"Snacks?"

"Check."

"Comic books?"

"Check."

"Game Boy?"

"Check, with both Super Mario Lands and Tetris."

"Mini-TV so we don't miss too much of the game?" Cory rooted around in his backpack for a second, then grinned.

"Check! Now, all we need's the map and we're on our way."

"Didn't bring one." Shawn smiled.

"You forgot." Cory buried his face in his hand. "Even I woulda remembered and I'm as dumb as you are! Oh well, I guess we'll have to buy one at the store. I got a few bucks on me."

"Don't need one!" Shawn grinned, that same grin he always got whenever he had a Bright Idea. Or as close as Shawn could get to a Bright Idea. "Trust me, Cor, for an adventure like this it's better to get lost than to never have gone at all."

"Huh." Cory laughed a little. "That was almost smart."

"Well, you work on a science project with Minkus for a week and bad things happen. It'll go away, don't worry," Shawn said. "But seriously, maps suck. They just get in the way."

"Shawn, all the explorers on TV carry maps," Cory groaned. "If we get lost we'll end up chased by wolves or worse...having to call our parents!" He shuddered. Somehow needing to be rescued by Mom and Dad was a worse fate than being wolf food.

"Yeah, and the map always gets ripped or lost or blown away in the rain or catches fire," Shawn laughed. "Maps are for geeks, Cor. Real explorers find their own way! It's like my dad always says. A map? Who're you tryin' to impress? Trust me, it'll be better this way."

"Aw, I dunno..." He wanted to believe Shawn, he always did when Shawn grinned at him that way and talked like he knew so much about everything even if he knew about as much as Cory when it came to the real world. Shawn had the confidence Cory wished he had, Shawn was cool, Shawn didn't care if people thought he was cool. If Shawn Hunter didn't need a map, Cory Matthews didn't want to need one either.

On the other hand, he really didn't want to get lost.

"You promise if anything happens we don't have to call my parents, right? We'll call Eric or hitchhike or something?"

"Promise. But nothing's gonna happen." Shawn slung an arm around him. "You're in good hands, pal." And that arm around his shoulders pushed away the last of Cory's worries. They picked up their bags and headed into the big, exciting world outside the backyard.

As it turned out, having an exciting adventure was easier without a map.