“Please, if anyone was disrespected last night it was me—but I’ll spare you the details,” Cash said with a smirk. “I never thought I’d say this, but God bless Oklahoma.”
They left the Vacation Suites and climbed into the station wagon. It was Sam’s turn to drive so he had a seat behind the steering wheel. Topher sat in the front with him, Mo and Joey shared the backseat, and Cash took his usual spot lying on top of the luggage in the very back.
“So, where are we off to next, Captain Janeway?” Cash asked.
“Amarillo, Texas,” Sam said. “We should get there in about four hours.”
“More like five and a half if Sam is driving.” Joey laughed.
“Not true!” Sam said, and hit his leg.
“How was Ernest Hemingway yesterday?” Cash asked.
Had the actor asked this question two days ago, the others wouldn’t have known what he was talking about, but the more they spent time with Cash, the more they started speaking his language.
“The Mark Twain National Forest was great,” Topher said. “We got a great hike in, saw some cool animals—”
“And we became the number one enemy of the Wiz Kids fandom,” Mo added. “Don’t forget that part.”
Cash made a noise like he was guilty of breaking something valuable.
“I heard about that on the radio on my way into Oklahoma City,” he said. “I’m guessing you guys were in the video, too, huh? Sorry about roping you into it.”
“We were just worried about you,” Topher said. “How are you handling it?”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me,” he said. “I’m so used to people making mountains out of molehills. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in the news, and it won’t be the last. Besides, the studio publicists already released a statement saying I was dehydrated, so that should clear it up.”
The others shared a look—Kylie Trig’s prediction had come true.
“The funny thing is no one actually checked in to make sure I was even still alive before announcing I was fine.” Cash laughed. “Wishful thinking on the studio’s part, if you ask me.”
The actor yawned like a lion and stretched out his arms.
“This might be shocking, but I didn’t get much sleep last night,” he said. “Mind if I take a little snooze back here?”
No one objected—but they all put in earphones in preparation.
The station wagon reached the edge of town, and they drove onto Interstate 40 and headed west toward Texas. Once the city disappeared behind them, there was nothing to look at for miles and miles but the wide-open fields of the Oklahoma plains. It was an easy environment to notice something peculiar or out of place.
About two hours into their drive, Sam tapped Topher’s leg with a suspicious look in his eyes. Topher took his earphones out to see what was bothering him.
“What is it?” he asked. “Did Cash say something offensive in his sleep?”
“No, check out the car behind us,” Sam said.
Topher looked into the side-view mirror outside his window. Driving considerably close to the station wagon was a black Toyota Prius with a California license plate.
“They’ve been following us since the hotel,” Sam said. “I’ve switched lanes a couple times but they won’t pass me. You think we should be worried?”
Topher had a second look at the car. The windows were so tinted he couldn’t even see who was driving the vehicle. It gave him a bad feeling, too, but it seemed unlikely to be a threat.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “We’re just both on edge right now because of that whole video thing. There are only so many routes out of Oklahoma and this is a popular time to be on the road—they’re probably headed back home.”
“You’re right,” Sam said. “Thanks for talking me down.”
He wasn’t paying complete attention to the road and drove right over a massive pothole. The whole car shook like it was hitting a speed bump. Cash’s body slammed against the roof the car, waking him up from a deep sleep.
“Ouch!” he moaned.
“Sorry!” Sam said. “Accident!”
Cash rubbed his head. “Are we there yet?”
“We’re about halfway to Amarillo,” Topher said. “But we’ll be crossing the state line into Texas soon—so get your boots ready!”
Cash looked between the other passengers’ heads at the road in front of them. They passed a sign that made the actor smile from ear to ear and point like a child seeing Elmo.
“We’re going to pass highway 283! I had no idea we were this close to Kansas!”
“What’s so special about highway 283?” Joey asked.
“High Tydes!” Cash announced as if they would all reciprocate his excitement.
“What are you talking about?” Mo asked. “Is that a city?”
“No, High Tydes is only the best amusement-slash-water park in middle America!” he said. “I used to go there all the time when I was a kid. My favorite childhood memories were spent in that park. Have you guys seriously never heard of it?”