You let Candice on the trip with you.

"I think it would be great if I had you along! It'd totally make the time pass faster during the trip and we can help keep each other out of trouble." You grin at her and pull up to the front of her house. "So I was planning on it taking at most two weeks. We could do it faster, but we don't want to get stuck in Nevada a week in and be stuck."

"Don't we?" She grins, "Vegas?"

You giggle at her suggestion at stopping at Sin City. "Maybe we can pass through, but I don't know if two tiny teen girls like us would be welcome in most places there. Anyway, I'll have my dad's credit card, so money shouldn't be an issue. Just pack your bags with whatever you need and I'll pick you up early tomorrow morning. Before dawn. Make up some bullshit story tonight about how you'll be leaving super early in the morning to get an early start at school for something. We want to get a day's out before anybody suspects."

"Ohmygod this is going to be so much fun! Thanks for deciding to take me along." Candice leans over and gives you a big hug before climbing out of the Jeep and walking into her home. You see your friend into the house before driving home. You had your own stuff to take care of.

Once home, you start gathering up the things that you needed. Your parents are gone for the week, so you don't have to worry about them getting suspicious as you run around gathering things up. Two weeks' worth of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, a black mini-dress in case there was any partying to be done, a spare phone, and a wallet with your dad's credit card and about five-hundred dollars in loose cash just in case. While snooping through your dad's room looking for your dad's card, you see a large box of condoms on the nightstand. You think about taking a few for yourself but decide against it. Where you're going, you don't need condoms...and if you do, then you can just buy them at a convenience store. You load your bags into the Jeep before going back inside to have a quick bath and then it's off to bed.

The next morning, it's quite chilly out. You climb out of bed earlier than you have in a long time and pull on a pair of tight jeans and a blue turtleneck before driving off to pick Candice up. You arrive outside her home just as the sun begins to peak. A few moments of silence pass and you wonder if she got caught or decided to bail on you, but your concern is answered by the door quietly opening and Candice walking out with a suitcase. She's wearing a camo zip-up hoodie and pulls her rolling suitcase down the driveway to you. She unceremoniously plops her suitcase in the back with yours and climbs into the passenger seat. She gives you an excited grin before shouting. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

You laugh at her exclamation and gun it, speeding down the road for several seconds before slowing to a more reasonable speed. Ten minutes or so pass before you're safely on the highway and your Journey to the West has begun.