about this. I'm just so old to do these kinds of stuff now."

"Please mom, you're not even that old." Mika rolled her eyes and grinned at her.

"Don't worry, Mrs. West. We'll take care of your daughter from now on." Ryan grinned as John slurped a noodle in with a thumbs up before smiling smugly at her. Mika's grin faltered when she heard Ryan using her 'father's' name. She looked at her mother for the reaction, tensed up.

"Thank you boys." Elena laughed. Mika relaxed as the people around the table laughed. Then suddenly they heard a loud thud coming from the wall beside the door, then a groan, then shuffling of feet. Out pop a cranky looking girl with a crazy bed hair and a confused face, a blanket around her short, thin body. She was groaning while rubbing her forehead. She squinted her eyes at the light of the room and saw John, Ryan, Mika and another woman.

"Where are we?" She asked, hand still on her forehead. John, Ryan and Mika stared at her for a good minute. JiJi started freaking out mentally. "Hi?"

"JiJi!" John exclaimed before standing up and went to hug his best friend.

"H-hi!" JiJi laughed softly, hugging back. "Hi, what's wrong? What happened?" John pulled away.

"Wait, you don't remember anything?" He asked. JiJi half shrugged.

"All I remember was talking to Britt then she asked two guys to chase me then one of them started choking me then everything went a blur then went to black." JiJi informed.

"Well, okay. The memory loss wasn't that bad. But we'll have to fill her in." Mika said.

"One of those guys you meant hit you on the forehead with a bat. And then they threw you at the end of the bleachers. We caught you in the nick of time." John explained. JiJi's face was amusing to watch, it distorted from down right confusion to dumb realization.

"Ooooooh. Right." JiJi grinned. "That explains the bandage."

"Did you hit yourself on the way here or something?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah." JiJi nodded. "I woke up with the world spinning, I just closed my eyes and heard your voices. I slowly followed your voices. I still had my eyes closed though because of the spinning and pain earlier, and their I realize that walls exist." Ryan, Mika and John laughed.

"Well, are you alright?" Mika asked, giggling.

"Yeah I'm fine." JiJi laughed. Mika realized that they weren't just the people in the room.

"Oh! I literally forgot!" Mika laughed. "JiJi this is my mom. Mom, this is JiJi."

"Hi." JiJi gave a tiny wave with a grin.

"Hello sweetie." Elena said with a smile.

"Mom why were you so silent?" Mika asked with an amusing smile.

"I didn't want to disturb your conversation. And it was very nice to see you smiling and laughing again because of friends." Elena said, placing a warm and gentle hand on Mika's. Her daughter smiled sadly.

"Yeah. I'm thankful." She said while looking back at the three. She smiled at them and they grinned back at her.

"Oh, sit down sweetie, I'll go get a plate for you." Elena said, standing up and leaving. JiJi quietly sat down between the two boys with the help of John and whispered out a small 'thank you' when Elena placed a plate of spaghetti on the table in front of her.

"Mm, this is good." JiJi commented.

"Thank you." Elena smiled. "So how are you?"

"Little dizzy but it's nothing I can't handle." JiJi replied. "A little migraine here and there."

"That's good, we'll probably just let you have one pain killer." Elena said. Mika nodded, agreeing. They ate in silence until JiJi's head perked up with a gasp.

"We have work!" She exclaimed while slapping John and Ryan on their arms, with wide eyes, looking at them back and forth. "We have work! We have work! We have work!!"

"Ow ow ow!" John whined, glaring playfully at JiJi as she continued slapping them.

"Aye, stop that." Mika giggled quietly at the three. "I've already called Gramps why we're not in tonight." JiJi stopped slapping and stared at Ryan with wide eyes.

She blinked and sat properly. "Oh." She muttered then went back to eat. Elena laughed, Mika smiled and the boys rolled their eyes playfully. After dinner, Elena and Mika washed the dishes while the boys accompany JiJi in the living room.

"They have been through a lot." Elena said out of the silence. Mika looked at her then slowly went back to drying the dishes.

"Yeah." She replied quietly.

"It's easy to tell that they've been through a lot. Just Like we have." Elena said. "They seemed like they have a lot to say, but tend to keep it to themselves most of the time. They have good hearts, but they seemed kind of lost and lonely."

Mika stopped drying a plate long enough to look at her mother with wide eyes. "You can tell all that with just bits of conversation with them?"

She smiled wisely. "I've been around a while dear. And I've also seen a number of hardships myself, as have you. Maybe it's just me but going through things like that tends to open your eyes to others around you. Especially those who have been through rough times themselves. Ryan, Jimimah and John are definitely three of those people."

"They... Yeah, they have." Mika said, going back to drying off the plates.

"Something in your mind sweetie?" Elena asked.

"Oh um. Well, it's just. I'm worried for them. They have been through rough times yes and they have made it this far, but I'm just worried." Mika asked.

"What are there problems at home dear?" Elena asked. "Well, if you know, did they tell you?"

"Well. Ryan's parents are divorced, and his father blamed it on him through abuse. John's family died in a fire 3 years ago and was taken in by a psychopath. JiJi was abandoned when she was very young, 2 years old, was taken in by an abusive drunkard." Mika repeated the words of her three friends from this afternoon to her mother. Elena furrowed her eyebrows.

"Well that's really concerning." She commented. "Are they going home tonight?"

Mika sighed. "I don't know." Her face crunched up in worry.