Adventure Bros

TJ walked out of the loud cafeteria and into the school courtyard with his lunch tray. He made his way to a familiar table, the one that his friends sat at. Zach, Marc, Ian and Benji all greeted him as he sat down. Their table was known for being a strange place for conversation.

“Freaking lunch lady gave me a chicken burger... again,” he said with disgust in his voice. “I know i said ‘cheeseburger’.” He lazily plopped his tray on the table and sat down. As per usual, Zach grabbed his tater tots, Ian took his apple while Benji and Marc split the burger. TJ sighed and opened his milk, chugging it in a matter of seconds. He wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket and rolled them up. Zach tossed a tater tot at TJ’s head trying to get his attention. He turned and looked at Zach with an annoyed look on his face.

“Cheer up, I’ll buy you a slushy,” Zach said, eating a tater tot.

“Thanks,” TJ replied. Zach adjusted the position of his guitar as he sat.Benji and Marc looked at each other and then to Zach.

“Now we want slushies,” Marc said.

“I’ll take a blue one,” Benji said in a monotone voice. Zach sighed then stood up, handing his guitar to Ian.

“Fine, i’ll be back,” he said, walking into the noisy cafeteria. Zach always bought his bros slushies whether he wanted to or not. They all knew that they’d have to pay him back sooner or later, but for now, they enjoyed the free slushies. Ian held Zach’s black guitar as they all patiently waited for the slushies to arrive.

Zach came back outside carrying five slushies, two in each hand and clutching onto one of them by the styrofoam cup. Everyone grabbed theirs and started to drink them. The ice cold slushies made sitting out in the heat a lot more bearable.

“Thanks,” TJ said to Zach as he sat down, taking his guitar back from Ian.

“Yeah, but you guys owe me,” Zach said, taking a sip of the drink, the red dye already staining his lips and tongue.

“Yes, we know already. Some day, Zach, someday we shall repay you,” Marc stated. Zach rolled his eyes, taking another drink. TJ quickly drank the slushy while Marc and Benji took their time. Benji looked around the table then decided to spark a conversation.

“We need to do something fun again,” he said. He was referring to the bros’ constant encounters with odd creatures. The creatures resemble mutants or aliens and the bros end up killing them before they kill other people. They would usually keep a body part as a trophy of their success.

“Yeah, something really fun,” Ian said, finishing off his slushy. The bros kept their “trophies” in a house that had been empty for years. It was deemed “unsellable” and the bros made it their personal hangout spot.

“Maybe today’s the day when something cool will happen again,” TJ said, tossing his styrofoam slushy cup onto the collective pile of trash.

“I hope so,” Marc replied, “I can’t stand all this boredom.” The bell rang for 5th period to end, signaling everyone to get to class. The bros all said “later”, then went to their classes. After school, the bros would meet outside by the buses. Their hang out house wasn't too far from the high school, so they would normally walk together, talking about whatever came to mind. When they arrived at the house,

Ian pulled out a key and opened the front door. They all walked in, tossing their bags wherever they wanted. TJ and Zach plopped down on the sofa they’d found out in the back, It was a perfectly good sofa, so they didn’t see a reason not to keep it. Zach turned on the TV and Marc came back with sodas and snacks. He looked around from Ian to TJ before sitting down.

“Where’s Benji?” he asked, handing Zach a soda, then TJ. They both shrugged and cracked open their sodas. Then, the entire house shook from a thunderous roar.

“What the hell was that?!” Ian exclaimed, grabbing the table to stop it from shaking. The sound had come from the basement.

“Guess we found Benji,” TJ said, standing up and grabbing one of many machetes they kept by the front door. The others followed suit and made their way to the basement door.