Fanon:PLET

Because of how popular PLET was, I thought I would try and write it into a full novel. Obviously, I am an inexperienced writer, so the story won't be A-grade. I will update this page as I write each chapter—enjoy.

1
Peyton stared at the clock as it ticked by the second. The detention room was scorching, despite the air conditioner noisily blasting. It was the last day of school at Golden Peak Middle School. Peyton was given detention for flicking off his science teacher, Mr. Pranava. He happened to be the only person in the room with Peyton.

They were exchanging dirty looks when the detention bell loudly rang. Without saying a word, Peyton snatched his backpack and left the room. He raced across the halls and kicked the door open, only to be met by the blistering sun. However, the sun was the very least of Peyton’s problems. Because of his untimely detention, Peyton was late for the first treehouse meeting of the summer. He hopped on his bicycle and pedaled across the street and into the woods.

Sweat dripped as Peyton furiously pedaled his bike through the forest. He stopped when he spotted the giant tree with a ladder hanging down from its biggest branch. Peyton fell as he got off his bike, and as he tried to get up someone pushed him from behind; it was Henry.

“Where have you been?” he chuckled. Peyton got up and pushed him back.

“I had to go to my grandma’s house to get some stuff,” Peyton lied. They scurried across the dirt path and climbed up the ladder in the treehouse.

“Hey, Peyton,” welcomed Carter. Peyton smiled at him. The treehouse was the headquarters of Peyton’s comic creating club. Peyton and his friends often bragged about the treehouse to their other friends, it was almost like a miniature apartment. There were two tables, four beanbag chairs, a pantry full of snacks, and a cabinet for art supplies. The windows were even made of glass and could open and close. There wasn’t a square inch on the wooden wall that wasn’t covered in drawings and stories.

“Good Oak Comics!” said Jacob happily. “That’s us!”

“Yep!” Peyton responded. In past years, the comics club would sell all their comics at the park. Everyone loved their comics, people would often praise Peyton and his friends for their amazing work. But this year was different. This year, they would open an online store and sell all of their comics there.

“I can’t wait to make some money of my own,” said Suyash. “I’ve been wanting a new phone for so long!”

“Nice! I just finished the website last week!” exclaimed Peyton. He had spent his free time for the past several months coding the website.

Henry and Carter laid some drawings on the table.

“These are some characters we came up with before you arrived,” said Carter as he pushed a drawing toward Peyton. “This guy’s called Joe Moraliste.”

“He’s an ancient warrior who travels through the universe,” Henry added. Peyton nodded as he sat down and got to work. He had a few of his own comic ideas in his mind that he came up with during detention. Suyash looked over and started adding some of his characters to his story. The treehouse swiftly went quiet as everyone started drawing and writing.

A thunderstorm hit just as Henry and Carter finished the cover for Joe Moraliste. Everyone glanced outside; it wasn’t dark, but the rain looked black and inky regardless. The rain noisily tapped the windows, but Suyash went back to work, and Henry did the same. Jacob stared nervously out the window, and Peyton just lay on a beanbag chair munching on potato chips.

“Don’t go,” he said, looking at Jacob. “It’s probably safer in here.” Jacob nodded and lay on the beanbag chair next to Peyton’s.

“Chip?”

“No thanks,” Jacob’s voice was shaky. He trembled loudly on the beanbag chair. Henry looked over and smirked before going back to draw aliens.

Another hour passed, and the storm appeared far from stopping. The sun had set, and the forest was pitch black outside, other than the occasional distant lightning strikes. No one was brave enough to leave. They had all gotten bored and were just playing cards on the rug. Finally, Suyash put on his coat and grabbed his stuff.

“This storm’s probably going to last all night, I should probably go.” He slowly climbed down the ladder and ran into the dense forest. Henry and Carter left shortly after, and only Peyton and Jacob were left in the treehouse.

Peyton was staring at a photo on the back wall. It was his older brother, Travis, who was killed in a fatal car accident last year. Jacob went to comfort him.

“You know,” said Peyton, choking up tears. “Travis was the one that built this treehouse with me; he started this comic club.” Jacob had heard this story countless times, but he didn’t say anything. He put his arm on Peyton’s shoulder.

“Let’s go home,” he suggested quietly. Peyton hesitated, before looking at him and nodding. They both grabbed their stuff and left the treehouse together into the dark woods.

2
The scent of wet wood lingered the next morning in the treehouse. Peyton and Suyash had come in early to deliver supplies. They went to four different stores to buy paper, markers, pens, pencils, and snacks.

“I can’t believe that the grocery store was out of cheese puffs already!” scoffed Suyash. Peyton ignored him as he neatly arranged the snacks alphabetically in the wooden cabinet. “Peyton, how much money did we spend?”

“Sixty dollars,” said Peyton as he shuffled through the receipts. “It shouldn’t be too hard to earn back.” He placed the folders into a folder and put it into the drawer. Peyton was the most organized person in the comic club; he was the reason the treehouse wasn’t a cluttered mess.

“Hey, I left my laptop at home; I’m running back to grab it.” Without waiting for Suyash’s response, Peyton climbed the ladder and ran into the dense woods. Suyash finished organizing the treehouse on his own. He vacuumed the rug, cleaned the tables and chairs, and organized old comics.

“Hi, Suyash!” shouted Carter; Suyash jumped a little. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Carter chuckled. “Wow, everything’s looking really nice.”

“Thanks.”

“Where are the others?”

“They haven’t arrived yet.” Carter nodded and began brainstorming more ideas on a sheet of lined paper. Jacob arrived at the treehouse moments later; he also complemented Suyash on how nice the treehouse looked.

“Who is that?” asked Jacob looking out the window. Suyash and Carter peeked through the door. It was Henry, but he was with another kid whom nobody could recognize.

“Hey, everyone!” greeted Henry. “This is Pat! He moved into my neighborhood yesterday, and he says that he likes to draw!” Pat was a short kid who looked around the same age as the others. He had blond, curly hair and glasses.

“Hi.” Pat shyly waved at everyone in the treehouse. Suyash and Carter looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

“Welcome,” greeted Carter. “I’m Carter, and I’m one of the main artists here. Nice to meet you, Pat.” Suyash and Jacob also greeted Pat and let him into the treehouse.

“Let me give you the grand tour,” joked Henry. “Over there is the snack cabinet, here is the drawing table, and over there are our cabinets for filing old or discarded comics.” Pat looked around; everyone could tell that he was impressed.

“Hey, everybody, I’m back,” said Peyton as he climbed into the treehouse. “Who’s this?”

“Peyton, this Pat. Pat, this is Peyton.” They shook hands.

“Well, hello Pat. I’m Peyton, and I’m the one in charge here. Every summer, we gather here as much as possible to put all of our artistic ideas on paper. If they’re good, we can sell them. In past years, we’ve sold them at the park, and—”

“I know, Henry told me everything,” said Pat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s good that Henry told you everything about us. So, guys, I’m almost done with the website. I just need to fix some bugs and formatting stuff.”

“Great! I can’t wait to make some good money!”

“Me too, Henry. Let’s first worry about drawing the comics. You guys should get started; every day matters, and summer vacation is too short to slack off.” Everyone got to work except Pat. He just watched Henry and Carter work on Joe Moraliste. Eventually, he started working on his own comics.

“What’s it supposed to be about?” asked Jacob curiously as he looked over at Pat.

“It’s a parody of the American Civil War. I’m really into history and social studies.”

“I hate social studies,” commented Henry.

“That’s cool; we mainly write science fiction and action comics here, but history is fine.”

“History comics are for nerds; the cartoonists of Good Oak Comics are not nerds.”

“You seem like a nerd with all of your website shenanigans.” Peyton stood up fiercely.

“Just because I can code doesn’t mean that I am a nerd. Coding is actually useful in life, unlike history.”

“I feel like you’re too dumb to learn history, and therefore you dislike it.”

“Pat, Peyton, call down,” said Carter calmly. Peyton and Pat both ignored him.

“At least I don’t look like a tiny, pathetic, 8-year-old nerd who got potty-trained last week,” Peyton roared loudly. He slammed the table and kicked a small stool over.

“Peyton, that’s enough!” shouted Suyash. There was a long, awkward silence. Everyone sat down and stared blankly at the wooden table.

“I’m sorry,” mumbled Peyton. Pat nodded, accepting his apology. “I’m going to head home and work on the website.” He took his laptop and slowly climbed down the treehouse ladder. Silence filled the room once again.

“So… how much money did you make last year?” asked Pat, trying to break the ice.

“That’s none of your business,” mumbled Henry.

“Around 2000 dollars,” answered Jacob. Henry shot Jacob an angry look, which Jacob ignored.

“Cool,” said Pat with a soft smile. “I’m going to head home, bye guys.” Pat left the ladder and trotted into the woods. Henry and Jacob spent the rest of the night glaring at each other after Suyash and Carter left.

3
Peyton laid back on his couch and turned on the TV. It was Monday, and the treehouse never drew comics on Monday as “a protest against school,” as Henry would say it. Just as the show ended and went to commercials, someone knocked on Peyton’s door. He slowly sat up and slumped towards the front door. To his surprise, Pat was standing there with a backpack on. He opened the door.

“Good morning, Pat; how was your Sunday night?” Peyton greeted sarcastically. “What do you want?”

“Hi, Peyton. I wanted to apologize for starting that argument with you yesterday. You’re in charge, and if you don’t want history comics then I shouldn’t be drawing them.” Peyton stood there without saying anything. He thought about what happened last night.

“Yeah, I guess I’m sorry too. Wanna come in?” Pat awkwardly stepped into Peyton’s house. “What’s in the bag? Do you have summer school or something?”

“Actually, these are some other comics that I brought. These ones are science fiction and action genres like you asked.” Pat spread the comics on Peyton’s dining table, which Peyton arranged neatly.

“Wow, you drew quite a few.” Peyton flipped through the pages of the comics with enthusiasm. “These are really good!” he completed truthfully. “I love the drawing style, and the background is done really well on every panel! Well done!”

“Actually, I didn’t draw that one, my brother did. I drew the ones over there.” Peyton flipped through some of Pat’s own comics. They weren’t as good as his brother’s but still drawn well nevertheless.

“Is your brother interested in joining us? His art skills are really good; the stories are also well-written, and the plots are really interesting.” Pat looked down with disappointment. He wandered around the dining room without saying anything.

“Pat?” asked Peyton nervously. “Was it something I said?”

“My brother, he—” stuttered Pat. “He has an extreme anxiety disorder. It’s so bad that he can’t even leave our house without having panic attacks.” Pat sat down; Peyton looked around, not knowing what to say.

“Um— I’m sorry to hear that,” said Peyton awkwardly. “What’s your brother’s name?”

“His name is Cameron,” responded Pat. “Those comics that I showed you were drawn a while ago. He loves drawing at home.”

“I see. Well, even if he can’t come to the treehouse, he can still draw comics for us, right?” asked Peyton hopefully.

“That’s a good idea,” agreed Pat. “Yeah, I can bring everything he draws to you. After all our meetings, I could show him what we worked on, and he could continue there.”

“Great!” exclaimed Peyton happily. “I’m so glad Henry found you; you two will make a great addition to Good Oak Comics!” He shook Pat’s hand, and they high-fived. “Anyways, Monday is no workday for us. Henry probably told you already; he’s really serious about it.”

“Yeah, I know. Wanna go outside and do something?”

“Sure, let’s go to Henry, er— you’re neighborhood! I can show you around Golden Peak Middle School, it’s a nice place!” Peyton and Pat left the house and walked to the local middle school. They talked about comics and movies as they walked in the blistering sun.

“So, this is Golden Peak Middle School! Welcome to Hell!” laughed Peyton. “Seriously though, this place sucks. You’re going into 8th grade, right?”

“I’m going into 7th grade.”

“Well, good luck with Mr. Pranava then, he’s terrible. Science is going to be a rough class for you, my friend.” Pat didn’t say anything. He just looked around at the brick walls. “So, how does Cameron go to school? I’m pretty sure it’s against the law to not get educated.”

“My mom homeschools him; she also has a job as a librarian, so she’s really busy.” Peyton nodded. He showed Pat a little more around the school before going home.

“Wanna stop by my house, Peyton?” asked Pat. “I wanna grab some drinks; the sun is scorching today.

“Sure.”

Pat’s house was almost identical to Henry’s in shape; it was just a different color. “Sorry that the house is really empty. We just moved in. I’ll grab some sodas from the garage; you can look around if you’d like.” There wasn’t much for Peyton to look at. The basement was unfinished, and all the rooms were either empty or full of cardboard boxes. Peyton went upstairs, hoping that Pat wouldn’t mind. The bedrooms were just as empty as the downstairs rooms.

“Hey,” said Pat, which startled Peyton; he handed Peyton a can of soda.

“I wouldn’t recommend going into there,” said Pat, pointing to the first door on the left. “That’s the room where Cameron stays; he doesn’t like strangers.”

“Alright, I’ll stay away from there. It must suck to suffer from such bad anxiety.”

“Cameron’s panic attacks scare me, honestly,” responded Pat while sipping his soda loudly. “Anyways, we should head downstairs. By the way, I don’t want to sound greedy, but could Cameron and I earn a share of your guys’ revenue?”

“Absolutely! As long as Cameron keeps drawing those outstanding comics, that is!” said Peyton excitedly. Good Oak Comics never had an excellent artist. Their best cartoonist was Henry, who couldn’t draw noses correctly. Pat was also ecstatic; he had a massive grin on his face as they talked.

“Oop,” muttered Peyton as his phone buzzed; he answered the call. “I have to go,” he mouthed to Pat. Pat waved him goodbye as he went out the door into the hot sun. Peyton had to go home for lunch, but food had no place in his thoughts. He was elated that an artist as amazing as Cameron would be helping Good Oak Comics this summer.

4
Henry was surprised to see Pat back at the treehouse on Tuesday. He had assumed that Pat wouldn’t return after his hostile clash with Peyton.

“Hey, everyone!” welcomed Peyton. “I wanted to apologize for making such a big scene the last time we met.”

“Me too,” added Pat.

“It turns out that Pat’s brother, Cameron, is an outstanding artist! And, he’s planning on helping us with our comics this summer! Isn’t this great?” Peyton and Pat laid some of Cameron’s comics on the wooden table. The others circled the table, all looking impressed.

“They’re so good!” exclaimed Jacob. “I’m speechless!”

“Man, I wish I could draw this well,” groaned Suyash. “Yeah, this summer is going to be awesome.”

“Where is he?” asked Carter, peeking out the door. “Could he not come today?” Pat looked down with dismay.

“Pat’s brother unfortunately has an anxiety disorder. He freaks out at the sight of strangers, according to him.” Peyton tried to comfort Pat as he stared at the ground.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Pat. But look on the bright side, he’s still with us at Good Oak Comics! Welcome to the team!” said Carter happily. Everyone applauded, welcoming their new members.

“Let’s get to work, everyone!” The treehouse quickly went quiet as everyone focused on their work. Carter and Henry had Pat help with Joe Moraliste.

“You can help draw the setting,” suggested Henry as he munched on a cheese doodle.

“No, we should fix Nate’s pants. The shade of green that you’re using looks hideous with his jacket and boots. We need to redo all of it.” Carter and Henry looked at each other. They made facial gestures at each other, trying to convince the other to speak up. Suyash looked over to see what was going on.

“You see, Pat. They’ve already written over 20 pages of it; it’s too late to fix it now.”

“It looks awful,” said Pat in a disgusted tone.

“Are you serious?” Peyton retorted angrily. “It looks fine. Pat, you’re supposed to help draw the setting, so why don’t you focus on that.”

“I refuse to contribute to a comic with such a poorly drawn character.”

“I think he looks fine,” commented Carter. Pat shook his head and pouted. Everyone argued against Pat for several minutes. He still insisted that Nate’s pants looked bad.

“You know what, Pat? WHY DON’T YOU REDRAW THE WHOLE THING IF YOU’RE SO GOOD!” shouted Henry as he threw the comic at Pat. “DO IT! I AM NOT REDRAWING 20 PAGES OF COMICS BECAUSE THE NEW GUY ON OUR TEAM SAYS SO!”

“Henry, chill out,” said Jacob quietly. Henry had done a good job intimidating Pat; he sat down and continued to draw the setting of Joe Moraliste.”

“Peyton, I’d like to speak with you outside right now,” said Henry. Without waiting for an answer, he climbed down the rope ladder and waited at the trunk of the great oak. Peyton looked at the others, who gestured at him to go talk to Henry.

“We can’t have Pat on our team if he’s going to continue arguing with us. It’s a major distraction; plus, he’s barely helping.”

“Come on, Henry,” sighed Peyton.

“He draws so slowly!” hissed Henry. “He even has the audacity to criticize our work when he is contributing nothing to Joe Moraliste!”

“He’s new to the team, Henry. If it makes you feel better, I’ll talk to him about it.”

“You better,” said Henry as he climbed back up the ladder and into the treehouse. Peyton just stood there, thinking about what to do. He didn’t want to risk Pat and Cameron leaving the time; he also didn’t want Henry to hate Pat.

“Why did I bring him here?” Henry mumbled to himself as he sat down. He could tell that Pat was staring at him after he said that.

“Henry, that’s kind of mean,” whispered Carter. Henry rolled his eyes in response and mouthed “whatever.”

Nobody said anything for another half hour. Pat continued to draw the setting like he was told to do. Eventually, Pat stood up to leave.

“I’m heading home, guys.” Pat took his water bottle and climbed down the treehouse ladder. Henry scowled, knowing that Peyton didn’t talk to Pat like he had asked.

“Should we order pizza for lunch?” suggested Jacob.

“Why don’t we go to the Baseball Grill?” chuckled Peyton. Jacob glared at him, but everyone agreed to it.

“Come with us, Jacob!” laughed Henry. Jacob groaned and followed the rest of his friends to his family restaurant. They were greeted by Jacob’s older brother, Zach.

“When are you going to come and work for us?” asked Zach coldly. “We need a new dishwasher; Dad fired the last one.” Jacob mocked Zach and ignored him.

“A table for 5, please,” said Suyash. Zach rolled his eyes and took them to a large round table.

“What would you nerds like to drink?”

Everyone ordered a glass of water except for Henry, who ordered an orange soda.

“Enjoy,” mumbled Zach as he served the beverages. He spat in Jacob’s glass of water before returning to the kitchen.

“Idiot,” groaned Jacob. He dumped the water on the ground. Carter laughed.

“So, what do you guys think of Pat?” asked Peyton. “Look, if you guys don’t want him on the team, then that’s fine.”

“No, he’s a distraction. Guys, I’m sorry for bringing him to the treehouse,” said Henry as he sipped his soda. Carter, Jacob, and Suyash all pondered silently.

“He seems cool,” Carter remarked. “I think he should stay; his brother draws really well.”

“Me too,” added Jacob. “For the same reason, I guess.”

“You guess?” scoffed Henry. “Pat and Cameron are going to be taking almost 30% of our revenue! This is a serious decision. Take it seriously.”

“Yes, I think Pat should stay with us.”

“Suyash? What do you think?” asked Peyton.

“Hm,” he mumbled as he put his hand to his forehead. “Yeah, he seems cool. He can start drama sometimes, but it’s not that big of a deal.” Henry sighed.

“Alright, then it’s settled. Pat and Cameron will be part of Good Oak Comics. Cheers, everyone.” Everyone except Henry clinked their glasses and drank.

5
Henry stomped in the puddles as he walked through the forest. It had rained cats and dogs overnight; the forest was damp and the ground was full of puddles. When he reached the treehouse, he could hear noisy chattering.

“Hey, Henry!” shouted Peyton from the treehouse; Henry waved back and climbed into the treehouse. Everyone was there including Pat.

“These are so good!” exclaimed Carter.

“I know, right?” added Suyash.

“What’s going on?” questioned Henry. He looked over everyone’s shoulder and saw Cameron’s comics laid on the table. Of course, everyone was admiring them like always.

“Yeah, they’re nice,” mumbled Henry.

“Henry,” said Pat. He offered his hand. “I’d like to apologize for that argument we had yesterday. I understand that you and Carter are the main artists for Joe Moraliste and that I shouldn’t be interfering with your guy’s work.” Henry ignored Pat’s apology, but he shook Pat’s hand.

“So, are we going to work or are we going to spend the entire day kissing Cameron’s butt?” asked Henry sarcastically. Everyone stopped talking and stared at him. “Well?” asked Henry. “We have a lot to do!” He sat down and began working on Joe Moraliste.

“Yeah, guys, he’s right,” agreed Pat. “Let’s get to work.” Henry glared at Pat, which Pat noticed immediately.

“Henry, I get that you’re upset at me. But, we should get to know each other better. After all, I’m now a part of the Good Oak Comics team!” Henry rolled his eyes and continued to work on the comic. He didn’t speak to anyone for the rest of the meeting. At lunchtime, he took his belongings and went home without saying goodbye.

“He’ll get over it eventually,” said Peyton.

“I’m sure that he will. Hey, Peyton, do you remember what we discussed last night on the phone?”

“Yeah, I think that it’s a bad idea. Sorry, Pat.”

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Jacob curiously.

“Pat asked me if I could appoint him to the 2nd-in-command of Good Oak Comics,” said Peyton. “Considering he joined last week, I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Yes, I am the 2nd-in-command here. Then Henry, then Jacob and Carter. Pat joined last week; he should have the least power here.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” commented Carter. “He’s representing both himself and his brother.”

“Are you crazy?” yelled Suyash.

“They’re not, Suyash,” responded Pat sharply. Everyone began arguing in the treehouse. Jacob and Carter were with Pat, and Suyash was with Peyton.

“Why should he be second-in-command?” screamed Suyash.

“Why not, Suyash?”

“He joined last week, may I remind you! Plus, his comics aren’t even that good!”

“Have you forgotten that I represent my brother and I? Plus, you haven’t seen my comics. The art isn’t the best, but I am a good story writer!”

“Says the one who drew that trash Civil War comic! Or whatever it was, I don’t care!” As everyone argued, Henry came back to the treehouse.

“Hey guys, I’m sorry for—” He paused. “Wait, what are we arguing about?”

“Pat thinks that it’s a good idea for himself to become second-in-command,” replied Suyash.

“That is a terrible idea; Pat literally joined us last week.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

“So what? He’s done plenty already!”

“You’re so clueless, Jacob!” Everyone continued to argue. Then, Peyton stood on the table.

“Enough! Everybody!” he yelled as loud as he could. Everyone stopped arguing and looked at him. “We are here to draw comics; we are not here to argue. Pat, if you’re going to start an argument every day that you are here, then leave. Henry was right, maybe you are incapable of being on the Good Oak Comics Team.”

“Why is this my fault?” asked Pat angrily.

“Seriously? You are so deluded!” screamed Henry.

“Shut up, Henry; you’re deluded!” retorted Jacob. Peyton slammed the wall with his hand, and everybody looked back up at him.

“Today’s meeting is over, everyone. Pat, think about what I said. If you’re going to continue arguing, then don’t come back.” Without saying anything else, Peyton grabbed his backpack and left the treehouse.

“Second-in-command, second-in-command!” mocked Henry. He spat on the floor before leaving.

“They’re like that sometimes, it’s okay,” assured Jacob. “Right Carter?”

“No, Jacob. Peyton was right. Before Pat came, we never used to argue with one another.” Carter looked at Pat. “If you’re going to keep arguing, then we are better off without you like Peyton said.” He left the treehouse without saying another word. Jacob shrugged at Pat.

“Hey, do you want to grab lunch together? I’m sick of going to my dad’s restaurant.”

“Sure.” Jacob and Pat began to pack up their things. “Hey, Jacob? Thanks for being on my side. I’ll make sure to be on your side next time.” Jacob grinned, and they both left the treehouse.

“So, why do you want to be second-in-command?” Jacob stomped in a puddle.

“I feel like I deserve it, I guess. Technically, I’m representing both my brother and I. Nobody else here is representing two people.”

“That makes sense, I guess. Where do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know any places. I’m new, remember?”

“Oh right,” chuckled Jacob. “Let’s go out to this pizza place that I know, it’s really good.”

“Let’s run; I’m starving!” They both ran across the streets to the pizza place.

“Welcome!” greeted the cashier. They found a booth and ordered a large sausage pizza.

“This place smells really good,” said Pat.

“Their pizza is even better, I promise you. Like, have you had New York pizza?”

“No.”

“Neither have I. But, I’m sure this pizza can’t be far from it. Who knows? It could even be better.” Jacob and Pat both laughed as the waiter served their large, sausage pizza.

6
“And… we’re finished with Cosmic Ninjas!” chanted Suyash. He high-fived with Peyton and Jacob.

“Our first finished comic! Should we post it on the website?”

“Yes, do it!” Jacob pranced around the treehouse, causing dust to come off the wooden floor. “We’re going to start making real money!”

“Nice, guys! Congratulations! We’re almost done with Joe Moraliste.”

“We should be done by next week, right Henry?” Henry nodded.

“Hey, Pat, tell Cameron we said thanks, would you?” asked Jacob as he opened a bag of cookies.

“I will.”

“So, for Cosmic Ninjas, everyone gets an equal share, right?” asked Pat.

“Sure,” responded Peyton. “Wait, Pat, you’re not working on Cosmic Ninjas? Why do you care?” Peyton and Suyash exchanged confused looks.

“He manages his brother’s earnings, idiots,” chuckled Jacob. “After all, Cameron helped a bunch on our comic.”

“Anyways, I’m going to head home early. Guys, do you want to go to the Baseball Grill?” Jacob noisily groaned.

“You guys go ahead; we should stay and work on Joe Moraliste. Right, guys?”

“Yeah, Henry’s right. We want to start earning money too,” said Carter.

“Suit yourselves,” chuckled Peyton. “Let’s go, Cosmic Ninja gang.” Jacob reluctantly followed his friends out of the treehouse and into the dense forest.

“We should go somewhere else; it’s so dry today, and there’s no wind,” moaned Henry. “I’m sweating like crazy!”

“Yeah, let’s go to my house,” suggested Carter. “It’s really close to here.” The three of them packed their drawing tools and left the treehouse.

“What neighborhood do you live in, Carter?” asked Pat.

“Oh, I live in the neighborhood South of the forest.” They walked through the forest and quickly found Carter’s neighborhood. “The blue one is my house,” pointed Carter.

“Hey, Mom!” shouted Carter through the hall. “I brought some friends over! Welcome, guys.” A girl around Carter’s age skipped over to the front door.

“Is Jacob here?” asked the girl with excitement; she sighed loudly.

“No, Kelly, Jacob is not here.” Pat couldn’t help but giggle. “Kelly’s my twin sister,” Carter informed him.

“Is your sister still obsessed with him? That’s hilarious, dude. He’s rejected Kelly at least a dozen times.” “I will not give him up!” shouted Kelly from the other end of the hall. Pat started cracking up.

“Remember Parker’s fan fiction?” snickered Henry.

“Please don’t bring that up,” groaned Carter. “I’m pretty sure Kelly still has a copy of it upstairs.”

“Can I read it?” asked Pat.

“It’s rather, um— inappropriate.” Kelly suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Our amour was only emphasized by that beautiful narrative of our concealed love!” She dramatically pranced down the hall with her hands on her chest. Pat thunderously cackled as Carter’s face turned a bright shade of Crimson.

“Guys, we should get to work.” asserted Henry. The three of them went upstairs to Carter’s bedroom. Pat tried to hold in his laughter when he saw a picture of Jacob on Kelly’s door.

“Let’s try and get as much done as possible. Can you guys sleep over today?”

“I’ll call my mom,” said Henry.

“Pat, can you stay the night?”

“Can I borrow a phone to ask my parents?” Carter handed him his cell phone.

“My mom says I can sleepover!” cheered Henry. “Can I borrow a toothbrush?”

“I still have yours from the last time you slept over.”

“I can stay too!” grinned Pat.

“Great! Let’s get to work!” The three of them lay down on the floor and began drawing. By dinnertime, they had drawn almost two dozen pages.

“Only a few to go! Joe Moraliste had already won, and now he is going to be celebrated on his home planet!”

“This one’s definitely going to sell better than Cosmic Ninjas,” sneered Henry. Carter’s mom had prepared meatloaf for dinner.

“I’m so glad you boys are staying over. Where’s the handsome one?” Henry and Pat both howled with laughter.

“Jacob’s not here, Mom!”

“You should invite him!” suggested Kelly.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” said Carter’s mom to Pat.

“Oh, hi! I’m Pat, I recently moved here.”

“Nice to meet you, Pat! Are you also a part of the comic club?”

“Yes, I am. My brother is too, but he isn’t here.”

“Well, I would love to meet him someday!” Pat hesitated and then nodded silently.

“Where’d Kelly go?” asked Henry while looking around the dining room.

“No!” shouted Carter. He jumped out of his chair and ran into the living room. “Kelly! Get off the phone!”

“Anyways, you seem like a nice kid, Pat. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Me too.” Kelly danced back into her chair while grasping the house phone.

“Jacob’s coming over! Jacob’s coming over!” she sang.

“Whatever,” mumbled Carter as he slumped back into the chair.

“Delicious dinner, ma’am. We should get back to work; we still have some stuff to do.” Henry, Pat, and Carter both left the table.

“No dessert for you boys?”

“No thanks!” called Carter as the three of them raced up the stairs. Just as they sat down to continue, the doorbell rang.

“Wait, Kelly actually invited her?” chuckled Henry.

“I tried to stop her, but Jacob had already picked up. I didn’t want to be rude and not let him come over.” Carter went down the stairs. “Coming!”

“Hey, guys, thanks for inviting me!” Henry and Pat both waved at him. “Kelly isn’t here, right?”

“Yeah, she is,” smirked Henry. “She was the one who invited you, nimrod.”

“What? I thought it was Carter’s mom!” Jacob glared at Carter. “I told you to never invite me when she was home!”

“I didn’t want to sound rude!” Kelly called out Jacob’s name in the hallway; he hid in Carter’s closet.

“Anyways, let’s get to work.” Within half an hour, they had finished Joe Moraliste. Jacob just played on his phone while they drew, occasionally checking the door for signs of Kelly.

“Wow, it got dark fast,” commented Henry.

“There’s still two hours until bedtime. What should we do until then?”

“Let’s watch a movie!”

“Sure, as long as we aren’t watching romance. I don’t want Kelly getting any ideas.”

“Oooooooooh,” jeered Henry and Pat. Carter chose a horror movie, which they watched until bedtime. Pat mocked Jacob for hiding in a blanket, but Jacob claimed that it was to avoid Kelly for the rest of the starry night.

7
Henry slumped through the sun-lit forest. He didn’t fall asleep until in the morning last night, so he was sleep-deprived. Eventually, Henry stumbled to the giant oak where the treehouse sat.

“Hey, sleepy-head!” mocked Suyash. Henry ignored him and tried to climb up the ladder. He struggled from fatigue, but he eventually pulled himself to the treehouse entrance.

“No Pat today?” he asked. Carter shook his head.

“You don’t think that horror movie scared him too much, right?” teased Jacob.

“We have to get to work, maybe Pat’s busy today,” declared Peyton.

“Are the comics uploaded online yet?”

“No, I’m getting to it.”

“Peyton, we should have a day off. We all just finished two comic books. Plus, tomorrow is the 4th of July. We should get today, tomorrow, and the weekend off.”

“I agree with Henry.”

“Alright, fine. But next week, we have to work hard.” Everyone immediately agreed to this.

“Let’s play Go Fish,” suggested Suyash. Peyton, Jacob, Carter, and Suyash all sat down at the table. Henry sat in the corner and played on his phone.

Two hours passed by, and Carter had won Go Fish for the 20th time. Nonetheless, his friends wouldn’t give up.

“Hey, guys, I got a text from Pat,” said Henry as he took off his headphones. “He wants us to meet him at The Baseball Grill.”

“No, I am not leaving until I win at least once,” insisted Jacob.

“He says it’s urgent, guys. We should go.”

“No!” Jacob sat down and concentrated on his new hand of cards. “Go fish, Peyton.”

“If it’s urgent, we should go,” announced Peyton. “Come on, guys.” He took his backpack and climbed down the rope ladder, followed by Henry.

“We should go,” Suyash said to Jacob. He and Carter both left the treehouse, leaving Jacob.

“Fine! I’ll go!” Jacob quickly put all the cards into a deck before leaving. He had to run to catch up to the others.

“What’s so urgent?” asked Suyash.

“He didn’t say. He just told us to meet him and that it was urgent.” They went out of the bright forest and crossed the road.

“Hey, we can get some ice cream?” pleaded Carter. They were right in front of the best ice cream shop in town. Henry wanted to say no, but beads of sweat dripped down from his face as he moved his lips.

“Um, sure.” Peyton agreed and the five of them went into the ice cream store. They came out 10 minutes later, each with an ice cream cone.

“Mm, this blueberry ice cream is delicious! Anyways, we should hurry.” They all ran to The Baseball Grill, where they were again greeted by Zach.

“Looking for your nerdy, blond friend?” he mocked. Jacob tried to catch his breath.

“Shut up, Zach. Also, yes, we were. What table is he at?”

“He left about ten minutes ago. What friends you are, he came almost an hour ago waiting for you.”

“Shoot, we shouldn’t have gotten ice cream. Let’s go to his house.” Henry and his friends quickly left the restaurant. “Come on, hurry!” They took the same route back, running even faster than last time. After 20 minutes of running, they reached Pat’s house. Peyton pressed the doorbell repeatedly.

“Well, look who finally decided to come,” greeted Pat sarcastically as he opened the door.

“We’re really sorry, Pat. We got distracted; it’s totally our fault. So, what’s so urgent?” Pat hesitated.

“I’m moving.” Everyone paused, not knowing what to say.

“But— you just moved here,” said Jacob in a confused tone.

“Well, I guess I’m not moving. But, I got accepted into an elite private school in France. That’s where I’ll be attending 7th grade.”

“Um, congratulations, I guess,” mumbled Henry. “When are you leaving?”

“My new school right at the beginning of August. I will probably leave in around two weeks. I probably won’t have enough time to make another comic book with you guys. Anyways, that was the urgent news. You guys don’t seem to care that much.” Without waiting for a response, Pat shut the door.

“Sorry!” shouted Suyash as Pat closed the door.

“I didn’t know Pat was French. Anyways, two weeks is enough time to make a comic if we all work together. We need to make it up to Pat. Then, we make one more comic book with him,” declared Henry. His friends agreed, and they ran back to the treehouse.

“Alright, we should make a card saying that we are sorry,” suggested Peyton. Everyone liked that idea, they each signed and decorated it.

“Hey, guys, I have to go home for lunch. Bye, guys. Tell Pat that I’m sorry.”

“Bye, Jacob!”

“I think we should all go home for lunch. We can give it to him after,” said Henry.

“Yeah, that sounds good. You guys can go; I’ll deliver the card.”

“Thanks, Carter.” Carter waited until everyone had gone out of sight. Then, he ripped up the card.

“I’m not giving a sorry card to that baby,” he snorted under his breath. “If he can’t accept a mistake, then too bad.” Carter took the shredded pieces and left the treehouse. He walked out of the forest and dumped the little paper pieces into a black waste bin. Then, he took out his cell phone and wrote a text to Pat.

“If you’re not going to accept our apology, then that’s fine. It’s not like we did anything bad to you. If you aren’t coming back, then we aren’t giving you money. Two weeks is more than enough time to make a high-quality comic book. See you at the treehouse.” Carter turned off his cell phone and walked back home. His mom had prepared grilled paninis for lunch.

“Did Jacob say anything about me?” asked Kelly. Carter ignored her and continued to munch on his sandwich. He was too busy thinking about tomorrow.

8
Carter stuck his hand out of the car window to feel the nice, summer wind. His mom was driving him and Kelly to Benchwick Mountain. Every Fourth of July, Carter and his friends hiked to the top and planted an American Flag to celebrate the holiday. The drive had been long; Kelly was snoring loudly next to Carter. Eventually, they arrived at the base of the majestic mountain. Kelly woke up suddenly, wiping the drool off of her face.

“Thanks for the ride, Mommy!” she shouted as she hopped out of the minivan. Kelly kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Bye, Mom!” shouted Carter.

“Have fun, kids! Stay safe!” Carter and Kelly both waved goodbye to their mother and ran to the bottom of the mountain.

“Happy fourth of July, everyone!” greeted Peyton. “Hey, Kelly. I’m glad you could come along with us for the hike.”

“Hi, everyone! I brought the flag!” said Henry as he ran over to join his friends. Suyash soon arrived with Jacob.

“Hey, everyone! I can’t wait for the hike!” exclaimed Jacob. “Where’s the sunscreen—” Suddenly, he paused.

“What’s your sister doing here,” he hissed at Carter. Henry laughed loudly; Carter ignored him.

“Alright, I think we’re ready for the hike!” announced Carter. “I brought sunscreen, if anybody needs it.” He handed the bottle to Jacob, who was still angry at him.

“Pat isn’t here yet,” said Peyton. “Let’s wait for him.”

“Pat? Why would he come?” asked Carter. “This is a friends’ hike, not a Good Oak Comics hike.”

“But, Pat is our friend.”

“It’s always been the five of us.”

“Six, you mean,” said Jacob aggressively. “Why does your sister get to come?”

“Guys, it doesn’t matter. Pat clearly wasn’t invited; we obviously aren’t going to invite him and wait another hour for him.”

Carter nodded in agreement. Not wanting to wait another hour in the hot sun, he agreed to go on the hike without Pat.

“Goodness, how tall is this mountain?” asked Kelly as she gazed at the mountain.

“It’s not bad: it’s 6,600 feet above sea level, I think.” Kelly shuddered as Henry announced that number.

“Let’s go, everyone!” called Henry as he started up the mountain. “So, we have to hike up this dirt trail. Then, we’ll take our lunch break at a stream about 1,500 feet up. We can also hang out there if there’s some nice shade. Then, we’ll hike another 1,600 feet to the halfway point. The view is amazing up there, so we’ll take some photos. After that, we’ll climb the staircase through a small forest up to the summit.”

Just as the friends began walking along the dirt trail, they heard a faint, familiar voice.

“Wait!” shouted the voice—it was Pat.

“Hey, Pat! I thought you weren’t coming?” yelled Suyash.

“Carter’s mom, invited me!”

“Of course she did,” mumbled Carter angrily.

“Come on up and join us!” Pat slowly walked up the dirt trail and met up with the rest of the group.

“Alright, then. Let’s go!” They talked about new comic book ideas as they hiked up the path.

“Hey, everyone,” said Henry. “The view’s pretty nice up here, let’s take a selfie of all of us.” Carter, Jacob, Peyton, Suyash, and Kelly all stood next to Henry for the picture. “Where’s Pat?” Everyone looked down the trail, and they saw Pat—he was about way behind them.

“Hurry up!” called Peyton. “Let’s just take a few without him.” After several selfies, they finally got one where nobody blinked.

“Okay, now let’s take some with Pat. Pat?” Jacob saw Pat sitting on a rock far below the rest of them. “Come on!”

“Goodness, that nerd’s slower than me,” chuckled Kelly. Carter couldn’t help but laugh with his sister. “Are you tired already!” she hollered.

“It’s been almost 20 minutes already. We have to keep moving if we want to make it to the top. Let’s go everyone!” Henry continued up the trail. Carter and his sister followed him.

“I’ll wait for Pat; you guys can go on ahead,” suggested Peyton.

“Thanks, man!” Jacob and Suyash ran to the rest of the group. “How far up are we?” inquired Jacob.

“I have no idea,” said Henry as he looked down the slope of the mountain. “I’d estimate around 500 feet; we haven’t been hiking for very long.”

“How long does it take to get to the top?” asked Kelly.

“Last year we took about four hours,” replied Henry. “We can’t be slowed down by Pat, otherwise by the time we won’t be able to come back down by dusk.” The four of them continued up the uphill trail, occasionally taking selfies at places with nice views. Eventually, they made it to the stream.

“It’s noon, perfect time for our lunch break!” announced Suyash.

“Wow, they even have picnic tables,” said Kelly in an impressed tone. She took out a sandwich from her bag. “Ugh, it’s warm!”

“I told you to put an ice pack,” said Carter as he munched on his chilled sandwich. “I did, and my sandwich is nice and cool!”

“I’m going to call Peyton and see where he’s at,” said Suyash as he took out the phone. “Darn it! There’s no signal. We’ll just have to hope that he and Pat aren’t too far behind.”

“The keyword is hope,” snickered Kelly. “You know, this place is actually really nice. The sound of the water makes this place oddly satisfying.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Henry as he sat down next to Jacob. “For once, Kelly isn’t hitting on you,” he whispered.”

“I hope it stays that way,” replied Jacob softly. Suyash walked over to the stream and took off his shoes. He rolled up his pants and stepped into the water.

“How’s the water so cold on such a hot day?!” he shouted to his friends.

“Suyash, aren’t you going to eat lunch?!” Carter hollered to him.

“No! I usually eat lunch late in the afternoon!” Henry chuckled.

“How much do you want to bet that he’s going to be hungry later during the hike?”

“I heard that!” barked Suyash. “I’m not going to be hungry!”

“We’ll see! Alright, I’m done with lunch. I’m going to go play in the water a bit.” He took off his shoes and ran over to the stream, where Suyash was. “The water is really cold, dang.”

Jacob got up and looked down the trail again. “There’s Peyton!” he shouted. “But where’s Pat?” Carter quickly ran over to see Peyton, but no Pat.

“Where’s Pat?!” shouted Carter.

“He went back down! Apparently this hike is too hard for him!” Peyton shouted back. He ran up the trail to meet up with his friends by the stream. “I’m starving!” He sat down and began devouring his lunch like a pig.

“Of course he gave up,” sneered Carter. He ran over to the stream where Suyash and Henry were splashing each other. “So, Pat gave up on the hike, poor Peyton.”

“Let’s give him some time to eat,” said Henry as he splashed Suyash in the face.

“Goodness, eat slower,” snickered Kelly as she walked over to Peyton eating like a wolf. “We’re going to wait for you.”

“I’m just really hungry,” he responded. After a few minutes, Peyton finished his lunch, leaving a big mess at the picnic table.

“Should we keep going now?” asked Kelly.

“Sure,” responded Peyton. “Hey, nerds! Stop playing in the water! Let’s get moving, they can catch up.” Carter and Kelly followed Peyton up the trail.

“Wait!” shouted Henry as he dried his feet and put on his shoes. He and Suyash quickly ran up the trail to catch up with their friends, and they continued to hike up Benchwick Mountain.

A few hours later, they reached the summit of Benchwick Mountain. The sun had begun to set, and a nice breeze filled the hot summer air. Carter let Kelly plant the flag this year; she had never done it before.

“We finally made it,” said Henry as he stared over the edge.

“Shame that Pat’s not here, right?” asked Peyton. Carter and Kelly rolled their eyes together.

“I imagine he’s afraid of heights,” joked Suyash. “Anyways, what are we doing before he leaves in two weeks?”

“We should just continue like usual,” suggested Carter. “I mean, two weeks isn’t enough for a comic.”

“It is if we work together,” added Jacob. “We should let Pat decide, though.” Everyone liked that idea.

“Have you ever wondered if the world was a simulation?” asked Peyton out of the blue. Everyone gave him a weird look. “Well, I do.”

“I’ve always had this crazy thought,” started Jacob. Everyone paid close attention to him. “What if Cameron wasn’t real?” Everyone started laughing, even Kelly.

“Hey, guys, what if Jacob was a robot?” mocked Carter.

“Guys, we should start heading down,” declared Henry. “It’s getting dark, and we’re still at the top.” Kelly made sure the flag was inserted into the ground properly, and everybody started heading down the slippery slope of the vast mountain.