They run back down the stairs, and out to the backyard. The yard is surprisingly small compared to the front, with only some trees, a small garden, and a cabin.

Amina
We come here to watch TV and stuff, so we don't bother mayor mom.

Padgen
Pretty cool.

Inside is more couches, a basic sink and some kitchen appliances. A sandwich press, a popcorn popper. There's also a projector screen on the wall, and across from it, a projector inside the ceiling. Underneath, a satellite cable box. Amina picks up a remote, presses a button, and the projector descends. Then it lights up, brilliant and clear against the screen. There's a light-switch, but for obvious reasons, she leaves it alone.

Padgen
That's really cool! I had one of these in my dorm, but it was cheap, and the lenses warped after a year. Then it just stopped working. This one looks boss as hell.

Amina
(Proud.) Yeah, it's nice. Mom spared no expense on this stuff, even though she should have. Like she's worried someone will come and review it for the news, or somethin'.

Padgen
They should, honestly.

Amina
Ehhh... I hope they don't. I'm gonna charge my vape!

Padgen
When did you start vaping?

Amina
Uhhh... cool it with the questions, dude. Nicotine keeps me active. What's your name, anyway?

Padgen
Padgen.

Amina
That's cute! Shut up, Padgen.

Padgen
Alright.

Amina
I gotta be tough, stay on the edge. I don't wanna be a big softie for my whole life, always needing someone else to help me.

Padgen
You seem pretty strong and independent to me.

Amina
Yeah, that's a long story. Jeez, just... stay there. Lay back. I'll make some popcorn.

Padgen
What about the fries?

Amina
Oh, the fries!!

Amina smacks her forehead, and runs inside. Ten minutes later, she brings back a big bowl of fries, two paper plates, and a bottle of ketchup, all in a basket.

Padgen
(Sincere.) Thanks, Amina.

Amina
(Bashful.) Whatever, dude. Let's watch some TV.

Amina uses the universal remote to flip on the projector, and the cable box. A cartoon comes on, one that's about a group of superheroes dressed in different black and orange jumpsuits, who face off against the evil Mega-Mask. It's called Core Force Five.

They sit in silence, eating fries as the show plays. Amina gets restless, and grabs her vape. She takes a deep inhale, and lets out a thick cloud of vapor.

Amina
Yeah, that's the buzz. (Cough.)

Padgen
What flavor is that?

Amina
Orange-raspberry. It's only five micks, if you're worried about that kind of thing.

Padgen
Five is good, I can handle it. My foster dad used to vape a full thirty. My friend vapes at twenty, I can handle it just fine. At least, being next to it. He always tries to make me try it, and I just choke.

Amina
Speaking of, how come you hate your old friends?

Padgen
I dunno about hate. And I've never hung out with Lector before, I was only friends with Ibram. Not a good first impression, though. Dude seems like a perv.

Amina
Everybody's some kinda perv, at least when you get to our age.

Padgen
Maybe, but... things got weird. We're supposed to be like... bros. That's what I thought we were, anyway.

Amina
Did they force you?

Padgen
Not exactly? They just tried to butter me up first. With chips, I mean. I still have a bag, actually-

Padgen looks down, and remembers his plate of fries.

Padgen
...but I guess I can save them for later.

Amina
So, your friends. Lemme guess: the ol' arm around the shoulder?

Padgen
Try a pornslop flick on TV.

Amina
Oh, gross! Those things are so nasty. I prefer the Amateur Hour, myself.

Padgen
Not to get too into that subject, but I'm a fan of the classic high-def stuff, from 2009. The days of Fallpile blogs, and smut .gifs. Half my favourite music comes from around that time, too.

Amina
Okay, okay. I see what you're about. But your friends aren't like you, I'm guessing.

Padgen
Not in the slightest. But... I actually feel bad for leaving them. They were just trying to give me something I'm missing out on, anyway. Maybe they're just growing up, and I'm not.

Amina
(Blushing.) Yeah, well, Sujay's not like that. And I ain't missin' out, thank you very much.

Padgen
(Blushing back.) That's good. So this show...

They look back to the screen, at the tween-motion animated superheroes, rendered in a digital facsimile of 1960's pastiche. There's a few too many frames per second for its own good, but it's a great effect. Even has some nice film grain.

Padgen
It's got a real classic look to it. They make this for real? No fake?

Amina
Yeah, it's the only thing on that's good right now, except for older stuff. There's vidslop on-prompt, but I can't stand it. The damn things never do what you want, maybe for five seconds.

Padgen
Yeah, without that tedious human oversight, autoslop still can't beat real TV. It's like doomscrolling a movie that's constantly misbehaving. I can't imagine how anyone could sit there and enjoy it.

Meanwhile, at Brian's House...

Brian and Georgie sit in front of the TV, sharing the couch, legs overlapped. They watch the TV as vidslop gyrates and melds and dismelds and swirls and whorls. Figures emerge, then morph, and disappear. Laugh tracks echo, photos fractal. Then it reassembles itself into a poorly-written episode of a famous sitcom, 'Who's Got My Pants?', which never existed.

Pants-Person
(Shaking his head, then his heads.) Who's got my pants?? Are YOOOUU my pants?!!

A child in overalls with a bowl-cut continuously and repetitively opens his mouth in layers.

Pants-Child
(Mouth not matching the dialogue.) I have- ha-ve – have- - your PANTS!! WOWOWWWIIEEEE!!!

The child holds up the pair of pants, and then it unfolds to reveal its third and fourth legs.

Laugh Track
HAH AHA AH A AHAHAHAaa. .. ahAHAA AHAHA AUHGGUGGHGH!!!

The laugh track descends into warped screaming, and everyone's faces melt. Then they're back to normal, and a bee crawls over a flower for the rest of the entire episode. The bee accidentally multiplies, because as usual, the algorithm treats its own mistakes as facts.

Brian
(Zonked.) This is like, the best show.

Georgie
(Zoned-out.) We should save this one. But I don't wanna get up.

Brian
Yeah... me neither.

Georgie
Hahh.

Soon, the flower is so swarmed with bees that it flops over, and sinks into the ground. There is now a bee hill – a hill in the ground, where bees live.

Brian
Nature is incredible.