Chapter 7: The City

I played Portals and Aliens until four in the morning, and then I collapsed, dead exhausted, on my bed.

Dad woke me up three hours later, at 7:00 am. "Wake up, Dan the Man! It's time to head to the city!"

Ugh. Would I ever get my eight hours of sleep? I could not believe that Dad was actually serious about leaving at 7:30. He sat down on my bed and took my pillow off my head.

"Come on, kid. We have a busy schedule today."

"Five more minutes," I begged, but Dada shook his head.

"Oh, no you don't." He grabbed my arm and forced me out of bed. I barely had time to grab a little breakfast. I changed into my adventure uniform, and then Dada dragged me outside. The only food I managed to get was a granola bar.

It was a cool, clear morning in Chanticleer. Dada had the car packed and ready to go. Hoverscooter 22 and my suitcase were the last things to go in the trunk. Shutting it, Geico slapped his hands together.

"There you go, Daniel," he said.

"Thanks, Geico," I said, still half asleep. I slumped over to the passenger side of the car, ready to duck in, but Dada stopped me.

"Whoa, Daniel! You can't get in without saying goodbye to Claude and Geico first."

Seriously, Dada, is that necessary? I didn't think so. After all, trips with Dada were usually only a few days.

Yet, he glared at me.

Finally, I slumped over to Claude and said, "Goodbye, Claude," in an angry voice.

Claude broke into whines. He tacked me into the front yard and gave me several slobbery kisses.

"Claude, what's wrong with you?" I asked. "We're going to see other again in two days." That was what I thought. I pushed Claude off me and rubbed my cheek with the back of my hand. Standing up, I next approached Geico. "Goodbye, Geico."

"Oh, Danny boy, I'm going to miss you!" Geico said in a choked voice. And I thought robots couldn't cry. Geico snatched me up off the ground and gave me an enormous, robotic hug.

I felt like my spine was going to crack. I literally could not breathe. "Geico, stop! Put me down! Why are you and Claude being so dramatic?"

Embarrassed Geico put me back on the ground. "Oh, sorry, Danny boy."

Still out of breath, I coughed.

Dada didn't notice that, and if he did, he didn't care. "Thank you, Dan. Come on, we should get going."

My whole body ached from Geico's hug. Clutching my side, I stumbled back over to the passenger door. I noticed that Geico had pulled Dad back, and he whispered into his ear.

"Are you just going to stand there all day? Chop, chop! I thought we were going to beat the traffic!" I called. I mainly just wanted to write in my story.

Dada and Geico shared a quick hug.

No fair! Why didn't Geico squash Dad like he did me? I was legit angry, but whatever.

Dada and Geico let go, and then Dad kneeled to Claude. Claude kissed his cheek goodbye. Dada thanked him by patting his head.

Finally, he stood up and joined me in the car.

Claude made his way over to Geico, saddened but also happy. He sat down next to him. Together, he and Geico watched as Dad booted up the car.

He glanced at me and asked the question of the day: "Are ya ready, Dan the Man?"

"Yeah, whatever." I pulled my laptop out from my leather bag and set it on my lap.

Dada backed out of the driveway, careful not to run into a few hoverscootists who were out. Now why there were up so early in the morning, I may never know. Dada started down the main road, and officially, we were on our way to Downtown Greenville.

***

Twenty minutes into the drive, we found ourselves stuck in traffic. Downtown Greenville's skyline rested front of us. It slowly but surely drew closer.

Dada impatiently tapped the steering wheel with his thumb.

I wrote in my story. I had just reached the part where the asteroid crashed into the Yucatán Peninsula of the Gulf. "What should I write about first, Dada: the tidal waves, the earthquake, or the meteor shower?" I asked.

Dad rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try–?"

"I'll do the tidal waves. I'm sure they were one of the first things that happened," I interrupted. "Yes! You're a genius, Daniel Matton! Let's see. I'll type–"

"Error! Error!" my computer suddenly announced.

"Huh?" I frightfully asked. Come on! I just pressed the A button!

My computer crashed. The holographic screen vanished from view, so now all I was looking at were the car's windshield wipers. "No! All my hard work is ruined!" Clearly upset, I smacked my computer's keyboard.

"Daniel! Whatcha do this time?" Dad said.

"Nothing! I just pressed the A button, and the whole system crashed! Argh! This bites!" With that, I chucked my keyboard onto the floor.

Dada again rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dan. It's just a story."

"Just a story?" I snapped. "It's not just a story, Dada! It's a story I've been working on for three years! I wrote a first draft! I wrote a second draft! I drew the characters and put together a soundtrack, and now all of it is gone!"

"Oh, Dan, I'm sorry, but sometimes these things happen," Dada explained. "Why don't you just start a new story?"

"Forget it, Dad. You'll never understand how much this story meant to me." I turned away from him and peered outside to the fluffy, white clouds making their way across the sky. My computer crashing was only the start of my issues.

***

It took Dada and me three full hours to reach the city. Seriously, Dada? I thought you said we would beat the traffic. I fell asleep with my face on the window.

Dada gave me a gentle nudge to wake me up. "Wake up, Dan."

"Who?" I snorted. I took my face off the window. I saw that I had a left a drool stain on it. Rubbing my eyes, I asked, "Are we there yet?"

Dad grinned. "We sure are. See for yourself!"

I did. Incredible! I had forgotten how epic Downtown Greenville was! Dada drove across a bridge that went across Greenville Lake. Far to the left was an island, and on that island was the Downtown Greenville Space Center.

Dada pointed it out to me.

To the right was a Maglev train track that went into the city itself. Its skyscrapers touched the sky, and a haunting shadow covered Dad and mine's car. Road signs pointed us to the skyscrapers. They read Downtown Greenville Gate 5, meaning that the gates to Downtown Greenville were five miles away.

Dad and I passed numerous souvenir shops, boutiques, and the visitor's center. My eyes caught an enormous round building beyond it. That was the ice skating rink. There was both an indoor and outdoor one.

Robots of all kind inhabited the city. There were Ice Cream Robots, Soda Robots, Snack Robots, Paparazzi Robots... The list went on. To get into the city, citizens and tourists could either buy a pass at the visitor center or park in an underground parking lot for the subway. Permission Robots would let us onto the subway, and other robots would carry our luggage to our hotel or whatever. Of course, one person in the party had to tell the Permission Robots where we were staying.

Dada and I always took the subway. It was just easier. Before reaching the city's gates, we turned and followed another road into an underground parking lot. It was for Subway Station A. There were more underground parking lots and roads in Downtown Greenville than surface ones because most people relied on the trolleys and moving sidewalks inside for transportation.

I have to admit, guys... I was excited. The last time I went to Downtown Greenville was for Mother's funeral, so the day Dada and I left for the city felt special.

We found the underground wonderland for the station. There were so many cars. I assumed something exciting was happening that weekend, but I had no idea that it had to do with me.

Dad drove around the parking lot for a good while before we finally found a parking space. We claimed it before anyone else could.

Dada shut off the car and smiled at me.

I smiled back. It was time for our adventure to commence!