The night comes around on the day before game day. The four roommates are spending the night by lounging at the Monarossabergie House. Brandon is at the dining table on his laptop. Nick is also at the dining table, facing his friend, but he is enjoying his post-dinner snack.

“Mmmm…” Nick sucks mustard off from his thumb.”...this is a post-dinner snack.”

Brandon peers up from his laptop. He catches sight of Nick holding a rather thick sandwich with many ingredients stuffed between the two slices of rye bread.

His eyebrows fly up. “Wow.”

“Do you want some?” Nick holds his sandwich out at him.

Brandon presses his lips. “Erm, no thanks. I'm full.”

“Okay.” Nick pulls the sandwich back to himself. “After this, I’ll have my pre-nap snack.” With a small, kiddish smile, he takes a bite of his sandwich.

Brandon eyes his friend. “Which would be…?”

Nick shrugs with a swallow and a sigh. “I dunno. I’m thinking about having those Cali Comfort ribs though…” His eyes drift up with a dreamy look.

Brandon now has wide eyes and bared teeth. His face has “yikes” written all over it.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room where the living room is, Joseph and Max are perpendicular to the dining room, each nestled their own reclining chair, facing the television that is on the wall across from them. They are watching a movie silently together until something interesting pops up in the scene: A strange creature begins doing a bouncy, squatted dance on the screen while clapping.

Max throws his head back and beings to chortle loudly with his eyes squeezed shut and a massive, upward mouth. “Oh ha ha ha, hee hee hee!”

Joseph on the other hand dips his head down with squeezed eyes and a pressed mouth. He snickers with his shoulders rising up and down.

Max turns to Joseph with tears in his eyes. “Heeheeheehee, that is too funny! He was like this! He was like this!” He hops from his chair, squats down and begins hopping from foot to foot while clapping in the bounce’s rhyme, just like the creature on the television’s screen.

Joseph chuckles with his smile widening, rounding his cheeks. “Oh man, Maxi, that is funny.” He dips his head as he lets out another fit of snickers. He finally lifts his head up, wiping his hair away from his face. “I gotta record you! Rewind it!”

Max straightens up and rushes over to the television to rewind it. He then returns back to Joseph, who has his phone held up at him, ready to record him. Max presses the play button the remote control to start the movie again.

Joseph first tapes a few seconds of the creature dancing on the television. He then swings his phone to the left, where Max is mimicking the dance move of the creature.

Joseph then stops his recording before bursting into sniggers. “Maxi…! Maxi…!” he forces out in a strained voice with his head dipped down.

Max hops back in his reclining chair as the movie goes on. He leans over to his best friend. “Can I see it?”

Nodding his head, Joseph hands him his phone.

Max presses the play button and watches the clip with him. The two then burst up in laughter:

“Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

“Hee hee hee hee hee!!!”

From the dining room, Brandon is now staring at the two friends, who are now slumping down the chairs from laughing too much and too hard.

“Are you two okay?” He has large eyes on them. “Breathe, guys, breathe…”

The two are now on the floor, rolling around the floor in happy tears and titters.

Brandon sighs, then eyes Nick. Nick is not phased at all of the commotion that is going on from behind him; he is finishing up his sandwich contently. Brandon then turns back to his laptop, where he sees a new post from Joseph pop up in his feed.

He clicks on the post, seeing that it is Joseph’s video he just filmed of the creature and then Max. He plays it; a massive grin spreads on his face.

“Yeah, now I see why you guys are laughing your heads off!” He peers back ahead, where he spots Max and Joseph calmly watching the movie. “And now not anymore…” He turns back to his laptop.

On his reclining chair, Joseph rolls his head against the cushion to have his eyes land on his best friend. “I love hanging out with you,” he murmurs to him with a content, laidback mien.

Max turns his head to him with a sweet, closed, “W”-shaped smile. “Same here.”

“I’m glad to have a friend like you.” A small smile is growing his face.

“I’m glad to have a friend like you, too. I very much enjoy your presence.”

“Definitely.” Joseph tucks his hands behind his head. “I never want this moment to end.”

“Samma här, Joseph.” Max’s smile slightly fades. “But times will move on…”

Joseph eyes him with the faint expression of trepidation.

---

Once everyone has gone to bed, Max is in his room. He is at his desk with his desk lamp on, which is the only source of light at this moment; everything else behind him is concealed with thick darkness. Opened in front of him is a journal with some handwritten writing in a foreign language in it.

Max scans through his writing, then picks up his pen and starts writing on the next page:

6 januari, 2016. Jag gick in i köket för att börja laga frukost för pojkarna när jag såg att det inte fanns någon mer rågbröd. Jag fick reda på att Nicholas tog allt bröd för att göra några alltför fyllda smörgås. Han kommer att få mer fett äta det. Jag menar han är redan så fett som det är. Brutto. Och nu har jag ingen mer bröd kvar att hålla en ordentlig frukost. Jag var tvungen att använda vitt bröd i stället för den verkliga svenska rågbröd.

He continues writing about his day and his personal thoughts in Swedish. Once he gets to this point of the day, he places his pen down, closes his journal, tucks it in the desk’s drawer, and turns off the light, plunging the room into thick darkness.

Notes

E.2 "Here Comes Trouble...!"
Part 3/7
Episode 2/20