Minutes after the plane landed, Austin, the rest of the passengers, and I collected our luggage then left our comfortable seats to begin the adventure. 

Hands gripped their suitcase handles, as the passengers' lazy feet shuffled across the small aisle and the tingly cold sensation of air subsided.

"Man, " I said aloud. "I am so relieved."

Austin gives me a mere nod, stretching his arms.  

"Yeah, " he agreed. "I thought I'd never get away from that God awful coffee smell."

Willingly, I reached for Austin's free right hand and grasped it, like a little girl clutching her mother's strong legs.

"Hey, at least we are outside," I say as a matter of fact. 

Austin smiled even wider. "Yeah, I guess so."

Among the treacherous sea of people, I saw the boy again, but this time, he was more focused on getting out of the plane.

Removing his small, silver-gray suitcase from the top right compartment, the boy's dark blond hair bounce uneasily, as he hoists up its long, silver handle, tugs it behind his lanky legs, and pursued forward, hustling past me.

It was then I notice the sturdiness of his jaw, the keen smile on his lips, and the way his strong hands clutched his belongings.

I continue to marvel at the boy when Austin shakes me from my daze.

"Jack, " he whispered. "Jack."

I turn my face to see my best friend giving me one of his stern looks.

"What?" I ask.

Austin sighed, pulling my hand.

"Let's go," he said impatiently. "We are not going to make a movie if we are standing here."

I ducked my head so he wouldn't see my flustered cheeks.

"Yeah, " I said, chuckling. "Sorry."

Austin studies me for a second, clutches his backpack, and with a gentle tug, he leads me out of the airplane.

Pressing our feet against the white, metallic stairs, Austin and I escalated onto the light brown concrete where the bright sun hit our tired faces.

"God, " I yawned. "Maybe I should have brought some pillows from home."

Austin scrunched his eyebrows at me.

"Really?" he asked in surprise. "I thought my seat was pretty comfortable."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, because you slept through the entire flight."

Austin shuffled past an elderly woman, ignoring me.

Rolling my eyes, I approached the sultry pale blond boy, grabbed his hand, then said, "come on Austin, we need to stick together."

"Jack, as much as I want to Thelma and Louise this shit, we need some real food," said Austin.

I gave him a look. "Really?"

"Yes really, " replied Austin. "The last time I had shitty food was last Christmas when Kristy and Olivia made me try those carb-free meals."

I sigh again. "I am sure we will find something."

"Like what?" asked Austin in disbelief. "We have thirty dollars in our pockets, drank shitty airplane coffee, and now, we have no idea where we are going."

Giving him a sultry look, I told him to stop complaining.

Dragging his feet, Austin retorted: "I'll stop complaining if there was a sign that says, 'free vegan steak'."

I try to sympathize with him when I noticed we were standing in the midst of Sydney: a noisy city filled with bustling crowds, cars, and tour guides.

Buildings grew above our heads as we recognized the names of popular establishments, like Barnes & Nobles, McDonald's, and Bath and Body Works.

Walking past us was a rainbow of people invading sidewalks, streets, and traffic.

While the population had Latinos, Asian, blacks, and Indians, I spotted a couple of white people exploring stores and famous cities.

Smells varying from car stench to the sizzling aroma of meat lured to a man in a white t-shirt with dark words Born In Australia written across his chest.

He has shaven brown hair, a short beard, plump stomach, khaki jeans, and white sneakers.

Around his belt is a black leather fanny pack with a silver zipper.

Lines of old age scarred his plump face, as the man's opal blue eyes watched me and Austin approached him.

Behind him is a white table, where plates of sizzling steaks, silver utensils, and napkins stood on the surface waiting for someone to take a bite.

Welcome to the Outback!" the man boomed in a welcoming tone.

"Here in Australia, we have everything! Sydney Opera House, adorable koala bears, and free vegan steak! Who wants a piece?"

"So, he must be the tour guide," I said in wonder. 

"And apparently God has answered my prayers," Austin muttered.

Intrigued, we went over to the tour guide and inspected the well-cooked meat roasting in the grill. Thyme, rosemary, and other nutty spices formed a steamy cloud as I hear a quiet sizzle escape from the steak.

"Mm, " I say dreamily. "that is a good smell."

"Would you two care for a piece?" the tour guide offered.

I nodded in delight. "Yes, please."

Grinning, the man plucks two white plastic plates, silver utensils, and napkins off the table then handed them to us.

"Thank you," we both said in unison.

As soon as the tour guide gave us our lunch, Austin and I decided to sit in an empty metal table behind a Domino's Restaurant.

Setting our dinner in front of us, we sat in two, dark brown, high, metallic chairs on opposite sides, picked up our silverware, then started eating.

Marveling at the piece of vegan steak, Austin's mouth became overwhelmed with thick saliva.

"Damn, " he murmured.

Nodding in agreement, I divided another piece of my steak, handed one to Austin, then ate my portion.

"Thanks," he grinned, taking a bite.

I sank my teeth into the outer layer of flesh then smiled as the meat quickly disintegrated into my tongue.

"Man, that is good." I complimented, taking another helping of steak.

After taking his first bite, Austin suggested: "Well, maybe after we are finished eating we should find a place to crash for the night."

Although I nodded in agreement, I remind him that our top priority is to get some money. 

"Oh, yeah," Austin mumbled. "Why can't we use a credit card?"

I frown. "Because Joseph might find the records in the bank, and track us down."

"Ugh," Austin groaned, "where can we get Australian money?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know, but for now, let's keep our money safe. Just until we fly back to New York."

"So when is the short film due?"

"March 20th, " explained Austin simply.

"Currently we are in February 28th," I muttered to myself. "So, if we shoot Severed Ties tomorrow, we will have at least 19 days."

"Yep, " agreed Austin. "As soon as we find a hotel, we will plan our movie, film it, then go home without our parents losing their shit."

Speaking of parents, Austin's phone buzzed angrily in his right jeans pocket.

Looking down from his greasy hands, my best friend wiped the substance with his napkins, picked up his phone, then grew anxious when he noticed who it was.

"Oh, fuck." he moaned. "It's Kristy."

I finished my steak, walked over to him, then stared hard at the screen.

"Answer it, " I urged.

Austin looked at me. "Are you mad, woman?! I don't want to get grounded!"

"Well, I don't want Kristy and Olivia to get suspicious!" I yelled.

Reluctantly, Austin hit the Answer button with his thumb, but as soon as Kristy said "Hello", he quickly hung up on her.

"Great job Austin, " I snarled. "now they are going to call home."

"Well, what do you want me to say?" hissed Austin.

" 'Sorry for stealing your car, Kristy. I was just borrowing it so I can go to Australia unsupervised' ?"

Glaring at him, I said, "Let me talk to them."

Austin shakes his head firmly.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because, " he answered, "my moms will know that something is wrong and ground me for all eternity."

I give him a tired look.

"What? It's true!" he cried. 

Taking a deep breath, I assured Austin that if he converses with his mothers they would leave him alone.

"How can you be so sure?" inquired Austin.   "They might be worried about me."

"Of course they are worried about you, " I say.  "Your moms care about you, and they will be on your ass unless you pick up the phone and call them."

Looking at his phone for a minute, at first, Austin wanted to bury it deep inside his belongings. But after listening to my decision, he dialed Kristy's phone number, held it close to his ear, and waited until he hears her voice.

"Austin?" she murmured. "Is that you?"

He blushes for a second. "Yeah, sorry I didn't answer your cell."

"It's fine, " Kristy beamed. "Olivia and I just wanted to talk to you."

"Okay," Austin replied nervously.

"Are you doing getting ready for school?" she asked.

"Yeah." he lied weakly.

"Have you eaten breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"Are you wearing condoms?" she implied.

"Mom!" Austin whined.

"What?"

"Stop monitoring my sex life!" he scowled.

"Well, I am sorry we don't speak 'teenager'." Kristy spat. "But your mother and I expect you to be protected at ALL times."

"Mom, I am protected," he argued.

"Physically or sexually?"

"Both." Austin moaned. "Jesus, you are embarrassing me."

Sighing, Kristy responded, "Austin, I am your mother and I have every right to embarrass you."

"Why am I not surprised?" he groaned.

"Anyway, your mother made you some gluten-free lasagna and baked ziti in the kitchen."

Austin smiled. "Tell Olivia I said thanks."

"No problem, " she said. "so, your mother and I are flying to California to help out some members from the LGBT."

My best friend bobs his head. "Okay."

"Make sure the door is locked, study hard, and if you don't want to catch AIDS, cover that stump before you hump."

I laughed wholeheartedly, while Austin rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he sighed. "Goodbye."

"We love you Austin." beamed Kristy.

"I love you too, guys."

After hanging up the phone, Austin noticed that I was listening then replied, "can you pretend that you didn't hear this conversation?"

I did a small chuckle. "I just love your moms."

Sliding the phone inside his pocket, Austin moan, "please don't make things worse."

"Nope." I stubbornly joked, tossing my trash into a can. "I think it's sweet, Kristy telling you to protect your dick."

"Knock it off," Austin mumbled.

Then arousing from his chair, he takes a deep breath.

"I know this might be sudden and all, " he started to say. "But I have an idea on how we should get some money."

"Okay, " I shrug, finishing the remains of my steak. "Spill."

"Well, I am hoping that I could paint like a mural or something."

"A mural?" I repeated.

"Yeah, " nodded Austin. "a lot of artists get paid to do murals on walls." 

I wanted to say that his ideas are good,  but murals take hours to paint, hours that we should not waste due to an expected deadline.

But regardless, I set down my fork then asked him what he wants to do for his mural.

"I am hoping to paint Marvel characters." Austin beamed.

I gave him a look.

ADoes Austin want to spend four hours painting Marvel characters on a wall?

Is he fucking serious? 

Sensing my thoughts, Austin said that we don't have a choice.

"I know," I started to say. "but we can't waste any more time—"

"Please?" he begged. "We could earn so much money."

"And get noticed by cops," I added.

Austin did a childlike pout.

"Oh come on, " he said. "Would you rather sleep in the streets or in a crappy motel?"

"Depends on how crappy the motel is." I snorted.

"Please?" he begged again.

"No."

"Please?"

I sighed. "No."

With a puppy pout paralyzing his face, Austin approached me, dropped down on his knees, and pleaded in a whiny voice:

"Please with shirtless Chris Hemsworth on top?" he asked.

I wanted to speak rationally, but I was afraid that he might annoy me with his stupid puppy eyes.

So after have a mental debate with my head, I decided to go with his plan.

"Fine," I said. "Whatever."

"YEAH!" Austin squealed.

Springing up from the ground, he wraps his arms around me then exclaimed, "you are the most amazing best friend I ever had! Can I kiss you?"

"Please don't," I muttered.

Releasing me from his clutches, Austin takes my hand then whisks me away to the outskirts of Sydney.