Jay's Fantastical Sleepover Extravaganza

"Sooo..." Maxy stared at the remote in the middle of the sitting area, "Are we gonnaaa change the channel?"

"Don't even think about it, Konno." Legs crossed and head held high, Higgy sneered at him from the couch.

"We shouldn't." Kenji sat like he had a plank of wood up his back. Toni did too, but that's just how he sat normally.

"C'moooon, there's bound to be better stuff to watch on American TV than the weather." Maxy leaned back in his comfy chair. "Besides, it's not like Jay's comin' back anytime soon."

"He could be back any moment." Kenji looked back where Benji and his husband disappeared off to. 'Please come back,' was written all over his face.

"I think this weather station is pretty neat. The music's nice," Nicky wiggled in his seat, "and look at these hi-tech animations."

Maxy scoffed. "Nicky, you could entertain yourself with a piece of string."

"Yeah." He nodded. "I think strings are pretty neat." Gotta love that airhead.

"Could you not move around so much?" Kenji reached over Toni to nudge his brother. "The fabric might tear."

"What kind of cheap couch would this be if it tore so easily?" Surprising of Higgy not to immediately side with Kenji on this. Guess he had bigger fish to suck up to.

"Sometimes, things that are expensive are... delicate."

Toni looked around. "How are we gonna leave if it's so rainy?"

Kenji took a breath. "I don't know."

"Well, we can't stay here." Higgy closed his eyes. "Jay has somewhere to be tonight."

Thunder jolted Maxy out of a daze. The hypnotic weather patterns and smooth jazz were boring him to sleep. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

The non-Nickys stared at him as if he said he was going to burn the house down.

"Chill out, I'm just gonna go splash my face!" He wasn't, but for once, Maxy kept it to himself. Kenji was stressed out enough without Higgy throwing a hissy fit about Maxy 'desecrating' his idol's sacred toilets with his filth. "I'll be back."

Maxy made his way down the hall, past the stairs, the curtain, and the phone—Wait, a phone? This phone was the closest nearby. Why did Jay go all the way upstairs? Maxy wondered this as he entered the bathroom with the tub full of teepee. He splashed his face, and did a couple of other non-Kenji-approved activities before stepping out a new man. On his way back, he heard Jay's voice from upstairs.

"Please don't fret, Mummy, the pilot already told me." How British could one guy get? "It's fine really, there's always another day."

It turned out when there's no furniture to buffer anything, sound carried. Maxy couldn't make out the rest of the conversation as well, but if he had Toni's big ears, he'd bet he could hear the whole thing. Normally, he wouldn't care less, but wasn't like he had much else to do.

He stopped in his tracks at the door with the padlock. In his 18 years and 11 months on this Earth, Maxy knew that wherever there were locks something valuable was right behind them. And the size of that thing! It begged to be opened. But Maxy wasn't the type to steal from someone like Jay. For one, he could send him to American prison, at least if Higgy didn't kill him first. Two, the guy seemed nice, if a little goofy. So Maxy left the door alone, even if the mysteries behind it wouldn't leave him alone. Oh well! It would give him something to think about.