The Alternate Extras of Halesowen

Travel Plans

Too much power.

The kart spun, facing Nathan into the oncoming karts.

If there had been any.

These things didn't have a reverse gear, meaning he was waiting on one of the staff to right him. He looked around to see which direction that member of staff would come from, along with whether any other karts were approaching.

One of the staff stepped onto the track, quickly ran to the front of his kart, picked up the front and dragged it around to face the correct way again. A thumbs up from that member indicated he was good to go.

A second before he accelerated forward, he saw that staff member running back to the sidelines of the track.

Aware he was never catching up to anyone else, he settled for trying to beat his time from practise. Lights he recognised flashed, alerting him to the rest of the pack getting ready to overtake him.

There wasn't much point in staying out, he thought as he slowed. He'd never beat his time anyway. Watching the other karts go by, fists were waved in the air at him from Carl, Grant, and Michael. Vector, he knew, would never join the banter. He'd be too focused on driving.

Pulling into the pit lane when he could, Nathan thought on the day so far. Coming to Manchester, the five had stuck to places around the Trafford Centre. Enjoying some mini golf on the dinosaur-themed courses, a walk along the canal, eating in one of the many restaurants... It had been a fun time.

But the karting was something he was less interested in. Or at least had become less interested in the more he tried. He just wasn't a very good driver.

Looking to the board that tracked positions and times, he at least could smile that he'd already beaten his practise time.

The karting had been Michael's idea. Since the move to Manchester, he had quickly become involved in various activities. The karting team had accepted him, and those of that team who had been around today had also joined them on track.

Nathan looked for their times on the board, and it was clear they had much more practise on not only the karts, but this track. The difference in times between this group and his own were large.

But everyone was having fun. Even if he wasn't in a kart, he could still join in with that fun.

When Carl, Grant, and Michael were passing where he stood watching, he jeered at them. "You move slower than a bus in rush hour!"

While he had no idea what their reaction had been, or even if they had heard him, he grinned as he imagined them chucking their helmets at him. Something they definitely couldn't have done in reality.

Another two laps and the race was complete. Nathan had jeered at his friends as they passed him on those laps.

With the racing suits off, the four stood outside waiting for Michael to say goodbye to his karting team.

"You're the one who moves slower than a bus in rush hour," Grant stated. "Not cut out for racing, are you?"

"I can still beat you on a game, and don't you forget it," Nathan said.

"It should have been me to pull into the pits," Carl said. "Would have been great to try my hand at some action shots."

"Yeah, I'm not sure Nathan was providing much of that," Grant laughed. "It would have been easy to get a picture of him."

"I'm so going to beat you at as many of these games in the arcade tomorrow as I can."

"And I'll be aiming to beat you at them all, so no going easy on me."

"Like I would!"

"You two already betting on the overall winner of tomorrow already?" Michael asked as he joined them.

"They hadn't got to betting yet," Vector informed.

"Why bet when I know I'll win?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, should have bet on that race," Grant said.

"Where to?" Carl asked. "The Quays would be a good place for me."

The group agreed to head there, so started walking north. But Nathan couldn't help but ask, "How many pictures are you gonna get? Enough to make me mad?"

"More than enough to make you fuming."

"You enjoy exploring, Nathan," Vector said. "Surely you could understand getting photos of those places you've been?"

"I do!" Nathan exclaimed. "But usually I'm one and done for a particular area."

"If you were a location scout, that simply wouldn't do. Same with other things where taking photos of a location is important."

"It's good enough for me. It's very unlikely I'll ever be that focused on a location."

"Even if you were giving a tour of somewhere?" Michael asked.

"A tour? Why would I ever do that?"

"No, he's right," Grant said. "He would never want to do a tour. He'd only have one thing to say about a location in a mile radius."

Nathan joined in the laughing at that, but was quick to say, "I think maybe that could stretch to two."

"Two things or two miles?"

"Whichever is worse."

That continued the laughter.

But, as they arrived at the bridge over the water, stopping as Carl started snapping away, Nathan thought on the exchange.

He couldn't keep coasting along life with no plan. And it was true he loved exploring. But tour guide? Him? Wouldn't that mean he would stay in one place? Endlessly giving the same facts?

If there was a living to be made from travelling, he wanted to do it his own way. And that would mean...

"Do y'think I could make a success of a travel series? Seriously?"

The others looked at him, Carl looking away from his camera.

"You? In content creation?" Grant asked.

"I see no reason he couldn't," Carl said. "After all, he's a unique personality. That's half of what makes a good one."

"Give it a try," Michael said. "It's something new, and you might just like it."

Nathan looked to Vector, who still hadn't said anything. But his opinion would be the driving force of his decision.

After a few seconds more thought, Vector said, "Nothing is easy. Everything takes work. You'll need a plan, and you shouldn't publish anything until you've at least had a try. Analyse that first attempt to see the strengths and weaknesses of it. Should you feel you can give your all to this series, then you can begin in earnest."

Nathan nodded.

"I'll give it some thought," he slowly said. He started walking, saying in his usual voice, "Let's get moving! There's plenty of things to be doing, and plenty more photos for Carl to take!"

The four followed him across the bridge, with Carl stopping halfway for more photos. This time, Nathan made no joke comments about it. If he wanted to make a travel series work, Carl knew better than any of them how to be appreciating every part of a location.

It was time for him to start doing the same.