Private Finished Wait a Minute, That's no Cat

Salem's movements were of course not exactly human but there was a certain style of mannerisms that Ezra seemed to use while controlling Salem. Tadashi was curious if Ezra moved and gestured the same way or if it was adjusted because of the different body. Despite it being a puppet Tadashi could easily tell that Ezra was thinking a lot between responses. The head tilting and bringing a paw to their chin were just two of the more noticeable features.

Tadashi was glad Ezra hadn't pushed for more information on how the colorblindness had set in. The truth was he didn't know if he actually could explain it. He probably would have had to just explain the whole mess of things that had happened around that time because they all might have played a part in it. That was probably too much to share with a brand new friend. Maybe he'd try to explain it some other time if Ezra grew curious again.

Calling the sketch wonderful made Tadashi smile even wider. He was aware his drawing skills were good but it was still really nice to be complimented on something he drew. With care Tadashi detached the page from his sketchbook, revealing for a moment that the drawling beneath it was some sort of terrifying feral looking dragon creature with a snarling mouth and long, forked tongue. He quickly flipped the sketchbook closed again and let Salem take the 'dapper' sketch. "I'm so glad you like it Ezra. I can always draw you another one if you want though. For free of course because you're my friend."

Tadashi had almost forgot about the phone thing. It made sense to exchange numbers but he was still getting used to having one. Before coming to the island he only had the phone in the cafe. There had been no need for him to have one of his own. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Let me get my phone out," he said as he hurriedly fished in his pockets to pull out a cell phone. Though he had not owned it very long the silver colored phone had its exterior smudged and stained by charcoal or graphite. Not unlike the fingers of his gloves. The screen though was clean enough and it was set to display in high-contrast because of his color-blindness. "I can give you my number or you can give me yours and i'll text or call you. Just so you know, I won't know if you try to call when i'm in cat form but i'll always get back to you when I shift back."

Tadashi watched with curiosity as Ezra had Salem carefully store the drawing so it wouldn't get damaged. He giggled a little at all the work going into it. Tadashi really didn't mind replacing it if something happened to the drawing.

He nodded as Ezra explained it would be easier for them to say their number and have Tadashi put it in his phone. After typing in the number and labeling it 'Ezra/Salem' he smiled and sent a text reading simply 'Hi, this is Tadashi' followed by a cat emoji. The emoji was a touch he learned from his siblings and the other eighth graders. "What about getting those phone pen things... I don't remember what they're called? Then you could have Salem use that to type," he offered trying to be helpful. Ezra might have already known about using a stylus but the phone stuff was still pretty new to Tadashi so he figured maybe it was worth mentioning, even if he didn't know much about them.

As for the part about not always having the phone with them Tadashi grinned. "Guess we'll be pretty equal on calling back then." Kind of funny how both of their issues with phones were related to running around with a cat form. In Tadashi's case it was as an actual cat and in Ezra's case it was the stuffed animal version.

Tadashi happily put down his pencil and sketchbook to extend one of his gloved hands to shake Salem's paw. "Your first friend?" Tadashi thought that was a little sad. How could people not be friends with Ezra? He was so nice. "Well, I'm really happy to be your friend Ezra. We'll make some plans to do fun stuff together. Or just hang out in general. If you need something or want to talk just call or text me." Whether the twinkling in Salem's eye was a coincidence or some indication of emotion Tadashi had no idea. He didn't need an answer to that though to assume that Ezra was happy. Making friends was always good, especially when they were unexpected.