~In The BroZone Record(ing) Pod~
John Dory slammed a picture of a lion down onto the table where Bruce, Floyd, and Clay sat, working on song lyrics.
They all stared. "Uhm...John Dory?" Floyd tapped on the picture waiting for an explanation.
"I'VE GOT IT!" John Dory shouted.
"Got what?" Clay asked.
"Our next album cover!" JD said proudly. "A lion!"
"...why a lion...?" Bruce wondered.
"A lion is a symbol of leadership, right?" John Dory explained. "And our boyband is in the lead of all other boybands! Y'know, cuz we're, like, the best?😀"
They all stared at him again for another 30 seconds.
"Yeah, no," was all Floyd said before he, Clay, and Bruce went back to writing.
"☹️" John Dory was disappointed. "Now I have to do more research!" he grumbled.
"Why don't you just use scrapbook versions of us for the covers, like you used to?" Bruce asked.
"Awww, BUTIDON'TWANNA😫!" whined John Dory, pouting and stomping his right foot twice.
"Jeez, and we call Bitty B the baby," Bruce mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Speaking of Branch, where'd he go?" Clay asked.
"He went out for lunch with somebody," Floyd answered. "It was either a date or a meeting. I can't remember."
"I still can't believe he's dating!" John Dory said. "I mean, he's only 15!"
They all raised their eyebrows at him. "He's literally in his twenties!"
"What?! No! That can't be right!" JD scoffed. "We only left him for about..." he thought, trying to count, but stopped. "What am I doing? I'm an adult! I don't have time for math! Stop distracting me!!"
"Okay, anyone that thinks counting to twenty is math needs to go back to the first grade," Clay noted.
"I heard that!!" John Dory shouted.
"Congratulations😌" Clay responded calmly.
"Oh, guys," Floyd chuckled, Bruce joining him.
The door squeaked open and in came Poppy and Viva, gabbing happily.
"Poppy? You don't come often when Branch isn't around," Bruce said, surprised.
Poppy stopped talking to Viva, who then immediately ran towards Clay to give him a backwards hug and painful noogie. Poppy's eyes sparkled.
"Wait, Branch isn't here? Oh, that's great! I really wanted to talk to you guys and was worried about how to get him out of the room!"
"I guess it was a meeting," Bruce whispered over to Floyd, who nodded.
"Viva, stop! That hurts!" Clay pushed Viva away to stop the noogies, but nothing on earth could hide the smile on his face. "Don't you guys have queen-ly duties to be doing right now or something?"
"Oh! This visit is on our list!" Poppy took a mile-long list from her hair. "Queenly duties: Number 136- Ask BroZone About Their Plans For The 31st."
"136?! Whoa!" Floyd gaped. "Have you already done 135 other things today?"
"Nope. It's just..." Poppy put the list back in her hair and fiddled with her hands. "I figured this was the most important."
Viva skipped over and gave her sister a side hug. "And it is."
Poppy smiled at her.
"Wait– the 31st? What's the 31st?" John Dory asked, bringing the conversation back.
"And why does that sound familiar🤔?" Bruce wondered.
"Maybe because it's this Friday," Viva grinned.
"Ah, right!" John Dory nodded.
There was silence.
"Wait, you guys don't actually know what's on Friday?!!" Poppy screeched.
The boys jumped, alarmed.
"Of course we know!" Clay scoffed. "It's obviously Pizza Night!"
"Other than that?" urged Poppy.
"Trash day?" suggested Bruce.
"That too," Viva agreed.
"Omigosh!" Floyd shouted. "How could we forget?!"
"What is it?!" John Dory asked.
"This Friday! It's so stupid of us to forget!!" Floyd said, annoyed with himself.
"Well, what is it?!" Clay asked as well.
"This Friday is obviously..." Floyd paused. "FAMILY BOWLING DAY!!"
"YASSSSS!!!" all the BroZone bros cheered.
"...what?!" Poppy gaped.
"Every three weeks on a Friday we go bowling together!" John Dory explained.
"Oooh, can I join?!" Viva begged.
"Sure!" Clay agreed.
"No!! We're not bowling this Friday!!" Poppy shouted.
Everyone stopped and stared at her.
Poppy took a deep breath in. Then she said calmly and slowly. "This Friday is Branch's birthday."
Silence.
Then all four of the bros gasped.
"BITTY B'S BIRTHDAY 😱😱😱😱?!!!!?!!"
~~Flashback ~~
"John Dory?" Bitty B crawled up to his oldest brother. "You know how it's my birthday in 5 days?"
John Dory sighed. "How could I forget? You only mention it a bajillion times a day." He began doing sit-ups. "Count for me, bro."
"1– well, I was thinking– 3– do grown-ups– 4— also celebrate their birthdays? Or do they skip them? You're at 8– 9."
John Dory paused his exercise to answer. "Of course grown-ups celebrate their birthdays! Don't be ridiculous!"
"But Grandma doesn't celebrate hers," Bitty B pointed out.
"Yeah, but that's different. There's celebrating your birthday and then there's when you're friends celebrate it for and with you. Grandma's friends celebrate with her," John Dory explained simply.
Bitty B thought for a bit. Finally, he said, "When I'm an adult, will you celebrate my birthday? For me?"
John Dory looked straight into his baby brother's sparkling blue eyes. "I promise I will."
~~~~
"HOW IN THE WORLD DID WE FORGET THAT?!" Floyd yelled.
"WE'RE TERRIBLE BROTHERS!!" John Dory screeched.
"I CAN REMEMBER RULE BOOKS BY HEART BUT I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER MY BABY BROTHER'S BIRTHDAY!!" Clay shouted.
"IM SO BAD WITH DATES AND BIRTHDAYS, THIS IS WHY I DEPEND ON BRANDY TO REMEMBER THEM!!" Bruce screamed.
"Guys!!" Poppy yelled. They all quieted. "It's alright! It's been 20 years."
"No, it's not alright," Floyd argued. "Separation shouldn't make us forget."
"It's not like they say!!" John freaked out. "Absence doesn't make the heart grow fungus!!"
"It's fonder not fungus, John," Clay sighed.
"Yeah! That!" John Dory nodded.
"I have an idea!" Viva started.
"It's okay, we just need to find a back-up plan, I guess," Poppy reassured the brothers.
"Poppy, I–" Viva began.
"Poppy, you're the party person in this village!" Bruce said. "Can't you just throw him a regular birthday party?!"
Poppy bit her lip. "Yeah, but...I always do that."
"So?"
"Guys, what if we–" Viva tried again.
"Well, this may sound ridiculous, but I want it to be a little more special this year, now that we're– well, a couple." Poppy blushed. "I know it's silly but I want to give him more than just the boring usual, y'know? That's why I came hoping that you had ideas."
"WE DON'T HAVE ANY IDEAS😰!!" John Dory screeched.
"I'D RATHER FACE A TROLL-EATING SPIDER THAN BRANCH ON FRIDAY😩!!" Clay shrieked.
"WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO😭?!!" Bruce cried.
"I DON'T KNOW😫!" whined Poppy.
"Guys! What if we did a surprise party?!!" Viva suggested eagerly.
Over the ruckus, though, only John Dory heard her.
He stopped screeching and brightened. "What if we did a surprise party?!" he repeated.
Everyone else stopped being loud too.
"John– that's actually a great idea!!" Poppy cheered.
"Yeah, great idea, big bro!" Clay nudged John Dory playfully.
"But that was my–" Viva tried to explain.
"Now we just need to figure out every big and small detail of this last-minute party," Clay continued to talk. "Let's start simple. Branch's favorite color?"
Silence.
"Okay, uhm, favorite food?" Clay asked.
Silence.
"What about hobby?" Clay tried one last time.
More silence.
"BRO THE DUDE IS AN OPEN BOOK HOW DO Y'ALL KNOW NOTHING?!" Clay finally gave up.
"I guess we haven't really talked to Branch about that kind of stuff," Poppy shrugged.
"We're adults, how would 'What's your favorite color?' sneak into any of our conversations?!" John Dory groaned.
"Well, I think we–" Viva began.
They all turned to her, surprised, as if they didn't realize she had been standing there the entire time.
John Dory made a motion with his head towards her to Poppy, who nodded and sighed.
"Viv, sis, look...you don't really know Branch as well as we do, so maybe it would be best if you-"
"Wait, are you kicking me out?" Viva asked, hurt. "But I want to help!"
"What?! No, no, I'm not kicking you out, I just– think it would be best if you... if you..." Poppy stopped. She couldn't do it.
Floyd saved the day. "If you went and talked to Branch to distract him from coming back here, that would be a lot of help, Viv!"
"Oh! Okay! I'd be glad to do that!" Viva smiled and went to the door. "If you need anything else let me know!"
"Can you get me a banana and strawberry smoothie from Smoothie King for me?" John Dory requested.
"John–" Floyd sighed.
"Sure!!" And Viva was gone.
"Okay, now we can focus on who should do what," Clay said, grabbing his notebook. "What do you guys know about Branch?"
"He's a pessimist," John Dory said.
"Only when he wants to be," Poppy added quickly. "He's super sweet."
"He's a talented singer and writer," Bruce added. "And though he may not eat as many as a normal troll, he does know how to make a cupcake taste good."
"He's short, just like all of you," Clay added as well.
They all stared at him.
"Bro, no, you're just tall," Bruce said plainly.
"I think his name is Branch but I'm not 100% sure. Which is why I call him 'bro' a lot," John Dory added too.
"Seriously, John?" Floyd groaned.
"Sorry, Flora, it's just the truth."
"My name is Floyd!!"
"Oop, I did it again!" JD sighed. "This is what happens when you're over 30 and have 4 younger brothers...at least, I think it's four. It's four, right? Or is it three?"
"Ughhhh," Floyd moaned, exasperated.
"This list is so small!" Poppy took the list from Clay and sighed. "How does Branch know what my favorite smoothie is, but I don't even know his favorite color?"
"Oooh, speaking of smoothies, is my smoothie girl here yet?" John Dory peeked out the window.
"Okay, it's obvious that we each need tasks we're strong in to make this work! Everyone at attention while I call your roles!" Clay instructed.
Everyone stood straight and saluted.
"Oki, Floyd! You're on decorating!! You must find out Branch's favorite color for it and so on!"
"On it!!" Floyd nodded.
"Poppy! You're on the invitations and gifts! Be sure to find out what Branch may want and send gift suggestions in the invitations and send them to everyone Branch has a relationship with!"
"Yessir!" Poppy nodded.
"John Dory! You're on activities!! Simply find out what Branch likes to do and make it part of the party. Got it?"
"Yupsiree!" John Dory nodded.
"Bruce! You are in charge of food and desserts! Make sure you have an idea of what Branch likes!"
"Okay!!" Bruce nodded.
"And I will find the time and location of the party," Clay finished. "Easy peasy?"
"Lemon squeezy!!" they all answered.
"Great!" Clay grinned. "Time to throw Branch the best surprise party he's ever going to have."
~~~
After delivering John Dory his smoothie, Viva began to look for Branch. She had been given a job and was going to see it through.
It didn't take long, fortunately, to find him sitting alone writing on a notepad at an outdoor diner table. He seemed to be deep in thought but Viva had been told to talk to him and she was going to talk.
"Hiya, Branch!" Viva sat down in front of him across the table.
Branch looked up, surprised. He smiled. "Oh. Hey, Viva! Have you seen Poppy? She was supposed to meet me for lunch but she obviously hasn't come yet."
Distract, Viva.
"Oh, she had a bunch of stuff to do so she probably forgot."
Darn it! That was probably true, but Poppy would hate that she had told Branch that.
Branch nodded and shrugged. "That's understandable. Maybe we can shoot for tomorrow." He examined Viva for a bit. "Why are you here? I mean– what're you up to?"
Viva smiled. I'm distracting you, wahaha, was what she wanted to say. But she didn't. "Ohhh, y'know, just exploring. Ever since I came here I've found this place so interesting!!"
"Yup. Poppy's definitely put her heart and soul into this place," Branch chuckled lightly. He sat quietly, thinking and smiling to himself, for a bit before standing up. "Welp. Might as well get back home and show John Dory these lyrics I've been working on." He grabbed his notepad.
"No!!" Viva stood up and shouted way louder and suddenly than she had meant to.
Branch lifted an eyebrow.
"I mean, uhhh, noooo..." Viva giggled nervously. "Why, when we have all the time in the world to hang?"
"Hang?" Branch repeated.
"Yeah!!" Viva grabbed his arm. "Ever since I've met you I've been with Poppy. This is a good time for our relationship to growww. For our friendship to blossom! Can't you see it?! It's gonna be so fun!!"
"I don't know...I don't do a lot of– hanging..."
Viva gaped at him. "You don't hang?! How do people get to know you then?"
"I'm not a hard book to read. It's easy to learn about me," Branch shrugged.
"Yeah, but what about the little things in your life? Some stories from your past? Some likes and dislikes? Your interests!! Things like that!"
Branch considered for a moment. "Huh. I guess I've never really been asked about myself that often." He began to walk forward, the opposite direction from his bunker, Viva following excitedly. "I guess it would be nice to talk as much as listen in a conversation for once."
"Yayyy!!" Viva cheered. "Can we go to that new ice cream place?! Please?!"
Branch grinned, rolling his eyes. "Fine."
"Yes! And could you pay? I spent all the money I brought on a smoothie."
Branch's eyebrow lifted again at her. "Everything about you screams 'Poppy'."
"That's good, right?" Viva double-checked.
Branch's response was a good-hearted laugh.