Jack sat in the back of the conversion van, growing steadily more upset. Giant sunlit mountains and golden forests rolled past outside his window, but despite the beauty, he was frustrated. This wasn't the way to do it. He'd wanted to drive himself, to get a sense of distance and grandeur from the journey. Riding in the back voided that effect, and he desperately wished there was some way to go back and make the trip again. This wasn't the way to drive to Colorado.
Narin drove the vehicle towards their destination while Floom sat in the passenger seat. This was another element. Jack knew the girls were to stay at Floom's house, but he had his heart set on staying in a hotel. He imagined how the conversation would go:
"Well, we're here," Narin would say cheerily, "hey Jack, where are you staying?"
"I thought I'd stay in a hotel..." he would reply.
"Oh...well, you know, you could probably stay at Floom's house."
"Yeah, you could stay at my house!" Floom would pipe in.
"Oh, no, that's not necessary..."
"Really, I'm sure it would be no problem!" Narin would say, and Jack would be stymied. As he pondered the problem in the van, he thought that perhaps he could explain how it was important for him to stay in a hotel, to experience it by himself.
Jack pulled out his legos and Narin and Floom crawled back into the passenger section of the van. He began showing them his constructions.
"And this," he said, pulling out what he thought was a spaceport, "is a...oh, a shop." He started placing boards together to form a small town. A half-built space shuttle caught his eye as something the girls might be interested, though he wondered why it wasn't fully built.
