Late Night with The Boys

“18…19…20!”

That was the last set.

Sweat dripped off my face onto the yoga mat. In preparation for more outdoors activities, I’ve started doing strength and endurance training at home.

Have I told the others yet?

Nope.

My plan was to ask the boys to help me work out at the gym. Step one consisted of cardio and calisthenics on my own, so I wouldn’t look lame lifting small weights. I pitied my weak physique.

Was it fortunate that I was skinny? I couldn’t tell. My biology teacher said that it was harder to gain muscle than to burn fat. It would take me a lot of protein shakes and discipline to reach Prius’s level.

In terms of my social life, however, I believe I was fortunate to be skinny. The only people who picked on me were family members urging me to eat more during reunions.

…I should take a shower.

Blip.

As I was cleaning up my sweaty mat, my phone buzzed. Was it the boys? Other than the occasional meme and our frequent road trips, we never used our group chat that much. Speaking of road trip, we didn’t plan one for this weekend.

I tapped the screen to see that one of my classmates—former classmates now that we’ve graduated—messaged me.

Ah. I forgot it was Friday. Let me take a shower first.

o

“Where were you?”

“I was working out.”

“Oh, that’s why you haven’t been online lately.”

A familiar tune played as letters appeared across the screen in a sharp-looking font.

Heaps of Heroes.

Commonly abbreviated as “HoH”. It was a famous tactical shooter developed by a Chinese company, novel for being the first of its kind that uses special abilities.

Four players would attempt to plant an explosive crystalline device in a designated site defended by four enemy players. Each map had two main sites where you could plant the crystal. It was a simple, well-designed game that required the perfect mix of reflexes and strategy.

The gameplay felt like a first-person MOBA with gunplay; it was incredibly addicting, and I’ve grinded over a hundred hours every season.

I joined Ken’s lobby.

“You ready?” Ken asked over voice call.

“Yup. You can start the queue,” I replied.

“So, what’ve you been up to? Some self-improvement thing?”

“No, I’m just trying to get in shape for my road trips. We might be doing some more in the summer.”

“Oh yeah, those. That sounds fun.”

“What about you, Ken? Any summer plans?”

“I’m going on a family trip next week, plus another grad trip with the guys. You wanna come?”

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“…”

“MATCH FOUND,” the game announced. We loaded into the character select screen. As usual, I picked the Healer and Ken picked the Duelist.

“You know,” Ken said. “Everything happened so long ago. Most of the guys don’t really care anymore. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you joined our grad trip.”

“…”

I’m sure he’s just being polite.

“It’s okay,” I replied. “I’m not that close with most of them anyways, outside of playing HoH.”

“…”

“…”

“Via.”

“Yes?”

“Are you still upset about Gordo?”

“I’m upset about how they treated him.”

“I hated that too,” Ken admitted. “But the guys already received hell from teachers and parents for what they did, and nothing’s happened since... they’ve really gotten better.”

“Ken, you’re a cool guy.”

“...Thanks.”

“I’m comfortable being friends with you because throughout that entire situation, you were the only one who didn’t join in the bullying when it escalated. But I can’t bring myself to fully reconcile with everyone else because the way they treated one of our own friends was repulsive. There’s nothing stopping them from turning on you the same way.”

“But they genuinely did learn from their mistake.”

“Are you sure they’ve really changed? I thought the reason you hung out with me was because you regretted not being able to help Gordo.”

“...”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” he replied. “I understand how you feel. I’ll tell them you said no to the grad trip.”

“Thanks.”

Our characters spawned into an open plateau with two others, where we picked our guns and immersed ourselves in the smooth digital landscape.

o

“DEFEAT.”

“Aw man. Down for another one?”

“Wait, Ken. Give me a second.”

I stared at the message that just appeared on my phone. It wasn’t from the group chat.

Ravi: help me with Prius. Come ASAP. I sent you my location pin.

“Sorry Ken, I gotta go.”

“Really? Are we ending on a loss?”

“It’s an emergency. I’ll play with you some other time.”

Slipping into a sweater, I snatched my parent’s car keys off the table and rushed out our front door.

“Mom! I’m taking the car!”

“Careful!”

Eight-thirty in the evening. The bright summer sky above was a rapidly dimming blue as I turned the ignition. I\Avoiding the intimidating highway, I let my phone’s GPS reroute its path to the comfortable city streets.

What could the situation be? Did Prius get into an accident? I realized I had jumped into this situation without asking for any details. There was no way to know until I got there.

Streetlights started illuminating the sleek black pavement. I wondered if the situation would be over by the time I get there.

After a lengthy twenty minutes, I rolled into the parking lot that Ravi had specified. It belonged to a miniscule plaza that consisted of a pizza place, a hair salon, and a convenience store.

There were two silhouettes sitting on the curb, their backs against the brightly lit windows. I walked closer to see a trembling Prius cradling his own face with his hands, with Ravi patting his shoulder.

“What happened?”

Prius lifted his head. There were multiple bruises across his cheeks, with tears running over them. Looking closer, I could tell that Ravi also had swollen, bruising spots on his tanned face.

“Prius... broke up with his girlfriend.” Ravi said.

“How did your faces get bruised?” I asked.

“...I’ll tell you later.”

He had stopped after watching Prius scrub his eyes.

“It’s okay,” Prius said, trying to stabilize his quivering voice. “You can tell Via the whole story.”

“...”

“We went on a double date a couple weeks ago,” Ravi explained. “Well, it was more like a blind date for me. Prius and Rose tried to introduce me to one of her friends, but nothing really clicked. I didn’t think much of it at first.

“But a little later, Rose started texting me herself. At first it was just friendly chit-chat—asking me what I thought of her friend, how the date went, things like that. We talked about my preferences and whatnot. I thought she was being nice and wanted to set up another blind date for me.

“But eventually, the texts got progressively more suggestive. Rose hinted that she wanted to go on some of the date ideas that I liked. There wasn’t anything outright incriminating about it, but it did make me uncomfortable, I ended up responding less.

“For some reason she got more desperate after our camping trip, and texted me nonstop this week. This morning she asked me out on a date and said not to tell Prius, so I took a bunch of screenshots and called him immediately. I told him to confront her, and we arranged to meet up at seven since I wanted to check on him.

“From what I know, Prius went to talk to her and I think Rose blamed the situation on me, because when I met up with Prius he was furious. We got into a fight and... here we are.”

“...”

Prius’s breathing was steady now, although his eyes were still swollen red. I sat beside him on the craggy curb and patted his back.

“You good bro?” I asked. “Need any water?”

“I’m okay for now, thanks.”

We wordlessly sat in each other’s company as the sounds of nearby cars echoed through the emptying parking lot. All of the streetlights were on by now.

As Ravi and I were wondering what to do next, a lone sedan screeched as it messily turned into our parking lot. When its lights flicked off, a concerned young woman peeked out of the door with the usual bun on her head.

“What happened?” Coco asked, visibly worried. “And why are there bruises on your face? Let me grab the first aid kit. Here Via, catch.”

“Ah!”

I fumbled with the red plastic box that she tossed over.

“I’ll go buy drinking water to rinse the cuts,” she said. “You guys need anything else from the convenience store?”

“...No.”

She hastily walked into the store behind us.

“...Coco feels like a mom,” I commented. Prius exhaled through his nose with a slight curve on his lips, which lifted my spirits. He seemed to be feeling better.

“Like the alpha that protects and feeds the pack?” Ravi asked.

“I’m back!” Coco announced, with water bottles and chocolates in arms.

Dampening a piece of gauze, she wiped down the boys’ cuts and bruises before applying some disinfectant. They winced as the salve was rubbed onto their wounds.

“What are the chocolates for?” I asked.

“Chocolate makes me feel better when I’m crying,” Coco said.

“I’m done my crying,” Prius said. “And these chocolates have traces of nuts in them. What are you holding?”

“...Whoops. You want me to grab a different one?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Why were you crying anyways?”

“...”

This time, Prius told the story with glistening eyes and emotional cracks in his voice. He repeated what he heard of Ravi’s perspective, as well as his own.

“Rose said he was lying,” Prius told us.“That Ravi kind of came into my life out of nowhere, while she’s been dating me for the past year. Of course, I wanted to believe her; I was a total wreck.

“The moment I saw Ravi, I started throwing hands like he was the guy who blackmailed my girl. We tussled for a bit until the convenience store guy broke us up, and Ravi got to show me the screenshots...”

“There, there...” Coco said, patting his shoulder.

Tears batted out of Prius’s eyes as he let out a deep sigh. I didn’t know much about the other two, but I certainly wasn’t experienced enough to comment on a breakup. The least I could do was make him forget.

“You guys hungry?” I asked.

“I didn’t eat dinner,” Ravi said.

“What about you, Prius?”

“Same.”

“Let’s grab MgRonald’s,” I suggested.

“Prius and I didn’t drive,” Ravi said.

“That’s okay, I’ll take Prius.”

o

Following Coco’s lead, I made small talk with Prius in my dad’s SUV.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time you’re driving me, isn’t it?”

“Yup,” I replied. “You know, I could always drive whenever you get tired.”

“It’s okay. I like driving.”

“Where’s the nearest MgRonald’s, by the way?”

“Pretty far. We’ll have to go on the highway.”

“H-highway?”

Gulp.

Our city was surrounded by one circular highway, which made travelling much faster. Despite its speed, however, I took the bus to school—meaning I didn’t have much practice merging onto the highways.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t done this before?”

“...Once.”

“Man, you need to know this stuff.”

Prius scanned the mirrors and windows for our surroundings, before teaching me on the process.

“Okay, it looks about clear. Turn your pointer on now...”

Click.

“Now match your speed to the cars around us.”

“But they’re all speeding!”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s safer for everyone if you match your speed.”

The car revved in acceleration, and we managed to follow Coco onto the highway without dying. I sighed in relief.

“You need to practice that more if you ever want to go on a solo trip,” Prius said.

“Ehh... I’m not interested in doing anything solo,” I replied.

“Really? You’re not interested in doing a trip on your own?” he asked incredulously.

“Nope. There’s no reason to. For me, anywhere is fine. If I’m with you guys, I’ll probably have fun.”

“I understand what you mean, but... it’s different, you know? The things you eat, the sights you see when you’re alone. It feels super independent, like a celebration of solitude.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before.”

“I went on a solo day trip yesterday. Ravi and I talked about it last week.”

“Huh...”

I remembered Ravi’s words from our camping trip. He had talked about something like this. Being alone was always something I hated, but the idea of doing things independently has its own appeal.

“...I’ll think about it.”

Honk!

I glanced to my left. Ravi was making animated gestures through his window, mouthing words I couldn’t decipher.

“...Pray?”

“He’s saying ‘let’s race’,” Prius said.

“Ah.”

“I’m down. There’s not many cars around.”

“...”

Unwillingly, I stepped on the gas pedal.

Our engines gave out war cries as we started zipping across the road. Yellow paint that separated the lanes turned from moving dots into a single, lucid line. The information on my speedometer long since broke the limits of the law.

Now who were these rule-breakers, driving around the city like idiots who believed they were immortal?

I hate to snitch on us—but it was me and the boys.

o

We gently rolled out of the drive-thru of our local MgRonald’s, safe and sound. It was ten. We’d taken a little detour on our road race, where thankfully no one was hurt. Althought I am legally prohibited from endorsing our actions, I must confess—it was thrilling.

Of course, I lost to Coco. Speeding on the highway was one thing, but I absolutely refused to endanger any lives by driving recklessly inside the city.

“You feel better now bro?” I asked Prius.

“Haha, yeah. That was fun.”

“That’s good to hear...”

“...It’ll take a while for me to get over the breakup though. We dated for a whole year, after all. 12th grade was the best because of her.”

“Did you see the signs coming?”

“No, not really...well...”

“Well?”

“She started hanging around a different friend group in the spring. I think that’s when we started going on less dates.”

“Ah... I guess friends really reflect who you are.”

We pulled up next to Coco’s sedan. With fries, burgers, and drinks in hand, the other two joined us in my spacious backseats.

“You drove like a pretty big rebel, for such an obedient child,” I commented.

“Sometimes I drive faster to let off some steam,” she laughed. “It feels just like sprinting out of anger, or other strong emotions. Very effective.”

“Stop! You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“It’s fiiine. There’s no one on the highway in the evenings.”

“Ravi, Prius! You guys tell her off too.”

“Uhhhhh...” “Well...” the two of them responded sheepishly, avoiding my gaze.

“Don’t tell me you guys are guilty of this too...”

Shaking my head, a sparkle in the sky caught my eye. I rolled back the sunroof. It was dark, and there weren’t many stars.

“There’s too much light pollution in the city,” Ravi said. “We could go stargazing a little further away, if you guys want.”

“I need to go soon,” Coco said.

“Ah, that’s too bad. Prius, do you have a sunroof in the truck?”

“No, it’s pretty old. We don’t need one for stargazing though. Remember the campfire?”

“Aw man, I wish I could’ve seen that,” Coco lamented. She glanced at Prius. “You feeling better now?”

“Yup.”

“...You need to cut that witch out of your life,” she said with visible disdain. “There’s no good reason for you to keep her around.”

“Yeah...” Prius sighed. “I know. It’s just gonna suck for the next little while.”

“We’re all here for you,” Ravi said.

“I appreciate it man. Especially you for telling me, and not doing anything with Rose behind my back. You’re a real one.”

“I’m sure you’d do the same for us.”

“Almost.”

“Almost?”

Prius smiled.

“If a girl cheats on one of you guys, I can’t really get physical. But if a boy cheats on Coco, I’m throwin’ hands bro.”

“Haha, damn right,” Ravi chuckled. “If homegirl gets cheated on, I’d probably call all my cousins over. There’s at least twenty of them.”

“Stop it...” Coco said. “If I get with someone hotter than you guys, you better not scare him off.”

I couldn’t tell if she was blushing, but she definitely sounded flattered.

“Anywho,” Prius said. “I got no date for the Summer Stampede anymore. You guys wanna go?”

“Hell yeah!” Ravi exclaimed. “You got tickets already?”

“Only two.”

“Speaking of tickets, here you guys go,” Coco said. “I bought some lottery tickets while you were still in the drive-thru.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“It’s because Prius used up all his bad luck with the breakup,” she explained. “That means only good luck is left, right?”

“Well if it’s free, I’m in,” Prius declared.

We each grabbed a ticket.