franzverse

4

Bob wasn't doing anything bad, or dangerous, or risky. He was packing up a backpack and heading to California. It would take two flights and lots of patience, but he would do it.

Just leave right after school tomorrow. It'll be fine.

Bob placed his backpack by the door and went back to his room to somehow get a good night of sleep.

The next morning, Mike, Parker, and Jackie were relieved to find out that Bob hadn't done anything dangerous. Jackie noticed that he still looked like something was wrong, though, so she quickly wrote it down.

"Hey, Bobbo! What happened yesterday?" Mike asked happily, sitting next to Bob at the lunch table.

"Wasn't feeling well," Bob lied, not wanting Mike to know his intentions.

"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks, Mike." Bob flashed the group a quick smile before slowly getting up and nearly running away, as if he was hiding something.

"Dammit!" Jackie hissed as soon as Bob was out of earshot. She gasped, realizing what she had just said out loud. "I-I'm sorry for that word use but...there's something wrong with Bob. Like seriously. This was the last straw for me. I'm so nervous!"

"We all are," Parker sighed, staring into space.

"Wait! I think Bob dropped something! That piece of paper!" Mike pointed out.

The three of them tip-toed to the other side of the table, the paper laying on the ground next to it.

"Could it be...?" Jackie squinted her eyes.

"NO." Mike jumped back.

"It's...It's a brochure...TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!" Parker shouted.

"Shh!" Jackie immediately clapped her hand over her loud friend's mouth. "We can't let anyone else know about this."

"Not even the rest of the group?" Parker wondered, concerned.

"I don't want them to be more worried than they already are. But then again, I want to kind of rub it in their face that they're such bad friends that Bob is now escaping to SoCal."

"So that was the reason..." Mike realized, "I feel so bad for him."

"Jackie, you're the official leader of our squad inside a squad. What's our next move?" Parker asked, playing with a piece of his best friend's hair.

"Stop!" Jackie laughed, flicking him away. "But I am flattered that you consider me a leader. I say...let's go of the plan with guilt tripping the squad and then the three of us go to California!"

"Are you serious?" Mike asked, smiling from ear to ear. "Let's do it! Our moms are close right? They'd love it!"

"Let's do it." Parker smirked, "For now, let's find the rest of the group and tell them."

"Hold on, I have a better idea."

Mike - to Tango, Jacqueline, Parker, Nick, Lindsey, Andy, Paul, Eleanor, Katherine, Alex

Mike: hey guys, Bob decided to go to SoCal... and I was wondering... maybe we could go find him in a few days? weeks? my parents, and Jac's and Parker's are, like, supportive of us going so

Eleanor: DUUUUUUDE THAT WOULD BE SO LIT!!!

Alex: why can't we just stop Bobbo from going???

Jacqueline: because he'll know that we know and he'll get on a plane to NYC and find people who'd like to be his friends but he has to leave because he'll know we know and he'd take a bus to Lake Champlain but we'd always be two steps behind and he'd fly out to Alaska from Canada and then cross to Russia where he passes out from exhaustion and the cold and two Russian dads take care of him but he wants so badly to keep running because he knows we know that he goes back out and dies from hypothermia. that's why.

Alex: Jacq, oh my god, what?

Lindsey: yeah, uh, let's just wait and go to SoCal.

Jacqueline: uhh, haha, not anytime soon though!! there's, like, ten of us!!! we have to do a fundraiser... bobbo could even be back by then...

Mike: yeah, fundraiser first. we gotta get jobs and all that. and, like, money. yeah. and parental permission.

Eleanor: my moms fine, we're flying out there anyway so i already have a ticket!! I'll just change the date if anything changes ehhhh

Mike: omg awesome! and coincidental

Katherine: i can get a ticket.

Mike: ok...great !!!

Mike looked up for a second, staring at Parker and Jackie, awaiting an explanation.

"She's rich." Parker shrugged.

"Oh."

Mike: So that leaves Alex, Andy, Lindsey, Nick, Tango, and Paul. I guess you guys are fundraising with us then??

Alex: yep

Andy: im in

Lindsey: yes !!!!!

Nick: yayayayayay !!!

Tango: yepperooni

Paul: yes

Mike: tango wtf

Tango: I will take my memes elsewhere

The rest of the day was quite awkward, actually. No one knew when Bob was leaving, or if he would even do it. They just pretended they didn't know anything and tried to keep the concerned glances to a minimum.

The Trio were walking home from school, unsure where the rest of the group went, but still deciding to plan.

"For the fundraiser, I found out that Pura Vida lets you sell their bracelets..." Mike scrolled through the website on his phone, checking for more information.

"That's actually amazing, Mike!" Jackie exclaimed. "We can sell them around the school for like, what, five dollars apiece?"

"Perfect, we can have Mr. Faiser announce it on the loudspeaker tomorrow and sell them at lunch!" Parker added.

"Ok, I'm placing the order now." Mike furiously typed out the form, hands shaking with anticipation.

"Awesome. Oh, I'm home." Jackie stopped in front of her house. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, yeah? Mike, send the info in the group text."

"Already on it. See ya, Jackie!"

"Bye, Jac!" Parker waved.

FUNDRAISING

Mike: hey guys, so pura vida, this company, allows you to sell bracelets and raise funds, so we can do that. i already placed the order (i got like 500) and im planning on selling them at lunches this week. everyone in?

Tango: YES!!!!!!!!!! i love them!

Eleanor: Yes!!!! sounds cool

Lindsey: thumbs up

Andy: count me in!

Nick: Sounds great!!!

Paul: im in!

Alex: same

Mike: Awesome!!! see you all tomorrow!