Meeting the Jokers

Part 15- Off and Away

Knock. Knock. Knock.

My heart bested suddenly, my breath in sudden quick motions. I lunged for the door, careful not to look too nervous.

I was shaking inside.

The Impractical Jokers were taking me out somewhere!

I was greeted by Q in sunglasses, and a big bag slung over his shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked, looking excited.

"Absolutely." I replied, grabbing my small rucksack and making it out the door.

The other guys were just outside the door, wearing shorts and short sleeved tops.

"Can I ask what we're doing yet?" I asked after I locked my hotel room.

"You can; but we won't answer." Murr said- to which I huffed. Surprises made everyone nervous.

Right?

We got down to the breakfast area and swallowed as much food to last us a few hours- croissants, toast and a few pancakes. That was just Joe's first serving.

By the end, Joe was just eating piles of chocolate spread dumped from the bowl.

"So," Sal began, rising off his chair, beginning to take us to a place so amazing, so spectacular that we won't want to leave.

"I can't wait!" I stand up too, moving my legs around so I don't fall over from excitement.

We all crammed inside the guys' tour bus, and drove off immediately. The tour bus managed to blow my mind- it was bright yellow with the words hey moustache at the front, and they're faces running down the side.

"So how long is this gonna take?" I asked, trying to find clues.

Q looked at his watch, "about half an hour."

He said it bluntly, as if he was worried to give away his excitement. He looked excited yesterday; he couldn't have changed his mind already.

"Right."

Sal and Joe were already playing on the PlayStation, which was attached the opposite wall to where the small dining table was. It was hard to explain how big the bus was, but how everything was still crammed up together.

"Where's Murr?" I asked Sal.

"In the bathroom," he said, "I told you, he's always ill."

"Great," I sarcastically moaned. Half an hour of pleading not to smell Murr's... leftovers.

Gross.

Anyway, Q and I had merged into conversation by the beds, as we managed to fit in somewhere comfortably. Q was in the bed on one side of the bus, and a metre away was me on the other side, there were bunk beds above our beds too, which made us feel even more claustrophobic.

"This space keeps getting smaller," Q huffed, "honestly, two years ago is four could all fit facing each other... now I can barely sit on this bed; let alone go on the top bunk."

Sal hopped off the PlayStation and joined our conversation- sitting down next to me.

"These are tiny," he complained, angling himself to sit down that low.

"At least we're not stopping overnight," I joked. My jokes suck. I turned to Sal, "did I ever thank you for last night? When you didn't make me look like a fool in front of Sam?"

"No worries," Sal put his hands up as if in defence, "I did what I had to do."

"It's so strange," I began, "how your whole career is by being funny; but you guys are also the most serious guys I've ever met."

"Yeah, but you've only seen us like 3 times," Joe butted in after losing in his game, "wait until you spend everyday with us."

I was going to spend everyday with them?

My heart skipped a beat.

He meant that hypothetically, of course, but my imagination grew to imagining myself up on the side of the stage- cheering the guys on at their live shows, getting a huge hug at the end as they finish. A proud moment.

A moment that would never happen.

The signs on the road were getting more precise with every mile we took.

Q coughed purposely at me, clicking his fingers in my face, "don't look outside. It could spoil it."

He drew the curtains and upped the lights so that nothing could be spoilt; I used every inch of self control to not peek out the window.

Until the bus hit the breaks.

We were in a car park.

We were here.

The guys: "Were here!"