Maya's pov164Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0QsFk4arl
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The RV was parked in front of Chase’s driveway, the morning sunlight bouncing off its shiny sides. Riley stood proudly beside it, sunglasses on even though it was barely 7 a.m.
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“Well,” she spread her arms wide. “Behold, our chariot. What do you guys think?”
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“It’s perfect!” Emma squealed.
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“All hail Riley, queen of the rich,” Tyler clapped dramatically.
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Riley rolled her eyes but a smirk tugged at her mouth. “Please. I passed my midterms with an A. Dad promised me anything I wanted. I simply picked….. an RV.”
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“Most kids ask for a new laptop,” Lila muttered, dragging her suitcase toward the trunk. “You ask for a road trip tank.”
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“It’s fuel efficient,” Riley said, flicking her hair. “Plus, it gives us vibes.”
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We started prepping to leave. Tyler and Chase were already arguing about playlists. Logan walked around the RV doing a weird safety inspection while Jay lifted my bags into the RV storage compartment.
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“You sure about this?” he whispered.
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“Yes,” I whispered back. “I need this story, Jay.”
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He sighed. “Come on, let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the RV.
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“Chase, drive carefully! If you scratch this thing, I’m making you sell your liver,” Riley warned, sliding into the passenger seat.
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“Relax,” Chase said, adjusting his seat height. “I’m a pro.”
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“Dude, you failed your license test twice,” Logan reminded him, wrapping an arm around Emma’s waist, pulling her beside him.
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“Details,” Chase shrugged, turning the key. The RV hummed, vibrating beneath our feet.
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“Okay, I brought essentials,” Tyler announced, tossing a giant bag of snacks onto the middle table. “Ten packs of chips, five Oreos, gummy worms, beef jerky, pretzels and to spice things up…..hot sauce.”
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Emma’s face scrunched. “Hot sauce for what?”
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“Everything,” Jay and Tyler chorused.
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“I have something even better,” Chase grinned, pulling out three bottles of vodka.
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“Sweeeeet,” Riley chuckled, grabbing a bottle.
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“Nooooo, guys no drinking,” I frowned. “At least not until we get to our destination.”
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“Killjoy,” Riley huffed putting the bottle away.
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“What’s in the cooler?” I asked Jay, noticing it tucked near the back.
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“Ice, soda, energy drinks, bottled water… and some stuff for Logan’s disgusting smoothies.”
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“Oh,” I chuckled, leaning in closer to him.
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We pulled out of the neighborhood and headed toward the highway.
“Road trip game!” Tyler yelled, climbing over the couches. “Would You Rather…. I'll go first!”
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“No,” Emma groaned.
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“Would you rather sleep in a haunted cabin alone for one night or drink Logan’s healthy smoothie every day for an entire week?”
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Logan threw a chip at him, offended. “My smoothies are fine.”
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“They taste like sadness, bro” Tyler replied.
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As we drove further from town, buildings faded into farmlands, tall pine trees lining the road. A highway sign flashed by: NORTH CAROLINA — 132 miles.
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“Three hours to Blackwater Lake.
Three hours until we reached the infamous Love Island.” I said inwardly.
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“Here,” Jay said, handing me a granola bar. “I packed some for you.”
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I smiled “ Thanks”
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It had only been two hours, yet the RV already looked like we’d been living in it for a week. Chips crumbs everywhere….
thanks to Tyler. Jay’s hoodie hung from a cabinet handle. Empty granola wrappers littered the table. Okay, that might've been me.
“New rule,” Emma announced, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Do not open the chips unless you know you won’t spill them.” She added, staring directly at Tyler.
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“What? Why are you looking at me?”
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“Tyler, there are literally crumbs on my shoe,” she snapped.
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He looked down. “Oh.”
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I stood up with my camera. I’m filming this mess for memories.
“Road trip, day one!” I angled the camera toward everyone. “We’re halfway to Blackwater Lake. Emma looks stressed, Tyler is being Tyler, Riley is busy on her phone..” Riley flipped her hair and blew a kiss at the camera.
“Logan and Lila are playing cards” I continued. “And Chase, he's pretending he can drive.”
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“Pretending?” He scoffed. “I’m the master of ….” The Rv swerved slightly, cutting him off.
“What the hell, Chase?!” Lila yelled.
I shut the camera off.“Chase, focus before you drive us into a tree!”
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The highway stretched endlessly ahead of us, bothered by thick forest on both sides.
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“HEY!” Ty suddenly shouted. “Let’s play Guess the Song! It's a road trip classic!”
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Lilla glared at him. “Absolutely not. You know I’m a bad singer.”
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“Nah, I love your voice,” He leaned in placing a peck on her nose.
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“That’s actually a good idea,” Riley perked up.
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“No, it’s not” Lilla argued.
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“We need something to keep us awake. Chase already almost killed us,” Riley reasoned.
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“It was a pothole!” Chase yelled.
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“So the game,” Tyler announced, “first person to guess the title wins.”
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“The club isn’t the best place to find a lover…..” Tyler started.
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“Shape of You by Ed Sheeran!” Jay shouted.
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“Correct! One point,” Tyler snapped his fingers.
“My turn.” Jay jumped in, singing loudly. “Dance with me now, take the lead now..”
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“Bro, what?” Riley laughed. “You sure that’s a song?”
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I squinted. “Calm down, guys that’s Calm Down by Rema featuring Selena Gomez.”
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“God, Jay, you're a terrible singer,” Emma said, popping a gummy bear.
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“Make me sweat, make me hotter…..” I sang.
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“Water by Tyla obviously” Lila guessed first.
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“If you wanna run away with me, I know a galaxy, I can take you for a ride…” We all stared at Lila, trying to figure out what she was singing.
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“Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eyes, shining just a little bright..”
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“Dude, what song is that?” Jay laughed. “Did you just freestyle?” Ty added.
“ She's really terrible at singing” Riley mocked, turning to Tyler.
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Lila threw her hands up “Seriously guys, it's a popular song.”
“Name it then” Riley said
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“Levitating by Dua Lipa,” Lila huffed.
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“There’s NO WAY that was Levitating,” I said.
“Not even close.” Emma added.
“You want me, I want you baby, my sugarboo…” We broke into the chorus together:
“Am levitating, the milky way, we're getting there yh yh yh” We screamed.
Layla danced around Ty, he grabbed her waist laughing.
I pulled Jay up, and we jumped around the small aisle of the RV, singing loudly “ I got you moonlight, your my starlight. I need you all night. Come and dance with me.
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The RV finally calmed down after our levitating karoke performance. Everyone was breathless except Chase because he didn't dance.
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Riley quickly tied her hair back, still smiling. “That was actually fun,” she admitted.
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“Yeah,” Emma said, leaning her head against Logan’s shoulder. “Until Chase crashes us because he can't multitask.”
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Chase scoffed. “Emma, please… I can sing, drive and navigate.”
We all laughed until Emma suddenly froze. She leaned forward in her seat, her smile dropping.
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“Chase,” she whispered.
“Yeah?” Chase replied, eyes forward.
“Why…” she gulped, “why is the blue dot on Google Maps moving away from the road?”
“What?” Chase leaned closer to his phone but Emma snatched it out of his hand. “CHASE!” she screeched.
“THIS IS NOT THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS SOME RANDOM BACKROAD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!”
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Chase blinked. “No, no, no. We’re still on the route, I know how to use maps.”
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Emma zoomed out on the map. “We were not even close.”
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Riley slapped her forehead. “Oh my God. We trusted a man who failed his license test twice.”
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“Hey!” Chase protested. “Okay, maybe I… clicked the walking route option by accident.”
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“God?!” Jay exclaimed.
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Logan turned around in his seat “Chase. Pull Over.”
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“Everyone calm down, No need for drama,” Chase mumbled.
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“PULL. OVER.” everyone yelled in unison.
Chase swerved slightly and stopped by the side of the empty road, a long stretch of cracked pavement surrounded by thick pine trees.
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Emma opened the map again. “We’re forty minutes off-track.”
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“FORTY?” Riley shouted.
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I bit my lip “How didn't we none notice?”
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Emma zoomed into the map. “Okay. We need to turn around, get back onto Route 47, then reconnect to the main interstate.”
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Riley groaned loudly. “Broooo. We wasted forty minutes because my boyfriend doesn’t know how to read a map.”
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“I know how to read a map!” Chase argued.
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“Then what happened?” I asked.
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Chase stared at the GPS. “It don't know.”
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“Guys,” Emma said, pointing out the window. “Let’s go back before a serial killer pops out of these trees.”
Everyone immediately quieted, glanced at the forest, then agreed.
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Chase turned the RV around, way too fast, making us all grab the nearest thing.
“CHASE!” we yelled.
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“I GOT IT, I GOT IT!” he insisted.
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Emma kept giving directions, “No…..Chase….left! LEFT! Your other left!”
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Finally, we reconnected to the real road, the actual highway. Everyone exhaled at the same time in relief.
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“Okay,” Tyler said, patting Chase’s shoulder. “From now on, Cha
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se never touches the map again.”
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“Agreed,” Logan said.
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I leaned back in my seat, calming my nerves “At least we’re back on track now.”
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Chase rolled his eyes, muttering, “You guys act like we almost died.”
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and then Add to home screen.