Rufus called Penn and asked, “Dude! Got any plans for today?”

The truth? I’m thinking about just sitting here in my underwear and playing video games,” Penn admitted.

“Hey, me too!” 

“You know, This is the last day of spring break. We should do something fun and interesting. I mean, Monday it’s back to the books,” Penn pointed out.

Rufus suggested, “It’s close to noon, so let’s get some burritos, go to one of the climbing gyms, and get a pizza afterwards.”

“And then play videogames in our underwear?”

Rufus laughed. “Only if we can play Batman: Arkham Knight!”

“Great idea!” Penn exclaimed. “We started spring break with Batman and we will end it with Batman.”

“My best friend has gone batty,” Rufus said dramatically.

“Smart ass,” Penn retorted. “I’ll pick you up in fifteen minutes.”

Predictably, the lads demolished their burritos. They thought about having more, but the climbing wall awaited them. Thursday’s gastric debacle with raw onions and roller coasters was fresh in their minds and they didn’t want a repeat.

Penn cocked an eyebrow and proposed a different activity. “We can go climbing anytime. Let’s scope out the Cartoon Art Museum instead and…”

“Get more burritos now?” Rufus asked. 

“Of course!”

It took a little longer for the guys to scarf down their second burritos, but when they did, they were satiated and ready to hit the museum. Ironically, there was a special Robin exhibit that featured every Robin from Dick Grayson to Damian Wayne, including the two female Robins. Rufus and Penn verbally sparred a little about whether or not Batman really needed Robin, with Penn playing devil’s advocate and taking the stance that no superhero needed a sidekick. 

“You, my friend, are as stubborn as Batman,” Rufus proclaimed. 

“And you are full of guano,” Penn retorted. 

They were laughing so hard that other museum visitors turned to shush and gawk at them. 

“Dude, we probably should find another exhibit,” Rufus whispered. So then they wandered over to look at the art of Disney villains and eventually they looked at Edward Gorey’s work and some vintage anime. 

Rufus asked, “Did you watch anime when you were a kid?”

Penn exclaimed, “I did! Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball GT.  Pokémon. Tenchi Muyo.  All the various Gundham series and movies. Except for the Gundam shows that are still current,  they’re kind of old. My dad liked anime. He got into it when he served with the Army in Japan. He was thrilled when the Cartoon Network ran these series in the 1990s and bought all of these series and their movies when they came out on DVD. And get this–Dad got Mom hooked on Sailor Moon.”

“I’m jealous,” Rufus confessed. “You were raised right!” He looked at some other anime cells and pointed out, “Here’s an old series. Astro Boy. My mom said she caught a little bit of the cartoon when she was a girl, and it creeped her out that he had jets instead of feet. Then she was scared by the opening credits of The Outer Limits. So, other than the funny cartoons and The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, I didn’t get to watch a lot of TV. But she let me watch reruns of Batman.”

The lads walked around a little, then decided to go to Rufus’ place to play videogames and order pizza. Not only did Rufus have Arkham Knight, he also had Return to Arkham and all three of the Lego Batman video games. Pants were left on because playing video games while wearing only underwear was weird, even with the best of friends. 

Their large extra cheese triple pepperoni pizza arrived, so they took a break from their games to eat, drink beer, and talk. “You know, even though we didn’t go to the Bahamas with the girls, it was still a fun break,” Penn declared.

Rufus agreed. “We got stuff done and still had time for fun. This past week we both got out of our comfort zones.”

“Yeah,” Penn said. “You challenged yourself by riding roller coasters and thrill rides. And bungee jumping.”

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack when we went bungee jumping,” Rufus admitted. “But you know, the adrenaline rush from that and the thrill rides was amazing.”

Penn exclaimed, “It’s addictive! That’s one reason I enjoyed being an army medic and I want to work in the ER. Always something going on. Always a rush!” He went silent so he could collect his thoughts. “That’s why I procrastinate on assignments so much. Pulling an all-nighter, running on fumes and coffee, is a thrill, but I’m not sure it’s so healthy for me and my career. We aren’t allowed to get more than two Cs in our nursing courses or we get kicked out of the program. So far, I haven’t gotten anything below a B, and I don’t want to take the chance of getting bad grades. Besides, procrastinating is stressful, and I don’t need more stress in my life.”

“I hear you,” Rufus replied. “When I started college, I thought it would be easy peasy. High school was a breeze, at least academically, and I figured college wouldn’t be so tough. The statistical analysis software project was draining, and it made me aware of the stress I face now as well as what I’d face in graduate school. I need more fun in my life or I’m going to burn out fast. Thankfully, I have you to drag me out to the student fitness center, a movie, or a theme park.”

“And I have you to help me stay on track and get stuff done. Work done, I can really relax or do something to get that adrenaline surge. I’m definitely going to quit procrastinating. Tomorrow!”

“Speaking of tomorrow, the girls will be arriving home around noon,” Rufus said. “I can hardly wait until I see Ellowyne.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing Amber,” Penn added. “I’ve really missed her.”

Rufus suggested, “Maybe you need to tell her how you feel. Maybe not right away, like, wait until after finals, so neither of you have that stress hanging over your heads.”

“Good idea! Speaking about something hanging over your head, let’s get back to Batman and watch as he crushes his enemies!”

“To the Batcave!” Rufus retorted.