GROWING PAINS, Applyfic

1. Excelsior!

VIRGIL (whispering): It's 3 a.m. and I've been awake since about one. I can't sleep. I'm not sure if I'm nervous or excited or everything. I'm sure everything is going to be fine, but I've just been going over everything, making sure all of our hotels are booked making sure everywhere I want to go is open on the day we'll be there. (Deep breath) Everyone reacted well enough. I think Bea is the only one who's super excited, but I have plans in place so everyone is comfortable. It'll be fine. (Camera turns off)

VIRGIL (whispering): Now it's 5. I told everyone to be here around 7. I'm just making sure I have everything packed. (Flips camera around to show an open suitcase and backpack. There are lots of clothes, multiple notebooks, pens everywhere, a speaker, and much more all strewn about her medium-sized room.) Shit, I don't have my lucky socks. I think they're at Dad's house. (Virgil drops camera, camera turns off)

VIRGIL: Sorry. Just had to make sure the camera was okay. I also make coffee. (Takes long drink) I think I woke up mom. I hope I didn't wake up Jason. (Scratches eyebrow) I think I need to re-bleach my hair. My roots are starting to show. 

[Bumpy video clip of Virgil rolling her suitcase towards the car. It's dark out, the sun barely peeking through. She drops her coffee cup, which is thankfully plastic and doesn't break. It's empty. She opens the back of a large purple van and tries to balance the camera and get the suitcase in at the same time. She fails, dropping the camera again and finally just sticking it in the trunk as she hefts the suitcase in. She closed the trunk, forgetting the camera in in there. There are several moments of darkness until she opens the trunk and grabs the camera.]

[Shot of door slamming, Virgil taking a long sip of water, wheels of a suitcase rolling along the cement]

UNKNOWN VOICE, PROBABLY VIRGIL (muted, off camera, after a loud thud): Why the fuck do we have so many guitars?

[Wobbly close up of Roman looking at his phone, "Rebel Rebel" clearly heard even though he's wearing headphones.]

VIRGIL (voice): this is it. The day we're leaving. This is the car, my flower, Rapunzel. (Camera scans the large purple van) It's a rental and I really hope it's comfortable because we're spending the next month in it. 

[All wave at camera]

"Okay, that's pretty good!" Virgil said, tightening her bun that's already falling out, pieces of bleached hair framing her face. "Ready to go?"

Ambro rubs his eyes. "Can we get coffee?"

"Yes, I second that. Can we get coffee?" Lottie asks. "Vee, you know I love and adore you, but did you have to make us get up at the ass crack of dawn."

"I made it already! The cups are in the car. One in each cup holder. Everyone's is marked. We've gotta get going! Big plans, big plans!" Virgil says, clearly already having consumed large amounts of caffeine.

"The real question is: who gets aux?" Roman inquires, running a hand through his dark hair. Roman has hair and eyelashes everyone wants: dark and fluffy and long and thick and beautiful. 

"Lottie," Virgil says without hesitation. 

"Pleasee can I have aux Virgil," Bea says, getting down on her knees dramatically. She flicks a piece of blonde hair out of her eyes. 

"Lottie's the most fair with it."

"Fineeee," she says, getting up and dusting off her knees. 

Virgil swings herself into the drivers seat casually, taking a sip of her half-empty cup of coffee. She rolls her neck around. It cracks as she rolls her head to the right. 

"Vee, do you ever think about getting a massage?" Bea says from the back.

"Every day, Bee," she responds, taking another drink of what is presumably not her first cup of coffee. 

"Does driving after drinking a million cups of coffee count as driving under the influence?" Tommy asks. A few light chuckles come from around the car. 

"Am, can you hold the camera?" she asks, holding her phone out to Ambro, who had sat in the seat behind Lottie.

"YOU SHOULD LET ME HOLD THE CAMERA," Tommy calls from the far back. He's sandwiched between between Bea and some of the luggage. Ambro and Roman are in the middle. 

"AMBRO HAS THE BEST SHOT," Virgil calls back. She begins to back out of her driveway as Lottie plugs Virgil's phone in and scrolls for a moment before picking the playlist she wants. "Ambro, can you start the video?" Virgil grins as the opening notes of "Stick Season" play, twisting the knob that controls the volume. "This is why I let Lottie control the music," she says to the camera, twisting slightly over her shoulder. 

"How long are we driving today?" Lottie asks, bouncing her knee. She's wearing dusty pale blue pants. They're her favorites and had been a present from Virgil for her eighteenth birthday. 

"About an hour until the first stop, then a little farther until we get to where we're staying." 

Lottie nods. She pulls her old phone out of her pocket and texts her parents, fingers flying. You have the list I left? You have instructions for everything? 

"Hey. They'll be fine," Virgil says. Lottie nods.

"Yeah, I know. Just...letting them know we're on our way."

The chorus of "Horchata" by Vampire Weekend begins and the cat suddenly gets very loud. For years and years it has been Virgil's favorite song and they all know it by heart. Virgil grins.

"AMBRO, START THE CAMERA," she shouts over the music. 

[Wide shot of the ocean. It's a dusky greyish blue you only see certain times of the year. It's a windy day and the waves are crashing furiously. The sun is still only barely in the sky and it makes such a strange picture of wild and calm.]

VIRGIL (standing in front of the ocean, not quite on the sand yet): Welcome to our first stop. 

Authors notes,

Ahhhh hi!! Here's the first chapter. It's not horribly long, but it's kind of just a glimpse of what's to come. Once they get to some of the fun stops there'll be a lot more to write, especially once Virgil starts interviews. I would absolutely love any ideas for interview questions and your characters answers! I might PM creators of the cast at some point to ask for specific answers to questions so they sound as authentic to the character as possible. 

Think of this as the trailer. Virgil is helping you get to know everyone, including her sleep deprived self before they go off on their adventure.

Also, I'm writing in present tense and I don't know if I love it or if it's messing me up because I write in past tense so often. I just want this story to kind of be right there with us and with them, be very strongly rooted in the present.

I hope you liked the first chapter! We'll see how often updates come now because of school, but I love these guys and they're like my babies and I want to give them a full story, something a lot (most) of my applyfics never see.

Love you!