Athletes' Bizarre Road Trip

((No Additional Rules here! Just join in and have fun, because trust me: it will be a bizarre van ride.))

Mirsha woke up one morning, and looked at her driveway. It was usually empty as she rarely drove anywhere. While an excellent athlete, she really was not the best at driving.

In Mirsha Grelinek's driveway that morning, there was a blue van. She knew that it didn't belong to her. Hell, there was no license plate.

"The hell?" Mirsha asked herself. She quickly got ready and exited the house to inspect the van. Outside the van, there was nothing abnormal. She looked inside the van and found a note.


Mirsha smiled at the note. She put it in her pocket. The closest teammate that lived to her was Antola; his apartment not that far off.

---

Derlyn was outside the apartment complex Antola lived in. She watched a blue van drive by.

Derlyn proceeded to stop being impressed when she saw who was in the front seat.

"Mirsha, what are you doing?" asked Derlyn. The Purple Gnorbu sighed.

"Driving in this van that an unknown fan gave me," Mirsha replied. "Don't worry, I looked at this van to make sure there was nothing wrong with it. Anyways, what brings you to Shenkuu. I didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah, I was going to let you know," Derlyn said, grinning. "I'm here to visit family in Shenkuu."

"Oh." Mirsha looked surprised. "Did you know that Antola lives here?"

"Yeah, about that. Antola's my step-brother," Derlyn replied. "I've been here a few days to visit my mom and Jaden, and even get you a present. I actually was going to get you a present later today, but I doubt I could top the van." The Purple Gnorbu laughed.

Oh yeah. Mirsha forgot. Today was her birthday.

That would explain the van.

"Anyways, we should head inside. I assume you were here to let Antola know of the van," said Derlyn.

Mirsha nodded. "Yep." Both Gnorbus entered the apartment, and went to Antola's room. Mirsha knocked on the door.

Antola was laying on his couch, watching television. Sort of.

He was actually staring at his ceiling, but television was one of his preferred options for background noise. Not that he was bored; he enjoyed daydreaming.

Suddenly, he heard an unexpected knock. Assuming it to be Derlyn, Antola sprung to his feet to answer his door. "Hey, Derlyn! Did you forget somethi-oh! Hey, Mirsha!" He smiled warmly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great," replied Mirsha. "A fan was kind enough to give me a van for my birthday." She took the note out of her pocket and handed it to Antola. "Isn't that nice?"

Derlyn thought of something. "Hmm. You know we should go on a road trip in that thing."

"Not a bad idea, Derlyn," said Mirsha. "Can I drive?"

Derlyn sighed. After a pause, she said, "Well... I hope you're not as bad as my mom." The Purple Gnorbu shuddered.

"I'm not that bad, don't worry," the Brown Gnorbu replied.

Derlyn looked at Antola. "Hey, Antola. You wanna come?" she asked.

Antola read the note, then grinned. "Wow, what a nice fan!" He handed the note back to Mirsha. "It's not everyday that a random fan donates something as expensive as that."

He then turned to Derlyn, and, forgetting how bad of a driver Mirsha is, Antola enthusiastically agreed to the road trip. "That sounds like fun! Things have been kinda dull since the Cup ended. It takes me awhile to get back into the swing of stuff after being occupied all month," he admitted sheepishly. "I haven't been on a road trip in a long time. Where are we gonna go?"

"I was thinking that we could travel all over Neopia, go to as many places as possible on vehicle," Derlyn replied.

Mirsha smiled. "That's a great idea, Derlyn. I'm going to let my teammates know." She then pulled out a phone and emailed her teammates about what she and Antola plan on doing. She then says, without looking up at either Antola or Derlyn, "Oh yeah, today's my birthday, which means the van is probably a gift."

Derlyn then looked at everyone and said, "Alright, let's go." Mirsha then dashes out of the apartment complex. Derlyn chucked to herself and said, "Well, there goes the world's fastest Gnorbu."

"Awesome!" Antola cheered. "I've always wanted to set aside some time to explore Neopia!"

Turning away from Derlyn, Antola rushed to followed Mirsha out of the apartment complex... then turned around and ran all the way back to his still unlocked apartment door. "Oops! I'd better grab some stuff." He proceeded to search his apartment for stuff he decided he would need during the trip.

Derlyn grinned at Antola. "Mirsha and I will be waiting for you by the van."

---

Mirsha was waiting by the van. She noticed Derlyn exit out of the complex first. "Hey, Derlyn, what's keeping Antola?"

Derlyn looked at Mirsha. "Oh. He wants to get some stuff. I'm sure he won't be too long."

Antola grabbed everything he could fit in his bag that he enjoyed occupying himself with. The last thing he wanted was to be the only one awake at any point during the road trip, with nothing to do. After a few minutes, he felt satisfied with what he had, and burst out of his apartment, remembering to close and lock his door this time. He also forgot his massive Zafara headphones.

---

"Sorry about that!" Antola exclaimed as he arrived near Mirsha's van, swinging the bag back and forth and took out Mirsha and Derlyn with it. "I had to grab some stuff." He looked at Mirsha. "Where are we headed first?"

"I was thinking about heading to this new restaurant called Le Food first," said Mirsha. "Larcy says that the food there is great."

Derlyn tried to stifle a laugh. "Are you serious Mirsha? Le Food?"

"Yeah, I know, not the most creative of names," Mirsha said. "But I have no reason not to trust Larcy." Mirsha got in the van, and Derlyn stood around, pondering. "Come on, Derlyn, get in the car," Mirsha said, now trying to stifle a laugh herself.

"I'm trying to figure out where to sit where I'm the least distracting to the driver," Derlyn said.

Mirsha rolled her eyes and was no longer able to stifle her laugh. "You won't be a distraction; trust me. Just sit in shotgun." Derlyn then sat in the front passenger seat.

Antola sat in the chair directly behind Mirsha. "I know I won't be a distraction!" Antola said, laughing. "I also trust what Larcy said... unless he's pulling a silly prank or something. Nothing overly malicious, though."

"I have every right to express concern," Derlyn said, laughing. "Your captain finds me attractive."

"Well..." Mirsha shook her head. "Anyways, I had a strange feeling, but it went away all of a sudden," said Mirsha ignoring that there hasn't been any activity for awhile and oh shit i should go age up mirsha because today is her birthday. "Nevermind."

"I think it's because we're hungry," said Derlyn. "I'm sensing strange stuff too."

Mirsha put in the van's key into the keyhole, and turned it on, starting the van. She then started to drive very fast which caused the group to drive into a pole haha game over.

"You're not playing Yooyuball," said Derlyn, in a surprisingly calm voice given the situation. "It's alright to slow down."

Mirsha looks at Derlyn. "Alright."

"Mirsha, you don't have to look at me here; keep your eyes on the road."

Mirsha grumbled some curses, not aimed at Derlyn, under her breath as her gaze returned to the road.

"Sorry about that," Derlyn said.

"It's not you, don't worry," Mirsha replied, looking at the road ahead.

It finally dawned on Antola that Mirsha is a really freaking bad driver was unfazed by Mirsha's driving speed. "Strange feelings, huh?" He frowned in confusion. "I can't say I've been sensing anything odd. That being said... I'm pretty hungry myself!" This is because Antola was too busy watching television to remember to eat breakfast.

Leaning back into his chair, Antola pulled out his phone. "Do you think Le Food would have an online menu or something?"

The hunger status of Mirsha and Derlyn is now dying because they haven't been fed for a week lmao

"Online menu? It's at http://items.jellyneo.net/ I dunno," Mirsha said. "If there is, then I didn't look before we went. Larcy says there's quite the selection though."

They then find themselves going faster behind a steamroller.

Mirsha groans, and starts honking profusely, the van riding the steamroller's "bumper," causing the van to slow down immensely. Derlyn sighs. "Clearly we shouldn't have been driving on this road. I hope the tires aren't screwed up because we accidentally drove on wet cement."

"I was driving on this road yesterday, there is no wet cement," Mirsha said, annoyed. She was still honking the horn. "YEAH GOOD FOR YOU! QUIT SHOWING OFF THAT YOU'RE DRIVING A STEAMROLLER AND GET GOING!" Mirsha yelled.

A second steamroller pulled up behind Mirsha's van. Zenor sighed from his spot in the driver's seat, holding his phone in one hand and tapping the steering wheel impatiently.

"Look, I'm gonna have to call you back, okay?" He said. "I'll come back around and pick you up."

The blue Grundo poked his head out the window. "What's up with this traffic?"

Mirsha looked at one of the car mirrors and noticed there was another steamroller behind them.

"The hell?" Mirsha asked. "What is this? Another one?" Mirsha then honked the horn several times again. "HURRY UP FRONT STEAMROLLER!

Upon hearing Zenor talk, Derlyn said to Mirsha, "I'm going to talk to the driver behind us; I know him. You should just focus on the driving." Derlyn then poked her head outside the front passenger window. "Zenor, are we interrupting some steamroller parade?" she asked, grinning. Meanwhile, Mirsha continued yelling at the driver in front of the van and honking the horn.

Zenor blinked before grinning back at Derlyn, happy to see a familiar face.

"Hey, Derlyn!" He exclaimed, waving. "Nah, you're not interrupting a steamroller parade." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I mean...that's a cool idea for later...but right now I'm just picking up Qlydae."