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They were strictly a hometown band, Ike had said, and everyone agreed. With school and work and family they couldn't afford to be on the road too much, and Soren had pointed out the amount of backbreaking labor in packing and unpacking the equipment and the costs of gas. "Even if a venue is willing to pay the band's way, it's not a free ride," he'd said.
But of course, wanderlust had to strike sooner or later. Surprisingly it was Mist who thought of it first.
"It wouldn't have to be a big thing," she said. "We could just go somewhere for the weekend and it wouldn't have to be very far. Not too much driving, we could sleep in the van, bring our own food...hey, with Oscar along we wouldn't have to go out to eat anyway! No restaurant makes food like his!"
"It's not a bad idea if you put it that way," Ike said. "But there's the others to consider. Soren would have to go with us since he's our booking agent, and I don't know how he'd feel about sleeping in a van with six other people like a can of sardines."
"Don't worry about it! If you're okay with it I bet he'll be, too." Mist winked. "Let's meet at Denny's after school and we'll talk about it! I'll tell Rolf, you tell Soren and Boyd and Mia and I'll ask Rolf to text Oscar!"
Ike smiled. When Mist had an idea, she really went all out with it. And it seemed like she'd done some homework, too, with the practicalities. He scarfed down the last of his breakfast and grabbed his bag.
"Sure thing, Mist."
So after everyone was finished with class and work, they sat down to a large plate of fries and a round of drinks to hammer out the details of Mist's idea.
"It still costs a lot of money." Soren, ever the critical thinker, was the first one to point out the negatives. "Gas, even if we all take one vehicle, and even the van isn't big enough for all of us to sleep in. We'll need a motel."
"True," Ike said. "But some motels give a group discount if you've got enough people. Seven should be more than enough."
"And gas prices are going down," Mia said, licking some ketchup from her fingers. "We could take two cars! Three of us in the van with the equipment, the rest of us can take mine."
"I approve of this plan," Boyd said, grinning. "She's got five cup holders!" Soren raised an eyebrow, but actually seemed to smile a little.
"That could actually work. We'll put that on the maybe pile."
"And I don't mind making a bunch of sandwiches and hamburgers for the drive," Oscar said. "To save money on meals." Boyd looked at him as if he'd grown another head.
"Are you nuts? Eating bad fast food's the best part of a road trip! I mean, your cooking's great and all, but this is special. Right, Ike?" Soren gave him a dirty look.
"Don't shove Ike into the middle of your differences."
"But if Boyd has money he can buy fast food himself, right?" Rolf piped up. "I'd rather have Oscar's sandwiches."
"Me too!" Mist added. "But can we still stop for ice cream?"
"Of course! A road trip isn't a road trip without a stop at an old-fashioned ice cream place!" Rolf said, and even Soren seemed to agree. Ike grinned, taking a sip of his soda.
"We can bring food, but I wouldn't mind stopping at a White Castle along the way. The question is, where do we go? Especially if we want to find an old-fashioned ice cream place," he said.
"Let's go to Toha," Boyd said. "It's a long ride from here and it's a port town so we could sing for everyone waiting for a ship. Like an airport band, only without the bad suits!" Mia rolled her eyes.
"You just remember that part from an episode of Full House," she chided. "But yeah, Toha's got great shopping and fresh sea air and it's the perfect time of year for it! And for ice cream!" No one raised any objections to that, so Soren wrote it down in his leather planner.
"Now, in terms of payment. I did some research, and ironically, the less classy places are usually the ones willing to pay more for entertainment. Bowling alleys, bars, pizza joints, street fairs, basically any place you're not required to wear a tie." He nodded towards Ike and Boyd, the latter of whom hadn't worn a suit and tie since he was a child being forced to by his late parents.
"Makes sense. Clasier places need that money for their food budget," Oscar said with a laugh. "Something I won't have to worry about!"
"And they might even give us free stuff, right?" Rolf asked. Soren rolled his eyes.
"Don't expect it. You're there to play your music, not rack up the loot." Ike snickered. Soren so rarely used slang, and when he did it was to mock other people. Mist smiled, too used to this sort of thing, and put a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"We'll probably get a few cookies and a t-shirt out of it!"
The fries were finished long before the plans were, and if they hadn't been nursing their drinks the waitress probably would have kicked them out for loitering. It was almost dark when they had everything all settled, down to the last detail.
"I still think we should just be able to hit the road and go anywhere," Mia complained. "Soren, do you really have to be so fussy about this?"
"You'll thank me when you're playing for paying listeners instead of rocks and trees in a forest in the middle of nowhere," Soren said firmly.
They planned to leave the next Friday after school let out for Rolf and Mist. Thankfully, plenty of places in Toha were happy to book the band...well, two places. Which was all they really needed, it was just a weekend gig.
"Good thing we picked our schedules the way we did, huh? Otherwise we'd have to leave Saturday and it'd just be a dinky little overnight trip," Mia said.
"Or we could leave late in the afternoon Friday," Oscar pointed out. "Getting there at night isn't such a bad thing! Er, as long as someone else did the driving." Oscar was nearsighted and didn't have the best night vision, which meant nighttime driving generally wasn't a good idea for him. Luckily, he was pretty easygoing about it.
So the band spent the next week spreading the word about their upcoming trip, various friends immediately checking their calendars to see if they had plans that weekend. Soren scoffed at their desire to see the band as "lip service". "They can see us locally any time they want," he complained.
"Oh, stop being so grouchy! Any audience is a good audience!" Boyd laughed. Soren made a face and went back to helping Ike pack. It was Thursday night and of course Soren insisted they be 100% ready to get in the van and on the road. (They'd finally decided to just all take the van after endlessly debating about it. Mia's car had five cup holders but very little trunk space.)
"How am I going to make it until tomorrow afternoon?" Rolf groaned. "I'm not gonna make it through school tomorrow, I'll keep watching the clock and the teachers are going to be so mad. Mr. Tauroneo hates when people don't pay attention!"
"I dunno how I'm gonna sit still," Mist giggled. "I think I'm even too excited to sleep tonight!"
Oscar pulled the van up to the high school a few moments before it let out, and Mist was out the door with Rolf on her heels as soon as the bell rang, only sparing a few moments to say her weekend farewells to Jill and the rest of her and Rolf's friends.
"I call shotgun!" Rolf shouted, taking the seat beside Oscar. Mist playfully stuck her tongue out before crawling into the middle row with Mia and Boyd. Soren and Ike, of course, sat together in the back. Mia hit the remote control for the radio, turned it to K-CRMA and they settled in for the four-hour drive.
It was hard to say what was more exciting; the trip or the arrival in Toha. Port towns were always bustling even in the off season, but the trip itself was hardly uneventful. Ike and Boyd got their White Castle while everyone else ate the sandwiches Oscar made, and even Soren joined them in ice cream when they got closer to the town. They arrived just as the sun was setting and checked into the motel.
"I call first shower!" Mia said. "Well, unless Boyd wants to join me..."
Of course he did, and the others waited in the hallway.
"Let's go check out the arcade games. I think this place might still have those old machines," Rolf said, taking Mist's hand. "We'll be back in a bit!"
"Don't use all the hot water, everyone!" Mist called over her shoulder, and Ike sighed.
"Good thing we got here early," he said. "I just hope between those two playing games and Boyd and Mia playing in the shower we have enough time to practice."
"If those two aren't finished in the next five minutes I'll go in there and turn on the sink," Soren said. "Or flush a toilet. Whichever makes them get out first."
Luckily, everyone was finished showering and making out and playing with the video games within an hour, giving them one and a half to practice before they headed off to the little bar and grill near the motel.
"Wow, there's already a crowd forming," Ike noted. "Guess they're either excited about us or just really hungry."
"Of course they're excited to see you, Ike," Soren said. "You're much more pleasant than food." Boyd snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Ike doesn't need a fan club as long as Soren's around."
"Says the man who hopped in the shower with Mia the first chance he got," Soren muttered, then turned to the others. "I'll be sitting near the owner, right where we can see everything. I've already negotiated your pay, of course."
"How much?" Mist asked. "Are we going to be rich, or would it be like ten babysitting jobs?"
"Don't put a down payment on a mansion or a pony just yet, Mist," Ike teased. "A gig like this for a small band like ours won't make us millionaires."
"We'll discuss money afterwards," Oscar said. "Right now, we need to warm up. Let's go backstage."
The audience was full of Toha locals, but they recognized a few faces in the crowd, friends who'd taken the trip to see them. Elincia was there with Geoffrey, Nailah with Rafiel and Volug, and of course Kieran. Kieran never missed one of Oscar's performances. Mist thought she spotted Jill and her family in the crowd, but the lights were dimming and it was further back than she could tell for sure.
The manager proudly introduced them, Mia tapped her drumsticks together and the show began.
It was off to a great start, and they still had two more days to go. It could only go up from here.