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A Glimpse at that Summer Away

The Trouble with Airlines and Why They're More Efficient than Driving the Whole Damn Way

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"May I stress the fact that I disagree with this method?"

Huey stood in the drive-way, dufflebag in hand, and watched Robert packing other things into the back of the car. Riley hurried past him with a, "Nigga, quit complainin'," as he tossed his own bag into the trunk. He turned to his older brother then, pointing back towards the house with a frown on his face.

"If you gonna complain th' whole time, you c'n stay here," Riley said, like it was his call to make, "You gonna ruin mah vacation with all that whinin' an' shit."

"I'm not whining, Riley," Huey said, his brown eyes narrowing, "You're the one that's going to whine after we've been in the car for two days."

He looked pointedly at Grandad, who ignored the comment all together.

"Nigga, why'na hell you think I'm takin' mah Gameboy?" Riley asked, "I don' wanna have to lookit your ugly ass face th' whole time."

"Both of you shut the hell up," Robert said, closing the trunk. He frowned when he noticed Huey still holding his bag and popped it again, "Neither one of you appreciate a damn thing."

"I just don't understand why we can't take a plane to Florida," Huey argued, handing over his bag when prompted to do so, "It's more comfortable, it's faster, and it would save us all the agony of a car ride. Sure 9/11 ruined most of the fun to be had at airports, severely limiting carry-ons and raising mass paranoia and even racism in most frequent air-travelers, but it's still much more efficient than driving across the country.

"Do you know how far it is from Maryland to Florida, Grandad? It's 1102.78 miles! That's two days on the road, 18 hours behind the wheel (not factoring in rest-room stops), gas money, hotel money, money for food and coffee, and the other random odds and ends along the way. I thought we were on a fixed income? How's your retirement check paying for a week's vacation in Florida, plus the expenses to get there?

"I mean, I can understand the Dubois' being able to afford it," Huey went on, pointing across the street to where Tom, Sarah, and Jazmine were packing their own car, "Despite the disagreements I have with their choice in occupations, being a slave to the Man and his system tends to pay well and it's easy to see, even in this economy, that they could spare the money for a well-deserved vacation.

"Why are we even going to Florida? There's a beach to the east, it's a forty-five minute drive. Why go all that way, when there's a beach right there?"

Riley had already ducked back into the house to make sure they weren't leaving anything, and Robert frowned at Huey for another long moment to make sure he was completely finished before shutting Dorothy's trunk again.

"You can stay the hell here if you don't wanna go so damn bad," he finally said, heading back to the house, as well.

Huey followed him, glaring and pointing back towards the car.

"I want my bag back, then."

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(A/n) I spent a week in Florida once, when I was 9ish. xD Thank Jesus we only had to drive from Tennessee. Distance and time ALL guestimated using mapquest, so we're talking "ish ma nish" on the exacts, but no one's checking, right? That's right.

No one except Huey.

--Motcn (MOre To Come (Not really))
xD my name's a complete joke on my bad tendancy-to-discontinue rep. I'm so sorry.