Business Trip

by luvnmarauders

"Time to go, Calvin!" Dad yelled from the car, slamming the trunk.

"Okay," I replied glumly. We were moving away from our little house and to a better place. Probably somewhere like that ol' Mosquito Island, knowing Dad.

"Mom, are you sure the place we're going to is not swarming with mosquitoes?" I asked for the fiftieth time that day. Or so I think. I wasn't keeping track.

"Yes Calvin! Stop asking me!" Mom snapped at me grouchily.

I really wonder how she became a mother, I thought to myself, staring up at Mom's frown. I mean, didn't you have to remotely like children to pass the parent test? Maybe my parents were flunks...

I looked up and down the street and found it completely empty.

"Are you expecting someone, Calvin?" Dad asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I shook my head.

"N- No. Let's go."

With Hobbes, I climbed into the car and fastened my seat belt quietly.

"Ready?" Dad asked grandly, pushing the key into the ignition. I stared out the window, pressing my nose against the glass.

"Um, yeah..." I replied. Then the car engine roared to life and we started to back out of the driveway. I immediately panicked. "Wait!"

"What?" Dad asked as he suddenly stopped the car, surprised. I jumped out of the car without another word, hearing Hobbes yell, "Where are you going?"

I ran toward Susie's house, ignoring Dad and Mom's shocked yells and protests, promises of a grounding. I rang the doorbell furiously until the door opened.

"Yes?" Mrs. Derkins greeted me grouchily. "Calvin, the doorbell is not a toy."

"Could I talk to Susie?" I asked eagerly, ignoring her previous comment. Shrugging, she called, "Susie!" and walked away, giving me one last nasty look. I stared at the doorway, peeking in eagerly.

"Calvin?" Susie cried, astonished as she spotted me. "Aren't you supposed to be gone? What are you doing here?"

I took a step towards her and gave her a big hug. "Bye Susie!" I yelled, then ran away and back to my car, jumping right into the vehicle. Mom and Dad grumbled, but I ignored them.

"You Romeo," teased Hobbes, grinning and nudging me. I nudged him back hard.

"Let's go!"

The car began rolling forward and down the street. I stared at everything we passed and whispered a small goodbye to them. Then I spotted Susie, waving from her house. I waved back and that was the last I saw of her.

-----

Few weeks later, Dad started packing the bags again. "Okay, time to go home, Calvin," he said.

"I thought this was our home!" I protested.

"No, Calvin. This was just a business trip. We're going back home," Mom explained exasperatedly. "Weren't you listening when I told you?"

I stared at them blankly and remembered what I had done before leaving. I smacked my forehead loudly and groaned.

"At least someone will be waiting for you back home," Hobbes said, grinning widely.

"Shut up, fleabag," I snapped and glumly stared out the window, devising a plan.