It had been, well, almost years since Laurie had fallen into a funk; the boy was willfully cheerful, as if doing it in defiance of his situation early in his teen years. Now it was practically an ingrained habit. As someone who loved his abilities you’d expect Laurie to want to set off his trigger, for the sake of bigger and better zombies or however Laurie’s mind worked. At any rate, he knew nothing of his friend’s funk, having been surprisingly wrapped up in his own things, and her smile today felt genuine enough that he didn’t question it. Nevermind that the cafeteria during lunch was hardly the time or place to press someone on their emotional state.
His smile grew wider, though that would seem to be impossible, as she saved his toy and settled down next to him. Despite his tenacity, he could never be sure whether people would go along with his requests (often more like demands, really), so every time a friend responded positively he was over the moon. Something about not taking things for granted applied here.
“I was thinking…” he mused aloud, grin somewhat calmer, and pushed what was left of his food around on his plate. “About doing some practice with my animation. See if I can animate new things.” His finger poked at the sandwich, giving her a hint of what he was considering practicing on.