6

Chef PeePee had finally finished dusting the whole house, and was lying on his bed. He checked the news on his phone to pass the time.

"They keep saying they're going to ban tiktok... wonder if they ever will..." Chef PeePee mumumbled to himself. He clicked off the article and checked the time. It was 3:27, which was around the time Junior got off the bus.

The chef felt a little apprehensive. He didn't know if Bowser was still going to hit Junior for being driven to school, or if his anger was already all out. He really hoped it was the latter; even with medicine he could still feel his own body ache.

Junior waited for his stop to come up on his bus. In the meantime, he and Jeffy decided to play IPhone checkers.

"I'm kicking your ass, Junior." Jeffy said. "I got this win in the bag."

"Are you sure about that, Jeffy?" Junior taunted, before making his next move.

"Ooooo, he got another piece of yours out again Jeffy!" Joseph said, hyped from the match, and the fact there was nothing else for him to do but watch his friends play checkers.

"Oh yeah? Well, he just played himself. Get rekt, Junior." Jeffy responded, before getting Juniors piece that had previously gotten him out.

"Damnit!" Junior shouted.

"Oh-ho! Comeback!" Joseph added. "What's your response to that, Junior?"

Before Junior could respond, the bus came to a halt in front of Jeffy and Junior's house. "ALRIGHT YA BRATS! IF THIS IS YOUR STOP, THEN GET OFF!" The bus driver lady shouted. The boys swore they could hear the smoke in her lungs releasing as she yelled.

Jeffy and Junior said their goodbyes to Joseph, since Cody had already gotten off, and went into the house.

"Put the game on pause, Junior. I gotta go annoy my daddy and mommy." Jeffy told the younger boy, before going upstairs. Junior paused the game, then went to the kitchen to look for Chef PeePee.

"Chef PeePee???" Junior called. The chef was nowhere in sight. "CHEF PEEPEE?!" He shouted. After a moment he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"What?!" Chef PeePee asked once he was finally downstairs. He looked exhausted. His shoulders were slumped and he was slightly hunched over.

"Can I have a snack?" Junior asked.

"Sure, I guess. Not too much though, so you'll have room to eat dinner." Chef PeePee told him. Junior nodded, and took a cosmic brownie from the pantry, and sat at the table.

The chef figured he'd start dinner now, or at least decide what they were having. He really, really, didn't want to ask Bowser what he wanted.

"What do you want for dinner, Junior?" He asked the teen.

"Uhhh... I don't know." Junior responded dry, more focused on finishing his checkers game with Jeffy than anything else.

"Very helpful." the Chef mumbled. He looked in the pantry for any ideas on what to cook. "What do you think about grilled cheese?"

"What about grilled peanut butter sandwiches?" Junior asked. Chef PeePee had to poke his head out of the pantry to see if the kid was joking or not. "What? Roy Gethard had one at lunch today. He said they're good."

"Fine... I'll make that for you and grilled cheese for your dad." Chef PeePee settled. He decided to leave the ingredients out and start the sandwiches later. It wasn't even 4 pm yet, so he had time.

Junior continued his checkers game, until he had lost. Then he decided to color. He got his supplies from the living room and started on a new page.

Seeing the coloring book reminded the chef of the previous night. Then that thought of the previous night went to thinking of running away. He'd thought about it some more. He wanted to. He thought of the relief he'd have being out of that house, relief he hasn't felt in many years. "Hey Junior..." He started

"Yeah?" Junior said.

"I thought about it..." Chef PeePee said.

"About what?" Junior said, sounding absolutely confused.

"Running away, idiot! Do you really... want to?" Chef PeePee asked timidly, which was different for Junior. Normally Chef PeePee was upfront about everything.

"I mean... yeah. Being homeless would be better than being in this hellhole." Junior said.

"Don't cuss, Junior."

"Hell isn't a cuss word!"

"Whatever." The chef mumbled. "When would we go out?"

Junior thought for a moment. "Tonight? I don't have school for the next 2 days, so I won't miss school. We could go after dinner, so my dad won't come back down here for a while. We'll pack and then go a while after he goes to his room and everyone else is busy or asleep."

Chef PeePee was a bit taken aback by the paragraph Junior had said. "You must have thought about it a lot too." He said. "I guess we could tonight. I'm pretty sure Charleyyy is on all night."

"Yay!" Junior exclaimed in happiness. Chef PeePee knew how good it would feel for Junior if he got away from his dad for a while. Hell, he'd been with his dad for his whole life. He was about 3 when Chef PeePee started working for Bowser. Thinking about Bowser taking care of a baby was a scary thought. He was surprised Junior didn't grow up totally as idiotic as his father.

The two then heard the doorbell ring. "That must be my friends!" Junior said excitedly, before scrambling towards the door.

"Wait! Junior! One more thing!" Chef PeePee called out. Junior turned back towards him. "Do not tell ANYONE we're running away. Nobody can know, not even your friends, okay?"

"OK Chef PeePee!"

"I'm serious, Junior, no one can know." Chef PeePee said more sternly. Junior nodded and went to answer the door.