Eraserhead and Scribe III

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Scribe looked up when the bells rang, signaling a customer's arrival in the store. She had been reading haiku, which usually calmed her, but she couldn't seem to get her mind off one of Bakugo's last ones he'd written for her class.

Evening bells sound
Across the crowded schoolyard
Last practice is done

It wasn't even his best, but it brought the world of UA closer to her, so she repeated it over and over, closing her eyes and picturing the students hurrying to dinner, the teachers packing up and turning off lights in classrooms, the feel of a day spent productively...

The customer turned out to be her friend Amy, who held her three-year-old son's hand in hers. "Hey!" Amy smiled brightly. "We wanted to see if we could entice you to get ice cream with us. Joey's been extra special good today."

"Extra special good, huh?" Scribe smiled at the little boy.

"Uh-huh!" He nodded enthusiastically. "Mommy told me not to throw the ball in the house and I stopped!"

"Oh, excellent." Scribe laughed. "That is extra special good."

"Can't you come with us?" Amy clasped her hands like a little girl, letting go of Joey's hand to do it.

"I wish I could." Scribe glanced outside. The sun was bright and warm and inviting. She sighed. That usually meant customers eventually, and the store could use some of those. "I just don't know if—"

"Come on, it's better than moping around here all day." Amy waved her hands, then gave her a canny look. "Wishing you had the courage to call him."

"I'm not even thinking about—" Scribe frowned. "Is it getting cloudy?"

The room had gotten darker. Both women turned as one toward the front door, which was standing open. Then Amy gasped. "Where's Joey?"

Scribe leapt to her feet and followed her friend. The sight outside brought them both to a halt. "Oh my God."

Joey stood outside, but three-year-old Joey was now as tall as the store. He looked around, confused. "Mommy?"

Amy rushed forward, but Scribe stopped her. "Wait. If he sees you right now, he's going to get scared. You're supposed to be bigger than him, remember? Moms are always supposed to be bigger. Is this his quirk?"

"I...I don't know?" Amy shook her head. "He hasn't shown any quirk yet...but...his grandfather had a gigantification quirk. So...maybe?"

"Okay, you need to get in touch with the police, ask for a childhood quirk development specialist. I'm going to see if I can talk him down." She searched the ground and found a piece of crumpled newspaper. An idea struck her. She picked it up and called out, "Hey, Joey! Want to play ball?"

Joey turned at her call. His face brightened. "Yes! Play ball."

"Great. Let's go out back where the parking lot is." Scribe beckoned and led him to the back parking lot, which was mostly empty. "Here we go. Lots of room." She tossed the balled up newspaper to the boy and it turned into a ball large enough for his big hand. He laughed and threw it back, and on the way it shrank to Scribe size. She grinned. "That's great, Joey." She tossed it to him again and he threw it back enthusiastically. She was just congratulating herself on her quick thinking when the huge ball, on its way back to her, was lassoed out of the air by a thin piece of familiar-looking material. A moment later, Aizawa landed in front of her, flinging his capture scarf at the boy in the parking lot who had started yelling angrily when his ball was stolen by the man in black.

"Shota, what are you doing?" Scribe stared in horror.

"What do you mean? He threw something at you. You weren't even trying to avoid it. What were you going to do, catch it?" He glared at her.