To Vegas

Pulling the suitcase behind me, the wheels grating the grass, I crossed the lawn to the paved path to the garage where the car was parked and stopped at the back of the car, in front of the trunk.

The suitcase came to a stop and I pinched the button on the black handle and pushed it down with a click. I slid my fingers into my pockets and took out a car key, then I inserted it into the keyhole at the back of the car and twisted it to the right, unlocking the trunk.

I grabbed a narrow section that bent inwards and pulled it upwards, revealing the spacious trunk. I settled the suitcase inside.

I turned as I heard the sound of miniature wheels grating on the lawn and saw my father pulling another suitcase, this one blue, towards me. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt tucked into black trousers, and a pair of black polished shoes, his watch fixed in one hand.

"Thanks for the help bud." He said as he stopped by me, the suitcase pulled to a stop by his side, his lips upturned.

"No problem." I nodded at him with a smile and after pushing down the handle like I did earlier, I rose the heavy and big suitcase with my two hands and settled it in the trunk, near the other suitcase.

"The sun is setting. I better hit the road," He commented casually, and when I turned I saw him looking up. I glanced at the sky also. The sun was setting beneath the horizon, painting the sky an orange-red, darkening everywhere. It was almost six thirty.

"I guess this is it then. Have fun on your trip and stay healthy." I turned my head to him and said jovially with a playful smile and he snickered, bringing his head down to look at me.

"It's not a trip Son, it's a conference."

"All I'm hearing are excuses, Dad. Chill, have fun, after all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy or in this case, a dull old man." I shook my head and said with a smirk on my face.

He stared at me for a few seconds, an eyebrow cocked in amusement, and chuckled, extending his thick arm to my head.

"I'm certainly going to miss this," He smiled, ruffling my well-groomed hair to my annoyance. "Take care of yourself bud, don't stay up all night studying. And eat well, I don't want to come back home and see a single cent on the kitchen counter. You hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, no need to worry about all this. I'll even do you a favor and turn fat," I removed his thick hand away from my hair. "Take care of yourself also Dad. I'm going to miss you." I drew him closer and gave him my equivalent of a bear hug.

He patted my back gently, "Me too Bud." his voice was warm and soft. I withdrew my body from him and he held me by my shoulders.

"I'll see you on Sunday son. You're the man of the house now. If there's any trouble, don't hesitate to call me or ask our neighbors for help. And remember to lock all the doors and windows before you go out." He advised, his tone serious but he had a gentle smile on his face.

"Duly noted." I nodded, smiling in understanding and he tapped my shoulder as he removed his hands from them.

"Then I'll see you later Xander. Goodbye." He flashed me one last warm smile and turned to walk past me to the door of the driver's seat after I handed him the car keys.

As he opened the door to step inside, I grabbed the airborne trunk door and pulled it down with a muffled bang. The engine roared as he sparked the car, closing his door with a bang and I stepped backward to the lawn as the trees in the background swayed with the cold wind.

Seeing him through the windows, he turned his head in my direction and flashed me a wave and after I responded in kind, he stepped on the pedal and the car moved from the paved path to the road.

A wide smile settled on my face the moment, the car sped up on the road, driving away till it was a considerable distance.

"Finally, he's gone. Now it's my turn." I muttered as I turned to the door after witnessing the car disappearing from my view.

The next bus to Vegas was scheduled to set off in about forty minutes. Before that, I had to buy my ticket at the station and God knows how long lines are at places like this. So there was no time to waste. I had to get out of here fast...

I strode into the house briskly, closing the door behind me, and quickly ascended the stairs to get to my bedroom.

A large black duffle bag, which was loaded with items, was lying on top of the dark blue sheets of my well-laid bed, and my black wallet was on my study desk with my newly bought Walkman near it.

Stepping to my closet, I opened it and stripped out of the white t-shirt, black shorts, and the flip flops I was wearing and grabbed a thick black graphic hoodie with a white skull printed at the back, fitting black jeans, a pair of heel-length socks, and a pair of black high top sneakers.

After shifting into my new outfit, I went to my desk. I slipped my fat wallet into my back pocket, and my phone into one of my front pockets.

I took the Walkman from the desk, turned to my duffle bag, and zipped it open, placing the music player into the filled bag, on top of my new small laptop. I zipped it closed after glancing at the things inside.

Prior to today, I went on a small shopping spree. Buying all the things I would need for the trip, from tech to toiletries.

My predecessor's fat savings made all this possible and together with my weekend allowance, I could afford to even enjoy myself in Vegas on the journey.

Money check, clothes check, toothbrush and soap and deodorants check, entertainment check, equipment check, weapons check. I was set, all that was left were the windows.

Turning to my balcony window and entrance, I moved to it and locked everything I could lock. With my duffle bag in hand, I glanced around the dark room and seeing nothing amis, I left the room.

I toured every inch of the house, from the garage to each of the rooms, blocking and locking every room and window. After doing all this, I locked the main door of the house with the key and left the key inside it.

Surveying the house, from the living room area, I contemplated switching off the lights but I decided against that. The lights being on created an illusion of someone present in the house.

I didn't want any of my neighbors calling my dad or anyone else about my disappearance.

To everyone's knowledge, I had shut myself in the house like the loner I was and never came out. That was going to be the narrative, nothing more nothing less. Besides, I had something in place in case of anything...

Nodding in satisfaction, I adjusted the heavy bag in my hand in such a way my wrist wouldn't scream in pain after a few minutes and called on my power. The familiar change happened, my feet a few inches above the floor.

"Here goes nothing." I ascended through the white ceiling, stopping a few meters above the rooftop. After a final glance, I smiled at the buildings below me and with a thought, sped away in the northeast direction.

The sun was still dipping below the horizon as I flew towards the station, passing by numerous flocks of birds of different species who were migrating to God knows where.

Increasing my speed, the sights below me almost became flashes and in no time, I arrived at my destination. A wide open area with a single building standing on my left side. The Odessa bus station.

Looking at the rows of parked buses on my right, I descended into the space between two empty buses at the back and shifted back to normality.

My wrists started to feel strained so I brought my hand, holding the bag, from my back to my front, holding it like a briefcase then walked out of the space towards the building.

The building was a one-story structure made of bricks that reflected the orange rays of the gradually disappearing sun.

Glass windows decorated its exterior, giving it a modern look, with double doors at the entrance that swang back and forth as passengers in all sorts of clothing streamed in and out of the building.

Sauntering inside, I found myself in a wide and well-organized room or terminal, painted a comfortable sea blue with neat cream tiled flooring, meeting the fairly loud chatter of people and the warm air.

A counter was up ahead, centrally placed in the room, with a young bespectacled lady behind it, attending to the line of passengers in front of it, the sounds of keyboards clacking and the whirring of printers resounding everywhere.

A small screen adorned the top of the counter, displaying the arrival and departure times. On my left was the waiting area which was occupied by organized rows of cushioned seats that were getting old. The seats were mostly occupied by waiting passengers.

Magazine racks were arranged along the length of the seats but they were almost empty.

The was an information center on my right, mostly desks, staffed by smiling attendants who were talking to some of the curious passengers, offering them pamphlets, maps, and brochures that had nice attractions printed on them.

Briefly admiring the ambiance of the place, I joined the long line and waited to get my ticket. I was expecting the whole place to be packed but by the looks of it, the people of this town didn't travel much.

And to my surprise, the station was clean, it even smelled...okay. Odessa was really something, not gonna lie.

Before long, it was my turn to get my ticket. I was standing right in front of the counter, looking at the young lady through the perspex glass panel on the wooden counter.

"Where to?" She asked, monotonously, not looking up, her gaze fixed on her computer screen.

"Vegas," I answered and she punched in a few clicks.

"That'll be a hundred and twenty dollars." She remarked after a slight pause.

Nodding, I removed my wallet from my back pocket, took out a hundred and twenty bucks, and slid it to her through the small semi-circle opening below, on the glass panel.

She counted the money, put it inside a drawer, and with a few couples of clicks, the printer whirred as it printed out a small yellow ticket.

"You'll find the bus near the entrance, the bus number is six. It leaves in the next twenty-eight minutes." She slid the ticket back to me as I slipped my fat wallet into my back pocket.

"Thanks." I mouthed as I took it and turned to walk past the line of people behind me, moving out of the terminal.

Walking across the wide field, I found my designated bus near the open entrance of the station and moved towards it.

There were people climbing onto the blue bus, holding their luggage, so I followed them and in seconds I was inside the bus. It was mostly full, all the seats almost taken.

My eyes briefly scanned the place as more people entered the bus and seeing an empty seat near the window, at the back, with an old dark-skinned plump woman with corn rolls that fell on her shoulders, wearing a brown dress, seated on the seat next to it.

I brushed past a man who was putting his luggage in the overhead compartment as I moved to the seat and reaching there, I smiled at the woman.

"Please is the seat taken?" I asked politely, pointing at the seat with my right index finger.

She glanced at it and then looked at me, shaking her head as a smile blossomed on her wrinkly face.

"Oh no, feel free son." She said, tapping the seat gently, her voice heavily spiced with the local accent.

I nodded at her, the smile still on my face, and shifted into the seat as she drew her legs back. I plumped into the seat and sighed in comfort as I placed my bag on my thighs, my hand and wrist now free, the cool wind flowing through the open window to kiss my face.

"Which part of Vegas are you headed to young man?" The woman asked softly, the smile still on her face as I zipped open my bag to take out my Walkman.

"Downtown ma'am. I'm going to visit family." I answered her calmly with a little faux anticipation in my tone as I fixed the headset on my head, looking at her with a smile.

"Me too. I'm going to visit my son. He works in one of those casinos and he always uses it as an excuse to avoid visiting me so I'm going there to give him my mind.

"Thinks he's all man up since he's now working. We'll see about that when I get there." She shared and scoffed, acting annoyed but I could see the slight upturn of her lips and the warm look in her hazel eyes.

"I'm sure he'd like that very much ma'am." I suppressed a chuckle and smiled at her and she nodded amusedly, her smile broadening as I took a cassette from the sides of my bag and inserted it into the device.

"It's good you're visiting family. Apart from God, they are always the next priority. Never forget them." She advised sagely, her voice warm.

I nodded at her with a genuine smile and satisfied she nodded in return as I placed the headset on my head.

After that, she kept quiet and closed her eyes, shifting to make herself comfortable in the seat, seemingly trying to fall asleep.

The door closed as the last person entered the bus and the driver immediately sparked the car.

Turning my head to look at the darkening sky devoid of the sun, with the white fluffy clouds drifting across it, I pressed the play button on the music player.

A Slim Shady mixtape started blasting in my ears. It was an eighteen to twenty-hour trip from here to Vegas. Upon arrival, it was straight to business, no time to waste. Resting could be done after everything.

For now, I would enjoy one of the perks of this era and enjoy the travel scenery...