Mischievous Function

A little while later...

"You know, I'm curious, Needle," Microphone mused as she took another sip of her smoothie. Needle glanced away from where she had been watching the pool and turned to Microphone with an upturned eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you have different accents for when you talk and when you sing? Like, you talk with a typical Yoyle accent, but then when you sing, you're like Suitcase with that, like, Northern Yoylish-ish touch, you know?"

"Well, so do you."

"Yeah, but I don't sing with the accent all the time. And like I said, I just do it because I like how the accent sounds. Why? Is that why you do it?"

"Eh...probably not," Needle admitted. She shrugged and went back to staring out the large floor-to-ceiling glass wall separating the snowy outside from the slick, tiled inside and the pool that some of her friends were splashing around in. "I probably got it from my parents, but I've been living in the Battle Forest District for so long by now that you'd never be able to tell."

Microphone let out a light scoff and grinned. "What do you mean, probably? You can't just pay attention to your parents speaking for a few seconds?"

"Well, you kinda have to know who they are first."

Needle turned to Microphone and furrowed her brow, giving her a mirthless smirk. Microphone's joking demeanor was instantly wiped off her face, and in its place rose a small frown of apologetic sympathy. "Oh...shoot, I'm sorry. I forgot," she mumbled softly.

Needle waved it off and shrugged, turning back to the pool. "Eh, it's fine. After all, it's no story you probably haven't heard before. The couple I'm with right now are...fine, anyway. Certainly one of the better ones."

Microphone nodded and quietly took another sip of her smoothie. They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke up again. "So, if you—if you don't mind me asking..." she asked, "what's it like?"

"Hm?"

"Not growing up with a single set of parents?" Microphone set her smoothie on the table and leaned forward in her chair, her quiet shame gradually giving way to curiosity. "I feel like a lot of people like to joke about it and stuff, but...what's it actually like? Uh—only if you don't mind, of course. If it's too personal, I understand."

Needle sighed and shrugged, tilting her head from side to side. "Eh. It depends. I've known people who've gotten lucky and hit the jackpot every single time, and I've known people who unironically would be better off dead. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Some genuinely want a child, and others just do it for the money. Actually—you know what, yeah, most of mine were just in it for the money. They weren't totally neglectful, though, so I got lucky there. Still, I definitely had to earn my keep."

She scoffed lightly and hung her head. "With how many jobs I've had over my middle and high school career, you'd think from my résumé that I'm just about ready to retire. Thankfully, my current couple don't seem to care too much about that, and B.F.D. High pays me enough to keep them satisfied."

"Seriously?" Mic asked. "That many?"

"Oh, yeah." Needle smirked and shook her head. "Cashier, janitor, paper girl, lifeguard, Kritz driver—you name the dead-end job, I've probably worked it for less than minimum wage. Or...what minimum wage in other cities would be since Yoyle City doesn't have one yet."

"I hear they're trying to get that changed," Microphone noted briefly. "You know, it makes me wonder why they didn't have one years ago. A minimum wage is supposed to be a living wage, right? So then why not make sure every member who contributes to society can live decently?"