Chapter Text
Villanova University, Villanova, PA
“Yeah, Uh-huh, Uh-huh, Yeah.” The boy said into the phone, his right hand moving to pinch the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes. “I understand.” He says with a sigh as he rubs a hand on his face then readjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose.
He is listening intently onto the voice on the other line that he doesn’t notice the door open. A taller boy enters. “Hey Chi-” His greeting goes unfinished as he immediately spots his roommate pacing back and forth in front of the window of their dorm room, nodding every now and then to the phone he held to his ear. The newcomer instead carefully closes the door behind him and goes to sit on his bed on one side of the room and he waits for the other boy to finish his conversation.
“No, I understand. It’s okay.” The boy with glasses says into the phone. “I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about it. Okay, bye.” As soon as he drops the call, he groans and drops his face into his hands.
“Chito, is everything okay?”
Chito nearly jumps out of skin when he hears the voice of his roommate, seemingly out of nowhere. “Bob!” He exclaims, swiftly turning to look at the other boy, dropping his hands, “When did you get here?”
“A few minutes ago.” Bob replies, still seated on his bed. “You were talking on the phone; you sounded tense, is everything okay?” Chito groans again then proceeds to flop face-first onto his bed. As soon as he gets on the bed, he lets out a scream, muffled by his pillows.
“That’s a no then.” Bob says. With another groan, Chito turns his head so that he’s facing Bob. “That was my mom.” Chito sighs and he starts to explain. “There’s been a change of plans for the summer.” “Oh?” Bob replies, “How so?”
“My mom says that Manny got into Stanford’s leadership program thing for the summer.” Chito says, turning over on the bed so he’s on his back and is staring at the ceiling. “Oh? That’s good news.” Bob says. “I know, it’s great!” Chito says “That means he’s going to be flying to California as soon as his semester’s over.” He lets out a sigh, then begins to explain while gesticulating with his hands, “But it also means that we can’t afford another ticket for me to go home to the Philippines. So my mom said that I should also spend the summer in California. We have a Tito and our cousins are in San Francisco and Manny will stay there before and after the program anyway.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Bob sympathizes. “I know.” Chito says with another sigh. “I mean, honestly I would’ve preferred going back to the Philippines of course, but my tito and cousins are great too and California’s fine; I guess, I’ve only ever spent days there the last time we visited. And my brother will be over for a few weeks too.” Chito grows uncharacteristically quiet, continuing to fix his gaze onto the ceiling of their shared dorm room.
“Is there still a problem?” Bob probes leaning his back onto the wall, his feet now extended off the side of the bed. As he keeps his gaze fixed on his roommate, Bob can practically hear the gears turning in Chito’s mind and he waits for his roommate to reply.
“I don’t know how I’m going to get to California.” Chito finally says. Bob’s brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean?” He asks. Chito sighs and lifts himself up off his bed to stand and he begins to pace up and down their room. “This soon to the end of the semester, the flights are already so expensive. Not to mention all of my stuff. I thought I could just stuff everything I have into a Balikbayan box and that would be fine for a long-haul international flight but domestic flights have crazy additional fees for so much luggage. Honestly, I thought about staying here for the summer and visiting California later on but it’s too late to register for summer classes and there’s nowhere for me to stay on campus either.”
“How about the train?” Bob suggests as Chito continues to pace around their room. Chito groans “Ugh. The Amtrak? It’s just as expensive as a flight, if not more, and that takes forever.” He replies, he stops pacing to give Bob a look. “Why is the Amtrak more expensive than a flight?” Bob shrugs his shoulders. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you.” Chito rolls his eyes and sits back down on the bed, “Before you even think of it, the Greyhound is out of the question.” Chito pointedly says to the American just as Bob looked like he had something to say. “I value my life, thank you very much. Not to mention taking the bus from here all the way to California sounds like actual hell. If there’s no other choice, then I’m going to have to book a flight anyway.” He says, unconsciously running a hand through his hair. “Then somehow pack as little as I can.” Chito’s voice tapers off as he once again retracts into his thoughts as he continues to pace up and down the length of their room. Their room falls into silence and Bob continues to carefully watch his roommate.
Suddenly, a thought forms into Bob’s mind and he slowly sits up straighter and a sly smile forms on his face. “Hey, Chito,” he calls out to the other boy. Chito turns to Bob with a questioning look. “I have an idea.” Bob starts, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. “Okay, what is it?” Chito asks. “How about we drive to California?” Bob says.
Chito doesn’t reply; he remains unmoving save for the blinking of his eyes. Then, a guffaw escapes him and Chito’s body shakes with uncontrollable laughter. Once he’s calmed down he wipes the tears from his eyes. “That’s funny, Bob.” He says, giving his roommate a wide grin.
“I’m serious!” Bob says sharply, crossing his arms across his chest. Chito stares at him, and a myriad of expressions go through Chito’s face as Bob only stares him down. “You’re serious?” Chito says with a narrowing gaze, putting his hands on his hips. “Yes.” Bob simply replies. “Then you’re insane!” Chito exclaims, throwing up his hands. “San Francisco’s on the other side of the country! That’s like thousands of miles! And I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but your country happens to be huge!”
Bob rolls his eyes. “I’m well aware of that.” He says. Taking a deep breath, Bob leans and places his elbows on his knees. “So what, we’ll do a cross-country road trip. People do that all the time and that way you don’t have to worry about getting rid of your stuff.” This time, it’s Chito’s turn to frown. “Several concerns,” The Filipino starts to say matter-of-factly, raising his fingers with every point. “First, I don’t drive. I mean sure I can and have a license but I don’t like driving and I don’t even have a car. Second, this is going to be days on the road, probably even longer than if I just took the train. And third, I’m sorry but ‘we???’ What do you mean?”
“Yes, we.” Bob counters. “It wouldn’t be safe for one person to drive all that way so yes, I could go with you. I can even drive most of the way, since you hate driving so much. We could rent a car from a service and return it in California. If we time it right, John also has a conference over there and I could fly back with him to Chicago.” Chito looks at Bob with a dumbfounded expression, with his mouth opening and closing several times as Chito tries and fails to formulate a response. Then Chito takes his phone and types into it. Bob raises a brow at his roommate.
After a while Chito looks up from his phone and gives Bob a glare, “Villanova all the way to San Francisco is a 42-hour continuous drive!” He exclaims, motioning to his phone. “Obviously, that’s physically impossible and isn’t there a law stating that you can only continuously drive for like ten hours? If we break up the trip, adding time to sleep, it’s going to be at least a week! Bob, no. Absolutely no way, this is an insane plan.” Chito says non-stop. His voice seemingly gets louder with every word spoken. “Not to mention, we’re going to have to look for places to sleep and we’re going to have to stop to eat. It’s a logistical nightmare that will probably cost more than if I just flew over. And neither of us have a car!”
Bob can’t help but let out an amused chuckle at his friend’s monologue. “What’s so funny?” Chito snarks at him. This time Bob fully laughs. “Hey!” Chito exclaims. “Look at you, overanalyzing this.” Bob says with a vague wave of his hands. “Excuse you.” Chito throws back, pointing a finger at his roommate. “But this isn’t like driving to the mall. It’s going to take several days, what if the engine overheats? Or what if we need to change the tires? Or what if the car breaks down in a way that neither of us know how to fix? What if something happens and we’re in the middle of nowhere without any cell signal? With hotels or motels and food and gas and whatever else we might need, it probably adds up the same, or even more, than a flight anyway. And I know you love long drives and road trips but why would you even drive all the way to California with me anyway?”
Just because. Bob inwardly thinks, then scurries the thought away. Instead he says, “I have no plans for the summer.” Bob shrugs and Chito looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “It’ll be fun, an adventure!” Bob insists enthusiastically, “We can rent a car; there are services where we can rent one here and return it when we get to San Francisco. This way you’ll be able to bring most of your stuff with you to California; and you’ll get to go through states you’ll never see otherwise. And you already know I’m a big fan of roadtrips.”
“An acceptable road trip is one that only takes several hours not days; like over to New York, or Pittsburgh, or fine, Chicago at the furthest and that’s a 12 hour drive from here.” Chito stubbornly counters, putting his hands on his hips again.
This time, Bob takes out his phone and does a quick search, ignoring his roommate’s pleas. “The route seems pretty straightforward.” He says as his thumb scrolls through his screen, looking through the information on his phone, “We’ll be primarily on the I-80 heading westward, then we can just plan on which cities we’ll stop over to rest. There’s tons of cheap roadside motels on the road, granted the food won’t be so great but whatever. I think we’ll be fine.”
Chito scoffs in reply. “I’m still against this. This is crazy.” Bob looks over at him coolly, “If you’d much prefer to fly to California, then go right ahead. You better book your ticket already though, or it’s just going to get more expensive.” Chito only replies with a glare and resists the urge to throw a pillow at his roommate.
_______
For the next few days, the pair continued to debate on the two of them driving coast-to-coast from Villanova to San Francisco. With Bob insisting on the drive, while Chito vehemently rebuffing the American. He cites the logistical details that they would need to prepare but Chito’s reasoning does little to deter his roommate’s determination.
“So, have you booked your ticket to California yet?” Bob jeers at Chito, breaking the silence in their room as they were both buried in their respective schoolworks. The American turns on his office chair to face Chito who currently had his back facing him at his study table. “We don’t have much time left in the semester and you’re going to have to decide soon.”
Chito bristles at the question. He hasn’t booked any ticket yet and he knew that Bob knew it. Chito’s had several attempts of purchasing the ticket but seeing the final price on the websites always made him hesitate. But he knew that his roommate was right, their junior year in college was soon coming to a close and they’d all soon have to leave campus for the summer; and airline tickets weren’t getting any cheaper. Chito groans and leans back on his chair letting his head fall back, giving Bob an upside-down glare. “You’re so persistent.” He grits through his teeth, rubbing his eyes with his hands.
Maddeningly, Bob only shrugs. “You can’t keep procrastinating this Chito, and you know it. Besides, your decision affects me too. If you’re really against driving to California then buy your ticket already and I can get on with getting my bus ticket to Chicago.” Chito doesn’t give him a reply and only rolls his eyes then straightens himself up to focus back on his desk. Bob shrugs to himself and turns back to his own desk and notes.
With a quiet sigh Chito pulls up the website to search for flights again. He inwardly groans, not wanting to let Bob hear his inner turmoil. Unable to get his thoughts in order, he grabs his notebook and a pen to start listing pros and cons.
Fly to SF
Pros: shorter travel time (6-7 hours if direct!)
Cons: Can only bring carry on, expensive, will have to fly out of Philly, will have to drive to Philly anyway
“Road trip” to SF
Pros: Can bring more stuff, sightseeing, not travelling by myself
Cons: DAYS ON THE ROAD (at least 6!!!), may not be cheaper than flying,
Chito taps the butt of his pen on his chin as he stares into the list he’s made. His mind jumps from one thought to the other as he thinks his decision through. If all he wanted was to get to San Francisco then he should just get a flight; but, he did understand the appeal of the road trip. For all of his protests, it would be fun to see several states that he likely wouldn’t be able to visit otherwise. Chito was relatively sure that his Tito wouldn’t mind if it took him longer to get to California, he’d probably arrive just in time to meet his brother anyway.
He mulls it over even further. Once he got to California, it’s not like he had plans. Chito would likely be left to his own devices since Manny was going to be in Stanford for his program for most of the summer and he wouldn’t want to impose on his cousins for their time. Starting off the summer with a road trip didn’t seem like such a bad idea; and thinking about it further, he and Bob haven’t had any kind of trip or hang outs during the summers. Up until this year, Chito always went home to spend the break in the Philippines and Bob would go home to Chicago. Putting aside the extremely long distance, going on a road trip with Bob doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Chito slumps over his desk, putting his head in his hands.
“Hey Bob.” Chito calls out after calming himself down from his turmoil, then turning on his chair. Bob turns to face his roommate with a curious expression and waits for him to continue speaking. “Do you really think we can pull off driving all the way to San Francisco?” Chito asks in a serious tone, brows furrowing in concentration. “I do.” Bob replies sincerely. “Honestly, I think that the worst thing that might happen would be one of us murdering the other person.” Chito snorts a laugh at that. “Murder would have to wait until after the trip; I’m not driving by myself.”
A moment of silence passes over them. Bob watches Chito curiously raising a brow on his face. Then after another moment, “Fine.” Chito says with a sigh, throwing up his hands. “Let’s do it. Road trip to California.” A shocked expression paints Bob’s face. “Really?” He exclaims.
“Why are you so surprised?” Chito asks, pointing an accusing finger at Bob. “This was your idea!”
Bob raises his hands to his chest in a mock-surrender, “I know, I know.” He says, “But I honestly didn’t think you would ever agree to do it.”
“Why not?” Chito challenges, crossing his arms over his chest.
“The distance, primarily; how long it’s going to take.” Bob pointedly replies with a shrug, “You grumbled so much that time we went to New York and that was just a few hours. You’re not very good at having to stay still.”
“I still have half a mind to change my mind.” Chito grumbles. “But whatever, let’s do it. Last summer before we graduate from college, woo-hoo adventure.” He ends sarcastically with a weak wave of his hands that sends Bob into a fit of laughter.
“Alright!” Bob then exclaims getting up from his chair. “Let’s do this.”
“Before you get too excited, we have to have a game plan.” Chito says, leaning back into his chair and fixing his gaze onto their ceiling, putting his hands together and fiddling his thumbs. “We have to decide on our route, where we’ll take our rest stops, rent a car, and plan a budget.”
“Woah, what ever happened to ‘see where the road takes us’?” Bob jokes, Chito faces him with a grimace.
“And have us end up dead in a ditch god-knows-where?” Chito retorts. “Absolutely not, Robert. We have to have a plan. We’re not cowboys.”
“Alright alright, I was just teasing.” Bob replies.
“You can be the one to deal with getting a car.” Chito says while giving Bob a pointed look.
“Why me?” Bob asks.
“Because this whole thing is your great idea.” Chito replies with a raise of his brow, as if to challenge the other boy.
Bob snorts at that, “Fine, if you say so.”
________
As the final few weeks of their semester rolls around, the pair also become preoccupied with the planning of their upcoming road trip; especially since Chito insists on leaving no detail to chance. He and Bob spent an entire weekend finalizing the route that they would be driving, making sure to save the map offline and listing down the major cities that they’ve picked out to be their rest stops. They argued several times about the stops they would be making, with Bob insisting that they could drive for longer in between the stops; but Chito was adamant in taking a lot of stops. “Driving when you’re tired is just as dangerous as if you were drunk.” Chito had insisted. Bob had eventually acquiesced. Once their route was final, Chito spent hours making lists of various things they needed to do to prepare for their trip as well as things they would need to bring.
Bob on the other hand was fully content to let Chito take over their planning and simply accepted the tasks that were assigned to him. As Chito’s roommate for the last few years, he was all-too familiar with how thorough the Filipino got when he was focused on a project. Bob recognized that it was Chito’s way of abating any anxiety he was feeling; so he was fully content with accomplishing whatever task Chito assigned. Bob had gone and made the reservation for their car rental, which Chito had insisted he do as soon as they’d decided on their trip; and he’d spent hours scrolling through maps online to ensure their driving route and even listed down some tourist attractions in the cities they would be stopping in. In addition to all of this, Bob could only also marvel at how Chito juggled all this planning along with his final projects and studying for exams.
Finally, their exams had ended and all their projects had been submitted. It was the last weekend before they set off on their trip and Bob and Chito decided to head to the ACME Markets nearby to pick up snacks and non-perishable foods they could keep in the car.
“You know, we could always just buy chips and soda in gas stations along the way.” Bob says as he’s pushing their cart along, following behind Chito.
“And what if we’re in between states or something where there are no gas stations or convenience stores nearby?” Chito says, not even looking behind him. “We don’t know how many hours we could go between meals and you wouldn’t want to go hungry.”
Soon enough their cart was filled with chips, cookies, bottles of soda along with water. Chito had raised an eyebrow when Bob came back to their cart with a 6-pack of energy drinks. “Just in case.” Bob told him. “We can’t make coffee on the road so this will have to do when we can’t buy coffee.”
The pair had agreed to only buy enough supplies for the first two days of their trip, and they would restock when they reached their rest stop in Chicago. They also stopped by the pharmacy next door to pick up non-prescription medicines and a first aid kit. “Just in case!” Chito repeatedly said.
When they got back to their dorm room, arms full of the reusable bags they’d brought to carry their supplies, the pair began the gargantuan task of packing up their dorm room; with each of them starting on their own belongings. They were going to have a rest stop and spend a night in Bob’s hometown of Chicago, so Bob would be able to drop off a majority of his things before they continued with their trip out west.
Eventually, the two boys finished packing and in the middle of their dorm room were several large luggage bags, several smaller duffel bags and even a few boxes. The only thing that was left for them to pack would be the clothes they were currently wearing, the linens still on their beds and toiletries in their bathroom. For those items, they would leave them up until they were about to depart.
It was almost midnight when Bob and Chito both called it a night and Chito had insisted that they should get as much sleep as they could get. “This is going to be the last night we sleep on familiar beds for a while.” The Filipino had said with a trace of anxiety. Later, when the lights were off and they were both lying on their beds, Chito was on his back staring up into the dark ceiling.
“Hey Bob,” Chito called out into the dark.
“Yeah?” Bob replied, turning on his side to face Chito, though he could only make out the other boy’s shadowy shape on the other side of the room.
“Do you think everything’s going to be fine throughout the trip?” Chito asked, in a soft voice that was almost a whisper.
“I do.” Bob replied firmly. Chito had had this recurring question throughout the last few weeks. Bob couldn’t blame him, driving coast-to-coast was a big endeavor; while Bob himself wasn’t a stranger to long roadtrips, having gone on several of them with his family and as much as he loved being behind the wheel ever since he got his license at sixteen, several days of driving throughout an entire week was nothing like he’d ever driven before.
But while Bob had his own anxieties over their trip, he took it upon himself to reassure and appease Chito’s worries, which admittedly were a whole lot more than his own. Bob had never been to the Philippines, but from what he knew and from what Chito had told him, days-long road trips weren’t the norm. “The longest road trip I’ve ever been on back home was when we drove for almost 12 hours to a beach far up north from Manila.” Chito shared with him during one of their planning sessions. “I think that’s the longest you could go without having to put your car into a ferry since the country’s an archipelago.”
“Sorry.” Chito said, this time also turning on his side to face Bob. “My mind keeps thinking about the thousand different ways everything could go wrong.”
“Hey.” Bob replied gently. “I understand. But we’ll be fine. We prepared, we’ll be careful on the road and we’re staying along major highways. Nothing bad’s going to happen.” Not if I can help it.
“Okay.” Chito says, and when he feels his eyelids finally getting heavy. “Promise?”
“I promise.” Bob says firmly.