Owen rubbed his arms as if he was trying to create a spark.

  “Is it just me, or is it chilly in here?”

  “Ya, this car has some powerful A/C. I’ll turn it down a tad.”

  “Hey Owen, maybe you won’t be so chilly if you switch spots with me,” said Tim, who was squished against me and the inside of the door. His voice was muffled, and he fidgeted often enough to assume he was uncomfortable. I mean, I didn’t blame him. His head was against the glass with no wiggle room.

  Owen looked over his shoulder and scoffed. “No thanks.”

  “Seriously, I need to breathe.” Tim opened the door and fell out of the car. Luckily, he avoided hitting his head on the ground.

  He gasped for air with his stomach facing the sky. I got out with him and gave him a helping hand.

  “Hey, do you mind losing weight,” Tim asked while glaring daggers at Roger.

  “It’s not blubber fat. It’s mostly muscle that’s hidden beneath the fat.”

  Tim groaned while shaking his head and his eyes meeting his palm. “Hey man, I literally don’t care. You still take up two seats. Like, how am I supposed to sit?”

  Cameron magically spoke through the glass. No, the glass disappeared. She poked her head through what was now an open window, and said, “I might have a solution for this.”

  “Hold your thoughts,” Tim exclaimed while pointing at Cameron. “Where the hell did the glass go? It magically disappeared.”

  “Oh, I saw it sink into the door. Crazy, right?”

  “Oh, hey Owen. To be honest, I forgot you were even here. The only thing simmering in my mind is how the hell am I supposed to sit with this blob taking up the entire back?”

  Owen leaned over Cameron, who seemed like she was itching to say something. She raised her hand in an attempt to speak.

  “Uhh…”

  Too bad these two dimwits kept cutting her off.

  “If I had a bronze outis coin for every time your fatness inconvenienced me, then I’ll be considered a multi–thousandaire!”

  “Oh, ya?” Roger scooted over to look at Tim without hunching his neck over. “If I had a bronze outis coin for every time… uh…”

  “Ah ha! See! You can’t even come up with something—Huh? Hey Jill, why are you sitting back down? The seating will be the same as before. I didn’t fight a war for the outcome to not change.”

  I had it up to the infinite sky on how much I could handle their bickering. I sat back down in the seat and patted my lap. Judging by Tim’s horrific look, he knew where this was going.

  “Hey Jill, what are you, my mother? I refuse to sit in your lap. I’m not a five–year–old needing attention.”

  He got one part correct.

  I spoke in a stern voice. “Tim, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I had enough of your complaining, both of you. Now sit on my lap for however long the ride is, and don’t complain.”

  Tim sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Not even the devil can refuse when you say it like that.”

  Tim carefully sat on my lap. He adjusted a few times till he felt comfortable. He rested his elbow by the little ledge at the bottom of the glass, and leaned his head forward, looking outside.

  On the other hand, I paid attention to what Owen said to Cameron.

  “My apologies. They aren’t usually this feisty.” He gave a quick smile like the little fakey he pretended to be.

  I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. It’s satisfying to know that Owen had something to look forward to in the city. I would let him have his moment.

  “Really? I take it that you are the more sophisticated one?” Cameron asked while slightly leaning over.

  That’s when Tim put the candlelight on him.

  “Sophisticated? This man cried when stung by a bee! There’s nothing sophisticated about that.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I sighed in annoyance. Why couldn’t I have peace for once in my life?

  Owen responded with furrowed brows and a stern tone. “Th–That was years ago. See what I mean, Cameron, always trying to pick a bone with me.”

  “It was last month.”

  I slapped Tim on the side of his head. He instinctively held his temple and looked over his shoulder.

  “Hey, what was that for?!”

  “Zip it, both of you. One more word of compliance and I will slice your tongue to pieces.”

  Tim put his hand down and apologized. Owen followed. I accepted their apologies. To sever the awkward silence, Cameron turned on something called “the radio.” It somehow played music inside this astonishing vehicle.

  The music had my head bopping to the rhythm. The unique mixture of instruments had me questioning what was what. I heard a guitar, a bass… maybe, and drums. It overpowered the low vocals, making it difficult to hear the lyrics.

  But I didn’t care. Hearing Ionian music made my heart tingle a little. I smiled at the seat in front of me. I smiled at Tim, who had his back facing towards me. I smiled outside the window with buildings tall enough to challenge the tallest trees in the outside world.

  The vehicle began to move. I grabbed onto the handle on the side of the door. The car went faster and faster with each second. The front of the car roared. I didn’t know what the cause was, or whether it was a good thing or not. Adrenaline surged into my veins, my heart pounded with the music, and the tips of my fingers were sweating even though it was a little chilly. I looked outside the window. Everything became a blur of colors and shapes as we flew through the air. The car turned left in a sharp direction. Everyone yelled in excitement and thrill as everyone in the back row almost crashed into each other.

  It slowed down, ending the best rush I had in my life. I took a deep breath, laughing at what just happened. Tim, Roger, and Owen had similar reactions. I felt Tim’s heart pounding through his body, and his breath was rigid. Roger’s smile never left while looking all over the place. Owen tried to act like this was the norm in front of his new friend, but I could tell he struggled to play it cool.

  Tim shook my arm and told me to look outside. I poked my head towards the window. We moved steadily over the smooth surface of what looked like a bridge. This wasn’t a normal bridge. It was a bridge over calm water. The water reflected the sky and the bridge’s structure.

  “Wow,” I mumbled.

  I could be here forever. I wanted to be here forever. It was so beautiful.

  Never would I ever expect it to be like this. Never in a hundred—no—thousand years would I expect it to be like this.

  There was still so much to discover in the city. I couldn’t wait to uncover what this city had to offer.

  ***

  We arrived at a so-called “garage” next to the convention center. Cameron skillfully stationed the car in between white lines. Cameron instructed us to be careful and not to hit the neighboring cars when exiting the vehicle. We didn’t have an issue with that.

  Well, not everyone.

  “I can’t get out.”

  “Hey Roger, this is a serious wake–up call.”

  “Tim—I—”

  He had nothing to say. Truth be told, the spot was pretty narrow. There was barely enough space for me to walk comfortably between cars. I could only imagine how difficult it would be for Roger.

  “It’s fine. I’ll pull out so he can get out.”

  Cameron got into her car, reversed until Roger could open the door without difficulties, and stationed her car like it was before.

  She exited the car with a friendly smile. “See, no biggie.”

  Owen stepped closer to Cameron. “My thanks to you for giving us a ride. I promise to contact you through the card you kindly gave.”

  “You promise, right?”

  Owen smiled back. “My word is my bond.”

  I gave Owen a blank stare. I wanted to smack him for the stupid language he decided to use. Speaking improperly is like lying to yourself. Whatever, though. I didn’t care enough.

  But that didn’t mean the other didn’t.

  “Hey Owen, why the hell are you talking so fancy–schmancy?”

  He turned around, still smiling. He held up a finger and waved it in the air. “Not fancy–schmancy. Sophisticated,” Owen said with his palms up, swiping the air by his chest as if he magically summoned the word before him.

  “Ya… sure,” Tim said with a quick glance over to Owen and Cameron.

  Cameron looked over at Owen and gave his shirt a gentle tug. “I’m going to leave now. You guys have fun. Don’t forget about me, Owen.”

  Owen returned her words with a smile. “Of course not.”

  She got back into her car and waved “goodbye” while slowly driving away. That allowed me to freely slap Owen in the back of his head.

  “Ow! What was that for?!”

  “You can drop the act.”

  “Huh—Oh, right. Well, my act got us a ride to this convention center. And there’s an event dedicated to outsiders, so maybe we can find someone that will help us.”

  “I didn’t think of that. Was that your plan all along?”

  He gave a weird face before realizing what I asked. “Oh, I approached her because she was cute. We conversed for a bit before telling me she gives rides to people. So, I worked my magic and it got us here.”

  “Hey, Owen, you foresaw all of this? This was your master plan all along?”

  “Foresaw? What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “Heh, heh, of course, Tim.” He covered his left eye with his hand, his fingers separated by the width of an outis coin, and chuckled devilishly. “It’s all going according to plan.” He held his pose a second before breaking character. “Though I have no idea what to do with this card she gave. She told me to contact her with these numbers, but I have no idea how.”

  “That makes all of us,” I said, giving Owen a weird look. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon, but for now, we should focus on the more important matters. We still need a place to sleep for tonight.”

  “Right. To the convention, we go!” Owen said with his fist pumped in the air.