By ColdDaye
?Echo 1 this is Flying Weasel ? ?
?Dude, like, I?m sitting right next to you. If you want another soda you can get it yourself.?
?Dude, I was trying to get into character!?
?Well, dude ? ?
?Dudes? Do you mind? Let?s not with the dude-ing,? James? sister interrupted. She twirled the phone cord around one finger. ?Yeah,? she said to whoever was on the other end, ?They?re playing Halo again. Uh-huh?over the internet. They won?t let me check my e-mail. Nope, apparently it killed them all off last time. I don?t see why Mike gets to chat and I don?t.?
?Mike is chatting with the enemy. We?re taunting them. Psychological warfare and stuff,? Tony (Echo 1) explained.
?Yeah,? added James (Flying Weasel).
?Do you guys even know who you?re playing?? Johanna asked.
?Well, that?s half the fun,? Tony said, trying to sound as condescending as he could. James stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration.
?Guys, I don?t think the taunting is working,? Mike whined.
?Well, why not?? Tony raced toward the flag and James covered him.
?Ha! NOOOOO!? James cried. His character screen went black. Flying Weasel went down, killed by someone named PerfectT.
?What the hell kind of name is that?!? he squawked indignantly.
?Ha! Got one!? Perfect Tommy crowed. Then he sat up, ?Aw, damn!?
?Ha! He got you back,? Billy laughed.
?Naw, that was his buddy. Echo 1, geez.?
?Kids, huh??
?Actually,? the intern who was monitoring the ?net chat interrupted, ?We don?t know if they?re kids.?
?With a name like Flying Weasel?? Billy asked.
?Your name is DJ Ninja,? the intern pointed out.
?See, that?s the point. You kill them off and humiliate them at the same time, I mean, who wants to be killed by some guy named DJ Ninja??
?Or Flying Weasel,? Tommy said as Billy?s character went down due to close contact with the business end of a bazooka.
Rawhide stood in the doorway for a moment, not believing his eyes. ?Are you picking on kids again?! What happened to gate duty, Perfect Tommy?? he demanded.
?Aw, come on! I ? ?
?Now, Tommy! You died,? he added pointedly.
?Yeah, well, it?ll be a miraculous resurrection in a minute,? Tommy muttered resentfully.
Rawhide stepped into the room and Billy scooted back to let him by the couch. The cowboy reached over to take the controller out of Perfect Tommy?s hands. ?Now,? he said.
Perfect Tommy sighed and stood up straightening his jacket in a huff. ?Fine. We were winning, too,? he muttered.
Billy and the intern watched them go and then the intern asked, ?You still gonna play??
Billy shook his head. ?No point. It?d be two on one and those guys are actually pretty good.?
?Okay,? the intern typed ?We gotta go. Peace yo.?
?Hey!? Mike said. ?We win!?
?Huh? Why?? Tony asked.
?They gotta go. Probably gotta clean their rooms or something,? he added, remembering exactly why he was hiding out at James? house.
?Same time next week, did they say??
Mike waited for Killer Rockers to finish typing his message, ?Yeah. I?ll be here to,? he said.
?Okay. Who wants pizza? I?m hungry,? Tony said.
?You?re always hungry, and we?d a beat them anyways,? James said.
?Yeah?they don?t even know who they?re playing. They get stomped every time unless the other guys have to leave mid-game,? Johanna said, still on the phone. ?Yeah, guys are so totally stupid.?
James, Tony, and Mike turned and glared at Johanna. She ignored them.
?You get the tickets? Who?s opening?? she asked, ?Yeah?the Rugsuckers?! It?s a Hong Kong Cavalier concert?! Oooooo!? she squealed. The guys sat up.
?Hey, I wanna go!? Mike demanded.
?Dude,? Tony answered, the older wiser one. ?We gotta get our own tickets.?
?Hey, you think if we ever played the Cavaliers we?d beat them?? Mike asked.
Tony fixed Mike with a pitying glare while James sighed dramatically. ?Dude,? Tony said, ?Everyone knows the Cavaliers have a lot more to do than play stupid video games.?
?Yeah, besides,? James added, ?We could take ?em, easy.?
Johanna rolled her eyes. ?Dudes,? she muttered under her breath
