Bullet Train to Murder | ONC novella

1: a trip home

"Are you ready for this?" Mr. Bingo asked as he squeezed Molly's hands to console her.

Molly nodded, and Miguel casually put an arm around her shoulders and smiled warmly.

"Everything's going to be alright, Molly. Maybe her phone just had some malfunction. We are going to figure this out together."

"One's a coincidence, two's a clue and three's a proof, Miguel." Molly sighed in resignation, "It's like the universe couldn't have chosen for a better time for this event. My mother, father, and then my sister—why are all of their phone numbers failing at the same time?!"

"Something related to network outage?" Mr. Bingo prompted, "The solar storm has been raging since last week in West Wisconsin."

"Maybe," Molly said, "I am too scared to think about the possibility of losing them. They're my rock and anchor, and I wouldn't trade them for anyone else."

Miguel gave her a small smile, and the three made their way to the Chicago International Airport.

Their trip was in two hours, and they considered it would be a good idea to look around the stores after receiving their boarding passes.

※※※

"Hey Molly, I think you'd really like this bag." Mr. Bingo said as they were passing by a travel bag store.

"We aren't here for shop-" Molly started, but Miguel cut her off and was already on his way to take the bag and make a purchase.

"Hey, wait!" She started, but it was already too late. Miguel had already bought the bag.

"How much is it?" Mr. Bingo asked curiously.

"One hundred dollars," Miguel waved casually, "Its not that much. Besides, its really cute and can fit a lot of things in it even when it looks small."

Molly opened her mouth to say something but zipped her lips into a thin line. They weren't going to listen anyway.

She looked at the bag. It was a simple backpack of light lavender shade with multiple compartments and pockets, designed for a sleek, comfortable fashion style.

"This is the most expensive gift someone has ever bought me, thank you both," Molly said after contemplating her words for a while.

Miguel feigned a gasp. "No one has gifted you a cute backpack? Brace yourself, we're going on a shopping spree."

Molly looked at Mr. Bingo for a save, but he just shrugged with a goofy grin.

'I have got adorable idiots for friends.'

Molly thought to herself and shook her head while they dragged her to the food corner.

She ordered a mix shawarma with a medium-sized pizza with beef toppings.

'I wonder if they had beef with pizza to make this,' she thought as she took a bite.

It turned out surprisingly delicious.

Miguel and Mr. Bingo settled for falafel wraps and took a slice of the pizza to go with it.

"This is too good," Mr. Bingo said as he bit into his falafel wrap. Miguel nodded in response as he savored his food between the bites.

"When did you both come here last?" Molly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Miguel asked in return, but a slight smile hid just beneath the surface.

"You heard me," Molly said nonchalantly, "The bag and this food place - it was all an attempt to cheer me up and I appreciate it, I truly do. But you guys have had to plan it before for such a smooth execution."