101 Things To Do During The Apocalypse ✓ (BxB)

iii. Teacher's Lounge

Aug. 9, 2236.

Item # 3: Go into the teacher's lounge.

    On August 7th, Lexie and I raided the McDonald's. On the next day—-the eighth—-we spent it crying.

     When I wake up on the ninth, Lexie's already up.

     We spent the night in her car.

     We didn't dare step foot in the house that both of our parents had died in.

      "Good morning," Lexie chirps from the driver's seat as I rub my eyes. "What's next on the list?"

     "Hold on… the apocalypse isn't going anywhere…" I tell her, to which she pulls a face. "I've gotta see if Bruno and Ibtihaj are okay." Bruno Gonzalez and Ibtihaj Bakhtiar have been my closest friends since second grade.

     They grew up in the same apartment complex as me, Liam, and Lexie.

     Lexie rolls her eyes. "Great. We have to go back into that hellhole." She unlocks the door and reaches for her shotgun. She huffs. "Come on. Let's make this quick."

    I get out of the car and follow Lexie back into the apartment complex.

    We go up a few flights of stairs and knock on Bruno's door.

    We don't get a response right away, so I knock again. "Bruno?" I call. "Anyone home?"

     The door yanks open, suddenly.

     Bruno's standing there right in front of me. His face is bruised. One of the lenses of his glasses is broken.

    "Is that Bradley?" Ibtihaj calls from somewhere in the apartment.

    "Yeah," Bruno answers.

     "Ibtihaj is here?" I ask Bruno, to which he nods.

      "Once those damn bombs went off and destroyed her apartment, I decided to let her crash with me…" Bruno begins to explain. "There's safety in numbers, you know."

    "I uhh," I begin to tell him. I restart my sentence. "When I woke up, my parents were dead."

    "I'm sorry…" Bruno says in response. "That's fucking rough, man." He pauses before saying, "Ibtihaj's were the same way… entrails drug throughout the apartment."

    "Ew," Lexie comments. "How's she taking it?"

    "Not well," Bruno begins to say as Ibtihaj walks up.

     "You know I can hear you guys, right?" She asks.

       Ibtihaj's black hair is cut short—-it's got a few small blue streaks through it.

       Ibtihaj looks over to my sister and I.

       I can feel Lexie stiffen beside me.

       Lexie, who's only one year older than Ibtihaj and Bruno—-and two years older than me, has had a crush on Ibtihaj for a long time.

       "Where are you guys planning to head?" Ibtihaj asks us.

        Lexie answers, "Bradley's got this list… stuff he wants to do during the apocalypse. He wrote it when he was in middle school, I think."

      Bruno's eyes light up. "Can we tag along?"

     I nod. "Sure." Then, I smile. "Ever wonder what the inside of the teacher's lounge is like?"

     ─┉─¡! • !¡─┉─

      I'll admit it. The inside of the teacher's lounge isn't as extravagant as I thought it would be.

      "The teachers sure do hype this place up for a whole bunch of nothing," Ibtihaj comments as she looks around the room.

     I look over to Bruno, who's looking at me.

     Bruno looks away quickly, fixes his glasses, and clears his throat.

      Things have been a little awkward between Bruno and I recently; especially since we used to date before I transitioned over.

      Sometimes I wonder if Bruno still has feelings for me.

      Lexie kicks the vending machine in the lounge and it does nothing.

     "Maybe try tipping it," Ibtihaj suggests before approaching the vending machine that Lexie's at.

      Bruno and I exchange a glance before we both run over, also grabbing it.

      "On three. One… two… three."

      In unison, we push the vending machine and it falls with a loud thud.

      Bottles of soda roll out from the vending machine onto the floor.

       Lexie laughs a little. "I guess drinks are on me."