x
Evening was fast closing on the BRYZ world. As the sun set, the NPC lamplighters could be seen scurrying from street to street, racing to beat the oncoming night with their long wicks and candle bandoliers.
Exiting a potion shop, Isaac ran across the orange-lit street to where Charles and Marie waited, engaged in a heated argument.
“I’m telling you, calling noon 12:00 PM is ridiculous!” Charles exclaimed. “Why should it suddenly go from 11:59 AM to 12:00 PM in just one minute?”
“Because, you dingus,” Marie sighed, placing a hand against her forehead, “AM and PM stand for ante merīdiem and post merīdiem, or before midday and after midday, respectively. 12:01 PM is distinctly after midday, so it only makes sense to call it PM!”
“Then call it 00:01 PM!” Charles objected. “If you’re swapping from AM to PM at noon, then restart the whole damn count!”
“You seriously wanna tell someone “Yeah, meet me at zero PM at the park”?” Marie shot back. “That’s a special kind of absurd.”
“How am I the absurd one?” Charles gestured wildly. “I’m just trying to keep things consistent!”
“Er… I’m back?” Isaac announced himself, cutting in.
“Oh hey, welcome back, dude.” Charles broke off mid rant, greeting him with a grin.
“Hey, where’d Tenshi go?” Isaac scanned the surrounding area. “Wasn’t she with you?”
“Oh yeah, she said she wanted to go check out the quests,” Marie explained. “She left as soon as Charles and I started arguing.”
“It’s lucky for you she did, she’d’ve had my back,” Charles smirked.
“In your dreams, bud. She’s an AI, she’d go with the world standard.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Yeah, I understand why she left,” Isaac quipped. “C’mon, lets go meet her there.”
“Who are we meeting?” Tenshi asked.
“Tenshi, silly,” Marie laughed, elbowing her. “Weren’t you list…” She jumped back in shock, finally realizing who she was talking to. “Maudit!” she cursed. “How long were you standing there?”
“I only just arrived,” she assured her, holding up a parchment sheet. “However, I did locate a prospective quest for us.”
“Neato, lemme check it out.” Charles snatched it from her hands, holding it up to the nearby lamplight. “A level 5 D-rank quest with a reward of two thousand gold?” He whistled loudly. “Nice one, Tenshi! This’ll keep us in the black for a bit!”
“As you will notice, it is a time-sensitive quest.” Tenshi nimbly snatched back the paper. “Specifically, it requires us to investigate the graveyard in question at midnight to put the ghost rumours to bed, once and for all.”
“Err… it really specifies we gotta do it at midnight?” Charles took another peek at the paper over her shoulder. “Isn’t that, like, bad luck or something?”
“Aw, don’t worry, Charles. If you’re scared, you can hold my hand,” Marie taunted him.
“Look, laugh all you want, I’m just saying we should be cautious is all,” Charles defended. “Somebody’s gotta be the voice of reason around here.”
“Voice of reason, eh?” Marie smirked. “Here’s something reasonable for you; Ghosts do not exist. Even if we do encounter something similar, its just gonna be one more video game monster to take down. What difference does is make what it looks like?”
“Yeah, you’re the kind of person who dies first in horror movies,” Charles warned.
“To be fair,” Isaac piped up, “Our job is to prove that there aren’t any ghosts in the area, and to remove them if we find any. If we don’t go at night when we’re most likely to see something, can we really say we completed our job?”
Charles sighed deeply. “Well, nothing for it, then. Still, midnight’s quite a ways off. Since we’re just gonna be killing time anyway, I’ve got a plan!”
“I’m listening…” Marie perked up.
*******
“Let me tell you Charles, you’ve had some pretty stupid ideas in the short time I’ve known you,” Marie started. “But this might be your least-stupid idea yet! Let’s get this sleepover started!” She plowed her way into Charles’ townhouse room, throwing herself and a cooler of sodas down on the ground loudly.
“Pardon the intrusion.” Tenshi bowed politely, slinking in after her, arms loaded down with bags.
“Nice place you got here,” Isaac admitted, chucking a bag of snacks to the side and looking around at the snug two-bedroom affair. “How much’d this set you back?”
“A lot more than I’d care to admit.” Charles laughed. “It’s the starter town, after all. Everybody wants a place here. Fortunately, folks usually end up outleveling their surroundings and moving on, so property changes hands pretty quickly.”
“Hey, are you guys gonna shoot the breeze all day, or we gonna get partying?” Marie called out, cracking open a soda.
“Excellent point, Marie!” Charles grinned, snatching the soda from her lips and raising it above him. “Alright, I hereby declare the first sleepover of Team Antivirus started!” He downed the soda in a single quaff.
“So, what’s first?” Marie dug into Tenshi’s bags. “Uno? Old Maid? Truth or Dare?”
“Actually, before we start, I think we should do something to really set the mood,” Charles suggested, winking at Tenshi, who in turn gave him a fierce nod of approval.
“I’m listening.” Marie raised an eyebrow.
“We can hardly call this a sleepover without making it a pajama party!” Charles announced, holding his empty can in front of him like a microphone. “So, without further ado, I’d like to announce our first event of the night: The Pajama Pageant!”
“Say what?”
Charles turned to Marie. “Simply put, we’ll change into our pajamas one at a time, then vote on who’s got the best drip!”
“Oh, is that it? That’s surprisingly okay for a Charles idea.” Marie grinned broadly.
Charles let out a sigh of relief. “Phew, I seriously thought you’d object more.” He pointed at a clearly excited Tenshi with his thumb. “Ol’ Tenshi told me she’s pretty new to this whole sleepover deal, so I figured we gotta give her the complete experience.”
“I am in your care.” She bowed deeply again.
“And on that note, let’s get started!” Charles resumed his announcer voice. “We’ll draw straws to decide the order. Everybody gather ‘round and…” He paused. “Yo Isaac, what gives, man?”
Isaac looked up from his frantic menu searching and grinned ruefully. “Er, well, I wasn’t really prepared for this, so all I have in my BRYZ inventory are my everyday PJs. They’re kinda… homely, to be honest.”
“Dude, that’s fine, don’t sweat it!” Charles dragged him over to the rest. “No matter what you wear, you know it’s gonna blow Marie’s fashion choices out of the water!”
“I’m gonna make you eat those words!” Marie laughed, punching him in the knee.
Turning around, Charles produced four red-and-white striped straws, holding them before the rest. “Okay, pick your straws, ladies and gents! I’ll take whichever one’s left.”
Gingerly reaching out and selecting one, Isaac found that a piece of masking tape had been stuck to the bottom, with the number “1” hastily written on it in sharpie.
“Wasn’t the point to have the straws be different lengths?” Marie nit-picked.
“Eh, same diff.” Charles shrugged.
“Er… does “1” mean I go last…?” Isaac raised his hand hopefully.
“DING DING DING! We have our first contestant!” Charles pulled him onto his feet. “The bathroom’s the first door on your left, pal. You got this!”
Grudgingly, Isaac made his way to the bathroom. He shut the door after him, and there was a sibilant rustle of fabric, before he re-entered the room, dragging his elephant-slippered feet. He was dressed simply in a worn and faded indigo-blue hoodie and grey jogging pants, and an eye-decaled sleep mask hung from his neck.
“You know, it’s very “you”, Isaac,” Marie commented.
“I know what you mean.” Charles pointed at her.
Wordlessly, Tenshi walked up to him. Looking down at his elephant slippers, she gave him a quiet thumbs-up. Then, taking the sleep mask from around his neck, she slipped it over her own eyes and promptly curled up into a fetal position on the floor.
“Uh, Tenshi?” Isaac queried.
“I am at peace,” she replied, still curled up.
“Moooooving on!” Charles announced, not missing a beat. “I won’t ask who number two was, because it’s yours truly!” He bent down and pressed the empty can into Marie’s hands. “Hold this for me, 'kay?” Before she could respond, he swept past Isaac into the bathroom, humming to himself.
Stepping over Tenshi, Isaac returned to his former position on the floor.
“Hey, nice duds.” Marie flashed Isaac a grin.
“Thanks.” Isaac matched her grin, feeling a lot more comfortable.
“Sorry to keep you all waiting!” Charles strolled out of the bathroom and back into the living room at a jaunty swagger, garbed in wine-coloured silk lapel pajamas, and with simple grey slippers over his feet. “Well? Watcha think?” He struck a pose. “Falling for me all over again, Marie?”
“In your dreams!” She laughed, throwing his can at him.
Tenshi slipped the sleep mask off her eyes and looked up at Charles. “Seventh avenue pajamas?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Er, I really don’t think so.”
“Haute couture?”
“Probably not.”
“Oh.” She returned the mask to her eyes and resumed her fetal position.
“Hey, just ‘cause I didn’t spend a couple grand on them doesn’t make them any less chic!” Charles defended.
“I dunno, man. You kinda look like the honky prince of bel air.” Marie laughed.
“Philistines.” Charles sighed theatrically. “Well, onto the next: Number three!”
Utter silence.
Isaac and Charles turned to Marie.
“Hey, I’m number four!” She showed her straw. “That only leaves one person.”
They all turned to Tenshi, who was still curled up on the ground.
“Hey, that’s your queue, homegirl.” Marie walked over and removed her mask, chucking it back to Isaac.
“I was immersing myself in the spirit of sleep.” Tenshi explained, popping to her feet. “Did I give off the appearance of slumbering?”
“Uh, yeah, sure you did.”
Tenshi smiled in response, skipping lightly over to the bathroom.
“The-heck-did-that-mean?!” Marie silently mouthed to Charles.
“I-have-literally-no-idea,” Charles mouthed back.
The sound of the bathroom door unlocking caused the three of them to turn, as Tenshi shuffled out into the living room.
In a unicorn onesie.
“I obtained pajamas.”
“God, you’re adorable.” Marie laughed, ruffling her hair and pulling the hood up. “Take a picture, Charles, c’mon!”
“Already on it!” Charles had his menu up and was snapping pictures like a proud father.
“Well, I think we know who won this one.” Isaac laughed.
“Hey, don’t be skipping over me, now!” Marie objected, posing for one more picture with Tenshi before rushing for the bathroom.
“You’ve got a hard act to follow, but we’re counting on you, Marie.” Charles gave her a thumbs-up.
“Don’t get your hopes up too much, guys.” She laughed. “I’m in the same boat as Isaac, I didn’t get a chance to prepare anything sexy, I just got my usual jammies.”
“It’s okay, we didn’t expect anything sexy from you anyway,” Charles quipped.
Chuckling, Marie flipped him off, closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, Tenshi returned to her former seat, sitting with her knees tucked to her chest this time.
“You guys know I have couches and chairs, right?” Charles spoke up. “You don’t have to sit on the floor.”
“Doesn’t it feel more like a sleepover on the floor, though?” Isaac replied.
“You got me there.” Charles dropped to a cross-legged position.
“’Aight, I’m done!” Marie called out, strutting barefoot from the bathroom in as close to a catwalk as she could muster. She was wearing an oversized white tee, red plaid boxers, and had her hair done up in a top bun.
“Well?” She grinned. “A perfect 10, right?”
“Objection!” Charles got to his feet. “You can’t wear boxers, you fashion pirate! Only men get to wear those!”
“Hey now, it’s all kosher, I’ve got my undies on under them.” Marie held up a hand.
“No, that’s not even my beef!” Charles gesticulated animatedly. “Women already took handbags, high-heels, and pants from men! You can’t take our boxers too, that’s just inhuman!”
“Not my fault they’re so comfy.” Marie shrugged, plunking herself down on the floor. “Besides, men take clothes ideas from women too, my guy.”
“Yeah? Name one,” Charles challenged.
“Well, take rash guards for athletes,” Marie suggested. “No matter how you look at it, that’s basically a sports bra for men.”
“Say what now?”
“I’m serious,” Marie defended. “Why do you think surfers, joggers, and bikers wear them? It’s that or say goodbye to your nippies. A couple miles of running, and your sweaty shirt is like sandpaper on those bad boys.”
“Say it ‘aint so.” Charles collapsed back to the ground.
“But that’s not even the real issue, here.” Isaac turned to Charles.
“So, you picked up on it too, did you?” Charles locked eyes with him.
“Oh, what is it now?” Marie complained.
“The problem is that you pull it off really well!” Isaac slammed a fist on the floor.
“It’s downright illegal for boxers and a tee to look that sexy!” Charles objected.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s like, you know, that look!” Isaac looked to Charles. “You know the one I’m talking about!”
“Yeah, it’s like…” Charles fumbled for the words. Placing his hands above his head, he adopted a feminine voice. “Oh noooo it’s raining! The forecast said it’d be sunny today, too!” He began running in the spot.
“Huh? Mackenzie? What’re you doing out this way? School ended an hour ago!” Isaac joined his skit, lowering his voice to a deep, masculine one.
“I just… wanted to see you, Josh!” Charles turned away shyly.
“You idiot,” Isaac muttered, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. “C’mon, my house is just over here, get inside before you catch cold.”
The two pantomimed entering a house.
“Brrr… I’m all soaked through.” Charles shivered.
“Here.” Isaac chucked an imaginary bundle to him, looking away. “They’re just my old clothes. You can take a shower upstairs and change into those until your clothes dry.”
They looked into each other’s eyes.
“Josh…”
“Mackenzie…”
“Like that!” Charles slammed a hand against the back of his couch. “That’s exactly what you look like right now, Marie!”
“The hell did I just witness?” Marie sat stunned. “I’m literally speechless, and that’s a first for me.”
“Point is, as much as I hate to say it, you win this one, Marie.” Charles grudgingly extended a hand to her. “Congrats.”
“If I develop a boxer fetish, it’s totally your fault, though,” Isaac quipped.
“Congratulations, Marie,” Tenshi bowed. “It was a good fight.”
“God, I don’t even know anymore.” Marie laughed. “Let’s just move onto the next game.
*******
“Alright, coming up next, the game we’ve all been waiting for!” Charles announced loudly into his empty can. “Truth or Dare!”
“Woo!” Marie yelled out, chugging another soda, while Isaac and Tenshi clapped awkwardly.
“And as per the ancient rules, as the previous winner, Marie gets the honour of going first!”
“Oh shoot, I’m not too good at coming up with ideas.” Marie chuckled, rising to her feet. “Can I take a sec to look up some good questions?”
“Hey, not to worry!” Charles summoned an item from his menu, handing it to her. “Tenshi and I worked hard on this, in the event that we’d ever play Truth or Dare.”
“You guys seriously planned that far ahead?” Marie accepted the odd, boxy device. “What is it?”
“Press the button on the side, and it’ll provide you both a Truth and a Dare!” Charles narrated. “Your choice is who you ask!”
“Oh God, this is gonna be sketchy as hell, isn’t it?”
“You know it!”
“Well, here goes.” She pushed the button, chuckling to herself as she read the options. “Oh boy. Alright then, Charles, I choose you!”
“I’m a brave boy, I choose dare!”
“Alright then brave boy, I dare you to give me 5 sincere compliments!”
“Hoo-boy!” Isaac laughed. “That might be too difficult for Charles.”
“Heh, nothin’ to it!” Charles turned and stood up, staring Marie right in the eyes. “#1, I like how you can take a joke, and play along with it. That’s pretty cool. #2: I can tell you work out, consistently even, and I respect that. #3: You’re amazing with kids, and you’ll make a great mom someday. #4: Your self-confidence is contagious, and you can really put other people at ease. #5: Your smile is absolutely radiant.”
Charles took his seat again, as everyone sat in complete silence.
“Dang, that was… a lot more embarrassing than I thought!” Marie ducked her head under her hands. “Well, I guess it’s your turn, Charles.”
“I’ll give you a sixth one for free.” Charles winked, reaching over and snatching the box. “The way you melt under compliments is pretty adorable.”
“Oh, bite me!” She laughed, throwing a pillow at him and blushing fiercely.
“Aright, I pick… Isaac!” Charles looked across the room at him.
“Agh, truth is too scary. I pick… dare.”
“Give your phone to someone and let them send a text to anyone in your contacts.”
Isaac gulped, looking around the room. “T-Tenshi, you seem like a safe bet.” He summoned his phone and handed it to her. Fingers flying, she imputed a message and sent it off in seconds.
“Hey, it’s no fun if we don’t see it!” Charles snatched the phone. “Let’s see… Oh, she sent it to your sis Celica! She said: “I can taste the speed of nature”. The heck?!”
“TENSHI NO!” Isaac ran for his phone, as Charles and Marie broke out in explosive laughter. He barely got to it before it started buzzing with responses.
“Isaac?”
“Are you okay?”
“How much drugs did you do?”
“Where are you?”
“Are you with anyone?”
“Goddamnit, Tenshi!” Isaac laughed.
“I heard a player say that in the streets,” she explained, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Well, it’s your turn now, Isaac.” Charles handed him the box.
“Fine then, payback time. I choose Tenshi.”
“Logic would dictate me to choose truth, then.”
“Okay, fine. What’s something you love about yourself?”
Silence.
“I do not know the answer to that.”
“Aw, c’mon, jellybean. You gotta have something,” Marie called out encouragingly.
Tenshi tilted her head. “In that case… I love that I was given something in me that made all of you want to be my friends.”
Loud sniffs echoed through the room.
“Tenshi!” Charles threw his arms around her. “We’ll be friends forever, okay?”
“Yeah!” Isaac followed up.
“What he said!” even Marie joined in.
“This is… pretty nice.” Tenshi admitted.
“Alright then.” Charles wiped his eyes. “That means you’re up next, Tenshi.”
“Naturally. In that case, I pick Marie.”
“Ooh… tough call… I pick dare!”
“Go to the bathroom and trade clothes with one of the boys. You have to wear them for the rest of the game.”
“TENSHI! Why would you make me do this?!”
“The commands are absolute.”
“I… for the love of… Oh fine. Charles, you’re with me!”
Looking slightly concerned, Charles let himself be dragged off to the bathroom with the fuming Marie. They emerged minutes later, Marie in his silk pajamas and slippers, Charles barefoot and in her white tee and boxers.
“Somehow, that suits you both,” Isaac commented. “Although Charles, you kinda look like you just got dragged outta bed.”
“I miss my jammies.” He sighed, pulling at the front of his shirt.
“They do look comfy,” Tenshi agreed.
“Honestly, this is surprisingly okay,” Marie admitted, picking up the cube. “Okay, I pick Isaac!”
“Well, I’m gonna be brave this time and go with truth!”
“What was your most embarrassing moment?”
“Damnit, I knew I should’ve avoided truth!” He got up in front of the rest. “Okay, bit of a story here.”
“Go on.” Marie grinned.
“So, when I was an itty-bitty kid, I was reading the bible, and when I got to the part that mentioned circumcision, I misread “cutting of the foreskin” as “cutting of the forehead”. The only thing I could think of that looked like a cut on the forehead was an Indian bindi, so I assumed that’s what circumcision was.”
“Oh boy.” Charles snickered.
“Hey, I was like eight!” Isaac defended himself. “Anyway, this never came up again. Fast forward to grade 10, and I was friends with an Indian kid named Mihailo. For his birthday, a bunch of his other friends held him down and, while he fought back good-naturedly, they gave him a bindi with a permanent marker.”
Isaac took a breath.
“This was all well and good, until a teacher asked me what was going on over there, at which point I innocently told him his friends were circumcising him for his birthday.”
Isaac placed his face in his hands with embarrassment as Charles and Marie howled with laughter.
“Oh man, I… I can’t… what did the teacher say?” Charles asked, crying with mirth.
“He practically turned white as a sheet, and ran over to tear them off Mihailo,” Isaac explained, breaking into a chuckle himself. “That was the day I learned the difference between the forehead and the foreskin.”
A fresh bout of laughter ensued, and Marie dragged herself over to Isaac, handing him the cube. “Go on, you deserve this.” She chuckled.
“Okay, Charles, you’re up.”
“Truth!”
“Celebrity crush, go!”
“Heh, I’d’ve told you that for nothing.” Charles grinned. “Emily Blunt, any day of the year!”
“Really?” Marie raised an eyebrow. “I figured you’d pick some PYT with a nice butt.”
“Hey, don’t be dissing on Emily’s butt!” Charles defended. “Besides, a lot of it comes down to the personality. She seems like a real straight-shooter, one of the few women in Hollywood that managed to keep her soul.”
“Fair enough, I respect your taste.” Isaac handed him the cube.
"Okay, your turn, Marie." Charles smirked.
"Gimme Truth!"
“Building off our previous option then,” Charles looked at the device, “Marie, what’s your type?”
“Mine?” Marie sat up. “Agh, that’s hard. Let me think… brown or blond hair is nice… he’s gotta have a friendly smile, and a personality that radiates teddy bear energy, maybe a little bit on the daddyish side? It doesn’t hurt if he’s tall or muscular… oh, and actually, Australian accents are kinda hot…”
“You can just say your type is Chris Hemsworth, it’s okay.” Charles laughed.
“Guilty as charged.” She laughed back, taking the cube.
“Okay, Tenshi, Truth or Dare?”
“Dare.”
“Let the group give you a new hairstyle. You have to wear it for the rest of the game.”
“I have some concerns.”
“Alright, I’ve got some cute barrettes and elastics!” Marie pulled out her bag.
“I’ve got a couple combs and some hair spray,” Charles offered.
“It helps that she’s got so much hair,” Isaac noted.
A couple minutes and several cans of hairspray later, the group had managed to turn Tenshi’s hair into a snow-covered volcano, with red ribbons of lava spilling down from its peak.
“Man, I think you could legitimately wear this as a fashion statement!” Isaac quipped, posing with the others for a selfie.
“Hell yeah!” Marie agreed.
“Good job, team!” Charles high-fived the other two.
“I question the accuracy of snow remaining on an erupting volcano.” Tenshi touched her white hair.
“Hey, it was either that or we dyed your hair brown,” Marie defended, handing her the cube.
“Understandable. Isaac, Truth or Dare?”
“I’m sticking with dare this time.”
“Say your cheesiest pickup line, as serious as you can.”
“I regret everything.” Standing up, he faced the other three.
“Hey babe, are you my appendix? Because this feeling in my stomach makes me want to take you out.”
“Not gonna lie, I’d go for that.” Marie chuckled.
“I do not get it,” Tenshi admitted, handing him the cube.
“It’s okay, I’ll explain it to you later,” Isaac promised. “Okay, Charles! What’s your pick?”
“Truth!”
“If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?”
Charles thought for a moment. “Honestly, I wish I had the ability to read people’s mental state. That way I could find people having a bad day and cheer them up, or help people who are going through a tough time but don’t want to say it.”
“That’s really wholesome.” Marie smiled. “I like that.”
“That’s a way better answer than mine would've been,” Isaac admitted, tossing him the cube. “You earned this.”
“Alright, Tenshi next!” he pointed at her.
“Truth.”
“If you had to be stuck on a deserted island with someone in this room, who would it be?”
Tenshi blinked twice, mulling it over. “Isaac,” she finally admitted.
“Oh-ho-ho, interesting choice!” Charles smirked. “And why’s that?”
“I reason that as extroverts, both you and Marie would feel a lot worse being trapped alone on an island with just me than Isaac, an introvert, would.”
“I mean, she has a point,” Isaac admitted.
“Also, I have the feeling that with Isaac around, I would never be bored.”
Isaac flushed and tucked himself into his knees. “Oh, uh, thanks.”
Charles and Marie grinned at each other and winked as he handed Tenshi the cube.
“Marie.”
“You’ve got it in for me, don’t you?”
“Payback for the hair.”
“Oh fine, I’ll be a sport. Dare.”
“Put on lipstick without using a mirror.”
“Are you kidding me?” Marie complained. “I don’t even know how to put on lipstick with a mirror!”
“Here’s your lipstick, get to it!” Charles grinned.
“Why do you have that?”
“Tenshi and I designed these questions, remember?”
Laughing and joking, the games continued on into the night.
*******
“What time is it now?”
“Only 10:00. Do you have a three?”
“Go fish.”
Isaac looked around at his friends. Sometime during the night, mattresses and sleeping bags had been spread out and the furniture pushed back, and they all lay in a cross-shape, facing each other as they played go-fish. Around the room, snack bags, empty cans, and various random items used in dares littered every corner and surface, telling the unspoken tale of the group’s night out.
“Your turn, Isaac!” Marie nudged him.
“Oh right. Tenshi, do you have a queen?”
“Negative.”
Isaac reached for a card from the deck, pausing part way through. “Hey guys?” he asked.
“Hmm? What’s up, man?” Charles asked from across the pile.
“What do you think will happen… when this is all over and BRYZ goes back to normal? Will we still be able to meet up like this and hang out?”
There was a moment of silence as everyone mulled the answer over.
“I mean, why not?” It was Marie who broke the silence. “It’s not like the internet’s gonna go away. We can still meet up in BRYZ lobbies, text each other, or do video calls. The internet’s shrunk the world right down, we’re all just a couple taps away from each other.”
“That’s pretty poetic of you,” Charles commented.
“I thought so myself, thanks.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Isaac mused.
“’Sides,” Marie continued. “The three of us are all on the North-Eastern seaboard anyway, so even if we don’t meet up online again for whatever reason, it wouldn’t be that hard to meet up in person. We’re gonna have plenty of memories to share and stories to swap by the end of this adventure, that’s for damn sure.”
“But what about Tenshi?” Isaac asked.
“Hell, I’ll take her along in my cell phone if it comes to it.” Charles laughed. “’Aint no way we’re leaving her out.”
“Thank you.” Tenshi smiled softly.
“Yeah, you’re absolutely right.” Isaac smiled, drawing his card, a four of hearts. “It’s like this card, all four of us in different corners, but the same suit.”
“Do you have a four, Isaac?” Tenshi asked.
“Damnit Tenshi, you ruined the moment!”
Laughter chased away the dark of the night as the four friends snuggled deeper into their blankets, awaiting the approach of midnight.
To be continued in the BRYZ Summer Special Volume 1: Summer Shadows!
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