Young Banana Bus Squad

After School

After school, Tyler invites me over to his house. He says that most of the time, the guys hang out at his house after school. As I pull on my backpack, Brian walks up behind me. 

"Craig! So, you're coming to Tyler's with us. You might want to let your parents know you'll be late." 

I sigh, then turn around. "Um, Brian, I can't expect you to have known this, but, well, my parents aren't really around much. Or, should I say, parent. My mum died about a year ago, and my dad has been distant. I'm staying at the motel down the road by myself for awhile while he's away on business trip." 

Brian's eyes widen. "I'm so sorry!" 

I shake my head. "You didn't know. Don't worry about it." 

He nods, but then raises his eyebrow. "Wait, Craig, you're staying in a motel for an indefinite amount of time, alone?" He asks, and I pause, then nod. 

"That pretty much sums it up." 

He sighs. "Craig, you're only in twelfth grade. You can't be living alone yet!" 

I cross my arms. "Dude, I'm eighteen." 

Brian shakes his head. "Craig, it doesn't matter. You're still a kid. Hey, why don't you come stay with Daithi and me? We got room! Actually, we're staying with Lui." 

I shake my head. "Nah. Thanks though. Plus, it sounds like that would be a bit too crowded for me." 

Brian shrugs, and we walk out. Tyler and the guys are waiting for us under a big tree at the gate for the school. 

"Come on, you lazy asses!" Lui yells. Brian and I look at each other, and we run over to them. Tyler puts his hand on my shoulder. 

"Craig, are you ready to get your ass beat at Call of Duty?" He says smiling, and I smirk. 

"Not on your life. I'll beat your ass, if you want." I say with a smug grin, and he laughs. 

"You can sure try. Let's go!" We all walk to his house. We shove and push each other along the way, and joke around. After about twenty minutes, we get to Tyler's house. It's off a dirt road, and it looks like a sort of farm house. 

Evan points farther down the road. "I live just down there. Jon lives with me." I nod, and I see Jon walking far behind the rest of us, nervously chewing on the strings of his hoodie. I sigh, and turn back to Tyler. 

"Dude, I love your house. And you have such a big yard, too." 

Tyler snickers. "Dude, you act like you've never been in the country before." I laugh, and Brock smiles. 

"Craig, your laugh is cool." 

I glance back at him. "Thanks." 

He nods, and Marcel puts his hand on my shoulder. "Race you to the door!" He says, and I grin. 

"You're on!" I yell, and we drop our bags and sprint towards the front door. Marcel starts to pull ahead, but I grit my teeth, and I speed up. I pass him, and leap up the steps to the front porch. 

"I win!" I yell, jumping up and down. 

Marcel smiles. "I let you win, cuz you're new." 

I nod sarcastically. "Sure you did." 

Tyler and Brian hand Marcel and I our bags, and then the door opens behind me. I turn, and a woman looks down at me. She has light brown hair, and the same eyes as Tyler. 

"Hey, mom!" Tyler says, and his mom hugs him. 

"Hello, Tyler. Welcome home." She looks up at the guys. "Hello, boys. How are you?" She asks, and Brock shrugs. 

"We're good. Thanks, Mrs. Wilde." 

She nods, then looks at me. "You're a new face. Who's this?" She asks Tyler, and Tyler pats me on the back. 

"This is Craig. He just transferred here from the UK. I invited him to come over to play video games." 

Mrs. Wilde smiles, and it's warm and welcoming. "Of course. Welcome to the States, Craig." She says, and I smile. 

"Thanks." 

Tyler leads me inside, and we all dump our bags by the door. He brings me downstairs to the basement, and as we walk down the stairs, I can see it's a fully finished basement, with a 70 inch flat screen on the wall, and both an Xbox and a PS4 attached to it. A leather L-couch is set in front of the tv, with a couple bean bag chairs in the space between it and the tv. In the corner is a big computer, with a gamer's setup. 

I smile. "Ty, this is awesome." 

He smiles. "You think so? I try to keep it clean and cool. The guys and I game down here almost everyday after school." 

I grin, and we walk over to the couch. Jon sits in the corner of the couch, and pulls his knees to his chest. Lui plops down on a beanbag, as do Marcel and Daithi. Evan, Tyler, Brian, Brock, and I all sit on the couch. Tyler hands me a controller, and picks one up himself. 

"Craig, you ever played GTA V before?" He asks, and I nod. 

"Yeah. I had it back home, but then we moved. I have played it, though." 

Ty nods, and then looks to the tv screen. Evan glances around at everybody, and smiles. 

"I guess we have to make Craig a profile, and a character in Gta. Then he can truly become part of the Banana Bus Crew." 

Brian nods. "Yeah, Craig, once we start playing the game, you'll see why we're called the Banana Bus Crew." 

I shrug. "Cool." I take the controller, and Tyler pulls up Gta. 

"Okay, Craig, make your character." Marcel says, and I look at the screen. I make a guy with light brown, scruffy hair, and a small goatee. I dress him with a dress suit; a black blazer over a white button up, a black tie, and black slacks. Then to finish it off, I give my character yellow flip-flops. 

Daithi snickers. "What's up with your character, Craig? Is he gonna go to a board meeting at the beach?" He laughs, and Brock turns to him. 

"Nogla, you can't talk. You made every single wrong decision when making your character." Everyone else laughs, and Nogla sinks down in the couch with his arms crossed. 

"I didn't make every wrong decision." He grumbles, and I look back to the screen. 

Evan glances over at me. "Some of us, including me, have secret superhero identities in Gta. I'm Night Owl, or Bat Owl. Jon is Rabid Raccoon, Lui is Mega Monkey, and Brock is Early Bird." 

Lui sits up. "Yet somehow he always manages to arrive last." He grins. 

"Hey, it's early somewhere!" Brock says, and I grin. 

"Okay, I know what I am." The guys look at me with anticipation, and I smile. "I'm Taxman! I'll do your taxes, then I'll fuck your bitch!" 

Evan starts laughing, as does everyone else. 

"Craig, that is awesome! I love it!" Tyler says, and I grin. 

"Good. Now let's play some Gta."