[Free Time - Michi]
Timaeus
Well… I had assumed you worked in a studio, but–
Michi
Me? In a boring-ass studio? Nah man, I do it all in front of an audience. Arts festivals all over the place.
Timaeus
Oh, that’s so cool! I don’t know how you can do it, I get so nervous when people watch me work…
Michi
You get used to it. It’s all about keeping a straight face! Like, literally no one will know you messed up if you don’t act like you messed up. Then all you gotta do is bullshit that giraffe sculpture into a really long-legged horse and you’re good to go.
Timaeus
Sounds easier said than done…
Michi
Guess that’s why I’m a Hope’s Peak kid, huh?
He stretched and threw his arms over the back of the couch.
Michi
Loads of perks to making stuff out in the open, too. Travelling all over the world, meeting all sorts of new faces, mooching food off the vendors across the street, guilt-tripping passersby into giving you tips… Oh yeah.
Timaeus
That sounds… exciting?
And a little morally ambiguous…
Michi
It’s a living. Does kinda suck when it rains, though.
Timaeus
I guess it would, huh. But, um… none of that really explains the costume…
Michi
Huh? ‘Cause it’s fucking hilarious! Lil’ faerie boy in a dumbass tutu prancing around with a fucking chainsaw with a big red bow on it? Cracks people up! And cracking people up brings in the tips. Ka-ching.
Timaeus
I’m still not sure how people can really laugh at anything wielding a chainsaw…
Michi
You just need a better sense of humor.
My sense of humor is just fine, I thought as Michi unpaused the TV and went back to watching that abomination of a film. Things made a little more sense now that I realized he was laughing at the cringy dialogue rather than any of the attempted jokes, but it really just wasn’t my thing. He waved goodbye and snickered a little as I left the room.
Well, his appearance didn’t lie– he certainly was an unpredictable guy. His skill at deadpanning was a little spooky, and maybe I wouldn’t personally employ some of his money-making methods, but I had met plenty of worse people.
I just hoped he wouldn’t prank me again… who knows what he might do next?