We Interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you " Mark and Johnny's 3 AM Adventure" a story set to mirror the theme of Hantzel and Gretel, enhanced with a modern, slightly chaotic, light.
A/n: Hey guys, so I've been slammed packed with school work. I thought I wasn't going to update this Friday, but then my English literature teacher gave us an assignment to write a short story set to the plot of Hantzel and Gretel, so I decided to knock out two birds with one stone.
That my friends, is how we arrived at this. Hope you enjoy.
NOT part of the Cooked Plot!!! Just a fun side story!!
"Psst. Johnny."
"One more minute."
"Johnny."
"Let me sleep."
"Johnny!"
"What!" Johnny whined as he peeked from behind the soft blankets. It was hard to see due to the minimal lighting, however, he groaned when he made out the figure in front of him. "Mark, did you break into my house again?"
"Hey now, it isn't braking in if I have a key." Mark corrected while dangling a silver key that reflect the dim moon light seeping in from the practically open blinds.
"And where did you get this key?" Johnny questioned as he sat up. He crossed his arms and flared at the younger male in annoyance. "Under the floor mat next to the front door. Where else?" He responded as though it was the only logical answer. The older sighed as he resisted the urge to literally throw Mark from his second story, bedroom window. "Mark, what time is it and why are you here?"
"I want ice cream and it's a little past 3:00am." Mark replied as he picked up Johnny's charging phone to look at the time displayed on the lock screen. He handed the device to its owner who looked at the time with zero shock but a whole lot of disappointment. Johnny looked at the time, then Mark, then the time, the Mark once again. He repeated the task as if trying to signal the younger what was wrong in his nonexistent line of reasoning.
"Mark."
"Yes?"
"It's 3am."
"Yup!"
"And you want icecream?"
"Definitely!"
"I don't have any icecream in the fridge."
"Then let's go get some!"
"What?"
...
About 30 minutes later Johnny got out of his car. He walked through the cold night towards the only illuminated shop on the block, with Mark at his side.
The two of them have been friends since before Mark could walk. Their parents had been friends since college which meant that they were bound to be friends too. At first, Johnny saw Mark as an annoying puppy that would follow him everywhere. He would easily get annoyed by the child that curiously look over every chance he got. However, eventually Johnny learned to deal with Mark's inexplicable confusion of everything and sometimes, even tried to teach him.
Johnny was smart, level-headed, and laid back whereas Mark was in a constant state of panic, confusion, and internal chaos. Although Johnny was only two years older than him, Mark felt as though it was closer to ten. He saw his close friend as more of an older brother than anything, and would go to him with all his troubles, even with things as trivial as ice cream at 3:00am.
The two walked into the 24 hour coffee. They would always visit this place with their group of friends and to them, it was their home away from home. Johnny moved towards the counter and was greeted by a half asleep employee. "What will it be?" The cashier asked in a sluggish and uninterested voice. However, before Johnny even looked at the menu, he turned towards Mark who seemed to be spaced out.
"You dragged me outside for this, so you are paying." He told the younger. Mark gave him a thumbs up and Johnny proceeded to order a vanilla soft serve ice cream for Mark and a black coffee for himself. After a couple of minutes, the employee handed him his coffee and a sugar cone for the self serve machine.
Yes, the coffee shop had an ice cream machine. No, he didn't know why so don't ask.
"That will be four, thirty-seven." The worker told them. Johnny looked at Mark who was looking through all his pockets frantically. The panicked search lasted for a good ten seconds before it came to a sudden stop. Mark slowly looked up to meet the gaze of an annoyed Johnny.
"You forgot your wallet."
"I forgot my wallet."
Johnny sighed before giving Mark the sugar cone and going up to pay himself. Mark thanked him and walked off towards the ice cream machine. Johnny was paying the cashier when someone from the back room walked out from behind its door. "You can go now Josh- hey it's you!" The manager started to grow angry as he recognized Johnny and Mark. The two had visited with your friends yesterday, and the large, rowdy bunch wasn't exactly their favorite costumers.
" last time you were here, the other tall one almost broke a table!" He said shaking his fist in the air, however, Johnny just stayed calm. "You must mean Lucas. Don't worry sir, the two of us won't cause any trouble."
"Good because next mess up and you are out for good." The manager replied as Johnny nodded. That when the two of them heard a loud array of beeps and other noises.
Johnny quickly turned around to see Mark quickly trying to clean The mess of ice cream being dispensed all over the floor with no signs of stopping. Johnny just stood there and stared at him trying to clean up the mess before Mark turned towards him and the manager. "Uhhhh."
...
" I can't believe they kicked us out!" Mark exclaimed as he got in the car. Johnny took a sip of his coffee and snorted. " I can, there was ice cream everywhere." He spoke before putting on his seatbelt.
"Yet I'm still left without ice cream. What a cruel fate!" Mark said melodramatically followed by a long sigh. Johnny resisted the urge to roll his eyes before pulling out his phone. "It says here that there is another ice cream place that is open. It's a few miles away."
"Let's go!"
...
"Where are we?" Mark asked as he looked outside the window to the very unfamiliar scene. It brought about an unsettling feeling in him. Johnny kept his eyes on the road as he drove on "I don't know since the GPS died about 20 minutes ago but my guess is that we are on the wrong side of town." He responded The two have been lost for sometime. Johnny's phone had died and Mark had forgotten his, so they were on their own to find the ice cream place. It wasn't going to well but just as they were giving up hope, something interesting happened.
The two saw a car zoom by yet in that split-second the boys could tell that it looked almost identical to the car they were in. "Huh, that's strange." Mark replied as he thought nothing of it. Johnny on the other hand could see a white van practically drifting onto their street from the rearview mirror.
"Get back here you punks!" They heard a raspy yell followed by three loud bangs. Mark reflexively covered his ears as he turned to Johnny in pure terror "Were those bullets?!"
Johnny took a deep breath, he adjusted his mirror, and then tighten his grip on the wheel "You better buckle up, because I'm not waiting to figure that out." He responded before flooring the gas pedal.
The pear started zooming through the city. Luckily for them there was no traffic, so it was a bit easier to maneuver the high-speed vehicle. Mark felt like he was glued to the back of his seat by the sheer amount of force. He covered his eyes and fear.He didn't want to look at his impending doom. Johnny, on the other hand, was living for this moment. He had never been this free before. It was like he could feel every piece of this moment, or maybe it was none of it, or maybe even both.
The boys heard another barrage of loud bangs. Mark from behind his hands. He could see that they were now traveling up a hill and that the van of angry thugs were still chasing them. However, when he looked at the road up ahead he saw that it was broken, a piece fallen off.
Mark could feel his heartbeat increase exponentially. He looked in front of him, then behind him, then at Johnny, to in front of him, then behind him all over once again. " I can't believe this is it I'll never be able to eat ice cream again."
"Don't worry you'll get your ice cream." Johnny said as he accelerated. The back of his mind was telling him that he was going to die and that this was a stupid idea but "living for the moment" Johnny had seem to take the reins.
The car rapidly approached the gap in the street. Mark feel the air escape his lungs.
Johnny could feel the determination in his heart. There was a gaping hole ahead of them, the angry, armed, mobsters behind them, and no other choice. The boys knew it was now or never.
They jumped for it.
They didn't make it.
The car started free falling through the air. If they thought they were done before, they were surely dead now, but somehow, someway, fate smiled upon them. The car didn't crash and burn, no, instead it landed with a splash. Slap dab in the middle of the lake, inside a sinking car, or two boys yelling for their lives.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh- Wait!" Mark exclaimed as he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. " Johnny, we are alive!" Johnny opened his eyes to see that, for once, Mark was right. " we are alive!" He rejoiced as he unbuckled his seatbelt and unlocked the car doors. Johnny was so happy that he could care less that his precious car was sinking to the depths of the murky lake.
The two swam for shore. Their clothes were wet, but they were happy they still had their lives. "Looks like it's sunrise." Johnny spoke as he looked up at the sky while leaning on a bench that faced the lake. "Even better, look where we are!" Mark exclaimed as he pointed at the open ice cream shop across the street.
And so, as the sun started to rise, Mark and Johnny are their ice cream, rested on the bench, and silently watched as Johnny's car slowly sank to the bottom the lake.
El fin.