Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Fourtynine.

Jane raised her arm and put her thumb up. She took a sip from her coffee.

"Mick, where even are you?" Robert curiously asked when he saw an unfamiliar background behind Mick.

Mick looked behind him, he sat at the dining table that gave him a clear view of the woods as background. "I'm in Lapland."

"Okay, let's do a round and say where you are," Luna said and smiled. "Just curious."

"Did you know this is the first time I don't mind having my camera on in an online call?" Jane suddenly said.

Waves of laughter were shared.

"Same," Cate smirked. "Anyway, my room in Italy. Enjoy."

"Living room in England," Callum said and showed a neutral smile.

Robert looked around behind him. "Living room in Russia."

"Study room in Italy," Luna said and put up her thumbs sarcastically.

"Living room in Lapland."

Marcus looked around. "Couch in New Zealand."

For some reason, it sounded sarcastic to Jane. She almost choked in her coffee and began to laugh. "Sorry," she laughed and sat up. "Oh, god."

"What?" He looked at her.

"Nothing," she said and grinned. "It's sounded funny."

"Alright, anyway, who wants to control the Kahoot?" Robert asked curiously.

"I'll do it," Cate said and started to share her screen, looking up a Kahoot. "For real, when you stop using Kahoot because you're a grown-up now, you realise how golden it actually is. I'm so excited to do this again."

"Yes, oh my god," Luna smiled and nodded. "By the way, Jane, how are you?"

A yawn escaped Jane's lips. "Besides being stiff, absolutely fine," she mentioned. Eyebrows raised. "Cycled 70 kilometres today. No, but I'm fine. I was sick for three more days, and I'm better now. I don't have a jet lag at all, because I slept the whole night - day in Europe - because of the flu."

"You had the flu?" Mick worriedly asked.

"And woman still flew all the way to New Zealand," Marcus smirked.

"Adorbs," Luna said.

Cate picked out a Kahoot. "Music quiz? Okay, everyone grab your phone. No partnering, do this on your own," she mentioned.

"By the way, I'm probably not at my best. I'm tired, so is my mind," Marcus shared and yawned.

Callum nodded. "Another way of saying you're dumb."

"Bad excuse, Marcus," Robert teased.

Jane sat down next to Marcus and laid his head on her shoulder.

"Alright, let's begin," Cate said and started the Kahoot. "So we get to hear a small clip and then pick the right answer. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy," she explained.

The quiz began. Everyone was a music freak, so there was quite some battle between the friend group. It was like they had to prove they were the best. Everyone was vibing along with the clips, secretly even sang along.

"Oh, this is that ad from Armani!" Cate yelled when the song of an Armani ad played. "Way down we go, right?"

Jane was the first to press on the answer. She whistled and moved along with the song.

"From that perfume?" Robert asked.

"Is this not from Riverdale?" Marcus asked.

Jane turned around and looked slightly offended at her boyfriend. "You watch Riverdale?"

Marcus parted his lips; that was not the reaction he expected. "No. I mean, I watched the first season because it was a hype, and I've had nothing else to do when travelling around."

A laugh rolled over Luna's lips. "Poor man."

"No, but for real, Riverdale is cringe. So I agree with Jane," Cate shared.

"Am I the only one who knows the song but has no idea who it sings?" Mick asked, he was lost.

Robert shook his head. "I've no idea either, but I got it right either way," he smiled.

"Me too!"

Jane's face straightened when she saw the massive red cross on her phone. "Dude, what the fuck," she said and looked at the screen. "This is not The Rasmus, what the fuck. You're wrong." It was silence. "It's Kaleo, but ok."

"That Icelandic band?" Callum asked and raised his eyebrows.

Mick raised his eyebrows. "Do you know them?"

"Oh, yes! Do you know them?" Cate continued asking.

"Mate, because she's from an island, it doesn't mean she knows everyone," Marcus smirked and sat up. The one question he hated, was when he said he came from New Zealand and people started to ask: 'oh, I've this friend from New Zealand, do you know him?' People acted like New Zealand was small and that everybody knew each other. And Iceland had the same, just like more countries.

"Yeah, true. But still, do you know them?" Callum asked and widely smiled.

"I saw them at a festival here, amazing band," Robert randomly said.

Jane nodded. "I know them," she mentioned.

"I do too," Luna proudly added.

"Me too," Marcus mentioned.

"Explain," Mick said, confused.

"Family, my dudes," Jane explained. "This is Kaleo, it's wrong," Jane defended herself. "I'm suing this quiz thing," she said. "I get the points."

"Fine," Cate sighed. "You have a cool family then. Alright, next!"

The next song was easy: Get Lucky by Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams. Everyone was jamming along. Jane and Marcus were lying on the couch again, they were switching positions every time they felt tired and almost fell asleep.

"Yo, listen. Let's go. Okay, listen, yo," Jane and Marcus blurted simultaneously. They sat up again and looked at each other. "Back in the day, me and you baby. We used to have fun. Until, you delivered my baby. Look... That's not my son." There was silence, the silence before the storm. Peals of laughter began to fill the living room, it became hysterical, and they gave each other a high-five.

Mick looked at the two. "How do we stay awake 101."

"They're fucking annoying," Luna smirked. "How in the name did they live without each other for a month?"

"Drama suckers," Callum smirked.