THICK SKULL , twd [ 1 ]

37. what was his name?

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A BOWL OF CEREAL stares back at Nellie as she swivels the spoon around it. Carl sits across from her at the dining table, shoving his own cereal into his mouth rapidly.

          Nellie feels somewhat better knowing Rick will be okay and her mom is alive but those they lost still spin in her mind. She wonders where Sadie and Koa are, where Maggie and Glenn are. But—she did get her first night of full sleep in days thanks to her mom occupying the space next to her.

       Carl furrows his brows at Nellie, "You don't like stale Cinnamon Toast Crunch?" He asks, still crunching the food in his mouth. Nellie snaps out of it, brown eyes meeting his blue ones. She manages a chuckle, "Don't eat with your mouth full. That's rude."

           "So is not eating the food I prepared for you," Carl gestures to the bowl of cereal. "Prepared? Comical, Carl. You poured a bowl of cereal," Nellie sighs, scooping a spoonful into her mouth. The floor boards to the dining room creak and soon enough, Michonne turns the corner in an oversized white button up top. Nellie and Carl both laugh, trying to hide their opinion with cereal but it doesn't go unnoticed by the mother.

              Michonne places three water bottles on the table, stepping back to give them a better view of the shirt. "Do you two have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" Michonne teases, raising an eyebrow as she rolls up it's sleeves.

        "No, no. It's great," Carl laughs.

        "You look like you're about to start a war with England," Nellie comments. Carl can't back his laugh any longer. A string of giggles erupt from his lips while Michonne sends a fake glare towards her daughter. Nellie bites the inside of her cheek, the right side of her face unable to fight the smile forming. "Oh, you missed a....," Carl points to a button. Michonne takes a seat at the end of the table, right beside the two kids.

         "Wish we had some—"

          "Don't say soy milk," Nellie cuts her mom off with a groan of disgust, "That shit is nasty." Michonne tilts her side to the side, smirking at Nellie, "Soy milk. I wish I had soy milk." Nellie gags, sticking her tongue out and pointer finger hovering in front of her mouth. "Seriously? Soy milk?" Carl judges along with Nellie. "She's deadly serious," Nellie adds.

            Michonne scoffs, "Have you ever tried it?" She asks Carl. A wide, toothy grin spreads across the boy's face, "My best friend in third grade, he was allergic to dairy. And every day he would bring this soy stuff to lunch. I tried it."

"And?" The Hawthorne women question at the same time. "I threw up!" Carl admits with pure laughter. Nellie chokes on her cereal at the Grimes' story, coughing as she imagines little Carl barfing all over the cafeteria. "Oh, yeah, right," Michonne grunts in disbelief.