Decades ago in Hillgrim University Herb Bryant and Walter Weitz were twenty year old students. They were roommates, both loved sci-fi, both loved women but never shared them. Both loved everything the other loved.

Some students mistook them for being brothers until their surnames were said. Both had parents who worked shitty jobs. Herb’s mother was a housemaid for some rich family in the surburbs. His father was a security guard for some store in town, but he later got his left leg shot one night in a robbery heist, thus he ended up in a wheelchair as a disability grant reciever.

Walter’s mother was one of the cleaners at the local hospital, while his dad sold drugs. All these work efforts landed both Herb and Walter at Hillgrim as roommates. Both excelled academically, not competing but helping each other.

“But we have to study. The test is literally next week,” Walter said one night. Herb told him about a party downtown they had to go to. He left him and went there alone. DJ Flox had been the host so Herb couldn’t afford to miss that party.

Eventually DJ Flox need not be the host for Herb to miss out on a party. As long as there was a nice sound with girls and drinks and smokes involved Herb Bryant would be there.

“You starting to neglect your studies now, do you see yourself?” Walter had said one morning during Wheet-Bix breakfast.

“Sometimes you gotta live a little,” Herb said defensively. “All you do is study, study, study, study, write a test. Come back again, study, study, study, study..”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Walter cut him off. “But – “

“No buts, my friend. What are we doing this for, anyways? Good grades? A job? Money? Look at my dad. He worked all his life but look at him now; stuck in a fucking wheelchair. If zombies came out to attack us and we had to run for our lives, my father would be eaten dead.”

“Zombies? Not this again,” Walter said, frowning.

Herb once told him that back when he and his sister, Vera and their mother went to Durban he almost drowned in the sea but a mermaid kissed him and took him out of the water, saving him.

“It’s true, my friend. This is real, these things happen. Zombies exist, and vampires too. Which reminds me, your girl’s teeth are abnormally sharp. What if she’s – “

“Stop it!” Walter snapped. “How’d you know Lita’s teeth are sharp?”

“Never mind. The point I want to make is that…wait what was I talking about? Oh, yeah, zombies. Zombies are real and you need to live a little. Besides I don’t think university is worth it anymore,” Herb said. There were moments of silence as Walter stared at him.