Detour

Chapter 2

"I can't go."

After playing a prank on the doorbell, the delight on Joy's face evaporated upon hearing those three horrible words. Even the ridiculous noise inside the red SUV morphed into stunned silence the moment Pia and a rowdy-looking kid stepped out of the humble Austria abode.

"I'm . . . sorry." Pia shot a timid, apologetic smile to her friends. Noting the visible shift in their mood, she bit her lip and slowly added, "So, uhm, have fun in Vigan."

"Whoa, wait!" Richard was the first one to recover from the shock. He angrily thrust a finger at her face. "You can't just brush it off like that! A last minute cancellation? No, you can't even call this last minute! Something happened, and you didn't even bother to inform us? Even through text? You're not even explaining why! What? Are we just going to accept this bomb then you can waltz off like nothing happened?"

Ana grabbed Richard's shoulder, shaking her head. Richard struggled to say more, but in the end, he simply snarled, "But this is the last sembreak of the entire gang!"

"We even made a pact on that voodoo doll, remember? Whoever backs out will receive ten years of bad luck!" Sarah chimed in, her awkwardly big frame torn between stepping out of the car to strangle Pia silly, and curling under her travel blanket and pretend this was all a dream. On the way here, everyone was cheerfully pulling Joy's leg over her monetary tragedy. Never did she expect that the atmosphere would drop the moment they arrived, and that the tension would suddenly skyrocket like this. The change was frightening. Suffocating.

"I am not brushing it off." Pia said through gritted teeth, her eyes reddening. "It's not like I asked for this. It's out of my control and I don't have time–"

"Dammit, Pia. We've been planning this trip for years!"

Aside from Wacky who pretended he couldn't hear them through his headphones, only Daniel was silent. But even he couldn't hide the disappointment in his eyes.

Others might not understand its importance, but this road trip was no simple getaway. Pia, more than anyone, should have known the real reason.

"There is . . . a situation in the family," Pia began to explain, "and it's a long and complicated story. But to sum it up, I need to take care of my cousin Phoebus until an aunt of ours from the province picks him up."

"Can't you hire a babysitter?" Joy felt hope. "If you can't afford, I can – "

But then she remembered that she had no extra cash on hand. Would Wacky be willing to lend her some? Could they find someone trustworthy on short notice?

"Find a nanny. Even Tito Atom got one for little miss spender here." Richard scorned, and Joy gave her a flying finger in return. "But, hey? Joy is joining the trip, unlike someone else I know."

Richard had always had a short fuse, and normally his girlfriend Ana would berate him for being unreasonably rude to people. However, this time, Ana did not try to pacify him.