Daniel in the Basement

Chapter 6: hitting the road

My alarm wakes me up at 5:30. I quietly get dressed, careful not to wake Mom or Shane. I write my a note to tell her I've left, and I wish Shane luck on his championship game.

I put my bags in the trunk and ignite the car engine. Let's do this.
--
Hour 1
"These are the things, the things we lost, the things we lost in the fire, fire, fire!" I sing. I just put All This Bad Blood in the stereo and I'm rocking out. "I was the match and you were the rock! Maybe we started this fire! We sat apart and watched, all we hard burned on the pyre! You said, we were born with nothing and we sure as hell have nothing now. You said, we were born with nothing and we sure as hell have nothing now! These are the-" my jam session is ruined by a call from Mia.

"Hey Mia, wassup?"

"I called to tell you I finished the plans."

I gasp, "You did? That's awesome! Good job! To be honest, I didn't think you could do it. I thought we were all screwed."

"Well, that's really reassuring for next time." she says sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but look on the bright side; you proved my wrong."

"I did, didn't I?" I can hear her triumphant smile.

"You did." I say smiling.

"So what are you up to?"

"Driving to LA!"

"Oh my gosh, you're ahead of the schedule!"

"I know right! I thought I was running a little late, but I guess not." I say.

"So are you excited?"

"No," I say sarcastically, "I'm just going to my favorite band's concert for the first time. I'm beyond bored."

"Of course you're bored, Alex. All you see is blue sky, open road, and the ass of the car in front of you."

I burst out laughing and so does Mia. "Shut up!" I say wiping away tears, "It was sarcasm!"

"Oh.... but still..."

"No!" I yell, still laughing.

"Have fun at your 'beyond boring' concert, Al."

"I will. I'll send you pics."

"Okay. Bye."

"Peace!" I say.

When she hangs up, my music starts back up and I continue my terrible singing.
Hour 2
"Rhythm is a dancer, it's a souls companion! People feel it everywhere! Lift your hands and voices, free your mind and join us, you can feel it in the air! Oh oh! It's a passion! Oh oh! You can feel it, yeah! Oh oh! It's passion, oh oh, oh oh!"

My phone rings again, this time it's Paige. "Sup Paige?" Taking an exit off the interstate.

"Nothing much. Hey! Did you hear about Mia finishing the plan?"

"Yeah. I think she e-mailed them to me. I'm so proud!"

"Yeahh. I didn't think she would finish them."

"I said the same thing! She had a few days to redo the whole plan. Days! And she did it in, like, a day and a half. That has to be a record." I say.

"She could've been famous!" Paige says.

"Totally!" I say pulling up to the gas pump.

"What are you doing now?"

"I'm on my way to LA, but I'm pumping gas now."

"OH MY GOD!" Paige screams.

"Dude, stop screaming like that! You're going to blow my car speakers."

"Oh yeah. Bluetooth car, right?"

"Yeah." I say rolling my eyes. "Why'd you scream though?"

"Because you're so early! You're an hour ahead of the schedule!"

"Why must you guys underestimate me? Mia said the same thing!"

"No reason." Paige says too quickly.

"No reason my ass. Now spill."

" There's really nothing to spill, Alex. You're just always late. Like that one time when we were planning to break into the school on Halloween and you came an hour late."

"I'm not always late! And that day something bad happened, but enough of the past." I say.

Paige scoffs. "Sure."

"I'm about to get on the road now."

"Okay. Byeee."

Before I get back on the interstate I stop by McDonalds for breakfast.
Hour 3
Nothing but driving.
Hour 4
More driving.
Hour 5
I'm all out of music to listen to, so I just look at the vast, empty road ahead of me. Los Angeles. 46 miles. I'm almost there.
Hour 6
I'm stopped at a red light. Ahead of me is the Hollywood sign. I can't contain my excitement. I scream, a long, joyful scream. I pump my fist and swing my legs. I do my happy dance while sitting down. Yes! Yes! I did it! And I'm going to meet Dan Smith!

I call Ruby, "Hey guess what?! I made it to LA!"

"That's awesome, Al! We're almost there."

"Cool, meet me at the hotel?"

"Yeah. Okay, I will. But you were supposed to meet me at the hotel. You're-"

"I know. I'm ahead of schedule. Both Mia and Paige said the same thing."

"That's good, Al. I'll see there early bird."

I laugh and hang up the phone. I drive into the parking lot and into a parking spot. I get my suitcase out of the trunk and head into the hotel.

"Hello," the lady says, "how may I help you?"

"Umm I'm checking in. My name is Alex."

The lady nods. "Alex Tate?" I nod. "Your room is ready." she gets two keys from behind the counter. "Room 714." she smiles.

"Thanks." I say smiling.

I try to find my way to elevators, but this hotel is huge. It's also very fancy. There's a fountain in the in center of the lobby, then there's couches and comfy looking chairs spread out across the room. It looks so inviting.

I finally find the elevators. I go up to floor 7, then down the hallway to room 14. I push the door open and collapse into the bed. It's amazing how driving takes so much out of you.

A/N
Hey guys sorry for the long wait. It's been like... 2 months maybe? Yeahh... and thanks for reading and the votes. You're the best!
~CJ