An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of a New Comedian

Jack, Levi, Asad, and David were out and about on a typical summer day. They didn't quite know what to do with themselves, so they just walked around downtown Valparaiso. The four boys did not want to just sit around and play video games the whole day. They wanted to see what might be going on in town today. It wasn't too hot, but it looked like it could rain. Actually, according to the weather app on the boys' phones, it was supposed to rain later today. It was only 1:30 right now, so the boys were okay with going out for now. They were just walking around, looking for something to do. The four boys wanted to hit up a bar later today, but right now they were just focused on finding a place to eat. They didn't want to eat at home, so they were hoping for something instead of fast food.

All four of them ate a few snacks at home an hour ago, and, of course, they were hungry again. They wanted to practice tennis a little later, so they would have a little time to stuff their faces. Even if it was going to be in the rain, the boys still wanted to practice their tennis skills. After tennis, their main goal was to hit up a bar or two in the downtown area. And Rhody wanted to join them, even though he couldn't come to tennis practice. Rhody had an interview for a customer service position today, so he was super nervous about that. Jack has been tutoring ten students this summer, the extent of his current job experience. Levi has been serving at an apprenticeship at his dad's office this summer. Asad has been interning at a marketing agency. And David has been interning in communications.

For all of them, this has been a great way to get their feet in the door and see what might happen next. But right now, the four boys cared more about tennis practice and adventuring in downtown Valparaiso over anything else. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered right now. None of the four boys had to be at work today, so why would they need to worry about a thing? They were currently walking in the direction of the courthouse from the west side of downtown. They saw all of the restaurant options, but they couldn't pick and choose. Jack, Levi, Asad, and David could not decide what they wanted. They wanted burgers, but where? So many options to choose from.

"I am very torn between a few places here," Levi remarked.
"I am, too," Jack replied, wistfully.
"What do we do?"
"I will make the final call on this one."
"What are you going to do?" Levi asked, quite curious.
"Pizza," Jack answered quickly.
"Pizza sounds good to me. Want to call them?"
"Sure. Why not? I always call for pizza."
"Not entirely true."
"No?"
"No."

Jack called the pizza place on Lincolnway and Michigan Avenue. They would need to wait thirty minutes, which wasn't really a long time. Although all four boys were pretty hungry, they could wait for that amount of time. Jack, Levi, Asad, and David were hoping to explore downtown Valpo for a little while longer. They still didn't really care where they went. They just wanted to be out and about. It still hadn't rained yet, so they were good. The weather itself was quite overcast, but not to the point where it was going to rain yet. The boys walked back and returned to the park on Lincolnway and Lafayette. They just wanted to sit there and do nothing at the moment.

​"I haven't had pizza in a while, actually," Jack remarked.
"Really, Jack. You had pizza last Tuesday," Levi replied.
"I meant....THIS pizza."
"Oh. Okay."
"HUGE difference," Jack said.
"Afterwards, I could go for a cider," Levi stated.
"Yeah. Me, too."
"I asked Rhody if he wanted to come, but he has plans."
"I know how much he also likes his cider."
"That's one reason why I invited him."

Jack and Levi were sitting at one bench. Asad and David were sitting at another bench. Two totally different conversations for now. Jack and Levi were thinking about pizza and beer. And David and Asad were probably thinking about the same ideas, but then again, maybe not. They stared at the younger kids who played in the sprinklers at the park. The younger kids' mothers were standing by the sprinklers, hoping to the Good Man they wouldn't get sprayed by the sprinklers. David and Asad couldn't help but laugh at their reactions to the sprinklers. And a lot of these mothers are most likely a little older than them. Not much of an age difference there.

"Remember when we were kids, and we played in the sprinkler?" David asked Asad, after ten minutes of watching the young kids.
"We can recreate that," Asad replied.
"Sure. That's true."
"Wanna play in the sprinklers here?"
"No!" David snapped.
"I thought you wanted to play in the sprinklers," Asad remarked.
"Not right now, I don't."
"If you don't want to play in the sprinklers, then what do you want to do?"
"Eat pizza."
"Fair enough."

Twenty minutes passed, and Jack, Levi, Asad, and David walked back to the pizza place to get their pizza. Since it is only a five minute walk from where they were, they didn't rush to get there. It was starting to get more and more overcast by the minute. However, it didn't start raining yet. So, this was a hopeful sign for the four boys. They were hoping to hit up the bar after eating their pizza. Since the bar that they wanted to go to is within walking distance from Levi's house. Hopefully, it wouldn't rain when the four boys left the pizza place. But then, Asad noticed a few rain drops hit his head. At least they weren't too far away from the pizza place.

At least it wasn't down-pouring yet. The four boys now crossed Franklin on Lincolnway, so they were very close. It was starting to rain a little harder. However, Jack, Levi, Asad, and David were okay with this. They were close enough to their destination that they didn't care if they got a little rain on them or not. However, depending on what would happen with the rain, they may not be able to hit the bar. With a baseball bat. Because that would be too literal. And they also may not be able to play tennis tonight because of the rain. They would just have to wait and see.

"Well darn. It's raining," Levi remarked.
"Pretty hard as well," Asad said.
"None of us drove. So I guess we'll have to go down some avenues."
"Elmhurst Avenue, for one."
"Very funny, Asad. Very funny," Levi remarked.
"I try, I try," Asad replied.
"We could stay over at Louise's for a bit, or we could go to Vicky's."
"I don't know about Vicky's place, to be honest."
"Why not?"
"To be honest, I kinda like Bonita, and it'd be awkward being in the same room as her."

Jack, Levi, Asad, and David sat at a table in the pizza place. They were perfectly okay with this because they didn't want to get their pizza destroyed by the precipitation. Jack opened the boxes, and his eyes grew big. Pizza. Gosh darn pizza. No day could be made better if it wasn't for pizza. The four kids eyed the pizza and tried to decide which slices they should take. Jack and Asad prefer the outside pieces, so they would most likely take those slices. And David and Levi would most likely take the inside slices. No one wanted to make conversation for now. They just wanted to enjoy their pizza for now.

"Good pizza," Jack remarked.
"Yes. VERY good pizza. I actually think this has been the best pizza I've had here," David commented.
"Well, I'm glad you like it."
"Well, I'm glad I like it, too."
"I wonder what we are gonna do with the rain and all," Jack stated.
"Yeah. Hopefully we can still play tennis," David said.
"It has to quit raining first, though."
"Yeah. I was in the mood for tennis."
"When are you not in the mood for tennis?"
"Never."

Fifteen minutes later, the pizzas were gone. And the rain had let up a little. But not by much. It was still raining pretty hard out there. But Jack, Levi, Asad, and David decided to go over to Louise's for a little while. They didn't want to walk all the way to Elmhurst Avenue because of the rain. But Lafayette was quite doable. Louise was at the house. With this in mind, she would be able to let them in. And they would be able to play video games for as long as they'd like.

Jack, Asad, and David were most likely talking about some video games that they had just played. Levi, on the other hand, wanted to call his oldest half sister and let her know where they were. They decided to take Lincolnway up to Lafayette, which is only a few blocks away from where they were. Then, they turned right on Lafayette and headed toward Chicago Street. Levi dialed Louise's number, and he was hoping to get her as soon as possible.

"Hello?" Louise answered on her end.
"Yo, Louise. What are you up to?" Levi asked.
"Not much. We were going to play in the park, but, of course, the rain picks up."
"No doubt."
"What are you up to?" Louise asked.
"My friends and I were planning to play tennis and go to the bar, but it started raining and we don't know if we can do any of that today," Levi replied.
"Where are you?"
"Michigan and Lincolnway."
"Not too far from either place."
"But, the problem is, we walked and it's now raining hard. I don't want to go back to our house until the weather clears up."
"Understandable."

The four boys walked five minutes to Louise's house, on Lafayette Street. It wasn't a bad walk. However, the rain made the adventure a little less fun. The four boys could play in the rain if they wanted to. But right now, they wanted to play video games on the newer consoles. They had spent as much time as they wanted out on the town. And they had already gotten caught in the rain. That was for sure. The boys wanted to dry off for a bit. And then they might consider bringing out their inner child. Once the kids were at Louise's house, Levi knocked on the front door. In a matter of a minute, Louise came to the door.

"Hey guys," Louise greeted everyone at the front door.
"Hey, thanks for letting us stay over for a bit. Who all is here?" Levi asked.
"Just me. Brian decided to take your nephews to the library."
"That sounds like fun."
"So, I heard you had planned to play tennis today," Louise remarked.
"Yes, but the rain put an end to that I'm sure," Jack replied.
"Well, maybe the rain will stop by this evening."
"Let's hope."
"I think it said it would rain until this evening."
"That would be nice."

Louise has always known how the boys are. Their main goal was to race each other to a gaming console and play as many games as possible. At least Jack and Levi were eager to play video games. Asad and David didn't want to play video games for now. They wanted to sit around and drink cream soda. Louise had some in her fridge, so she offered some to her brother and his friends. Then, they all sat together in the common area. Jack and Levi were playing video games. David sat on a disc chair. Asad sat on the couch. And Louise sat on a recliner. It was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.

​"What were you guys doing in downtown?" Louise asked.
"Just exploring, I guess," Asad answered.
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"It was, until we got pizza, when it rained."
"Makes a lot of sense," Louise said.
"I never knew their pizza was so good," David remarked.
"Didn't you say your family makes authentic pizza?"
"Yes, my dad is Italian, so he is the one that does all the cooking, and it's mostly authentic Italian."
"Levi is part Italian as well, but we don't do a lot of Italian food at the house."
"Yes, I know."