Chapter 1: This is Actually Supposed to Be a Fun Trip
-December 30, 1982-
"It's going to be dark by the time we get there if he doesn't hurry up." Terri grumbled.
"Seriously." Larry said. "This is the fourth time he's made us stop."
"Next time he asks, you should tell him no."
"But then we'd have to listen to him whine for the rest of the ride instead. That might be worse."
Janet shook her head. "You two are being harsh. Give him a break."
The three were sitting in Larry's car at a crowded rest stop somewhere between Santa Monica and Las Vegas, waiting for Jack to finish up his call on the payphone.
"No, this is just ridiculous." Larry replied. He pressed hard on the car's horn a few times before rolling down his window to shout, "Jacko, let's go! I was hoping to get there before 1983!"
Jack, however, simply waved him off and continued muttering into the phone, hugging his jacket closer to his body as a brisk breeze whirled around him.
And Larry responded with another long blaring sound from the horn. A man walking by thinking he was the one being honked at gave Larry the finger.
Terri shook her head and Janet turned her attention back to the book she'd been reading.
"Okay." Larry spoke after his strategy to annoy Jack back into the car didn't work. "Since it looks like we're stuck again, which one of you wants to take the next shift?"
Both girls, who were seated in the back, frowned and turned reluctantly to each other. They'd been hoping he would forget about that.
"What do you mean?" Terri asked innocently.
He unbuckled his seatbelt. "The next driving shift." He reminded them.
"Oh, come on. You don't want to drive the whole way?"
"Yeah." Janet added.
"I've been driving for almost four hours and we haven't even left California yet." He twisted his torso around a few times. "And my back hurts!"
"What?" Terri was surprised and clearly hadn't been paying attention to the course of their journey thus far.
"Yeah! …You know a back massage would actually really help, nurse."
"I bet it would." She dismissed him and he shrugged (it was worth a try!). "How much longer until we get there?"
"Probably another two hours." Larry guessed. "If we drive straight through and don't stop again."
"Two hours?" Janet repeated. She glanced out the window at Jack, suddenly understanding Terri and Larry's impatience a little better.
"Two hours…" Terri also voiced thoughtfully. "That means Janet should drive then."
She whipped her head around. "But I'm reading!" She held up the book in her hands. "Why can't you or Jack drive?"
"Whoa whoa whoa." Larry interjected. "He's not getting control of the car."
"Yeah. Come on, Janet."
Janet rolled her eyes. "Okay. Why can't you drive?" She asked Terri.
Putting a hand to her chest, Terri replied, "I worked a double shift right before we left. I've been up since 8 o'clock last night." Quite frankly, she just wanted to nap in the car.
"So I have to drive because you just don't want to and Larry doesn't want Jack to?"
"And because you're the fastest driver."
"The fastest- No I'm not!"
"Janet, I've been in the car with you at the wheel. Believe me, you're our best bet for getting there sooner."
She looked between Terri and Larry, down at her book, and then folded. "Fine." She unbuckled herself from the comfort of the backseat. "But you and Jack are driving us back home." She ordered.
"Okay." Terri agreed.
"And I do not drive that fast!" She sort of waved her book at Terri before setting it down in the middle of the backseat.
As Janet and Larry were exiting the car to stretch their legs and switch seats, Jack was finally walking back in their direction, his hands raised in defense.
"I'm done, I promise. No need to drag me back to the car."
"How are things going with Felipe?" Janet asked dutifully.
"Yeah, did he manage to burn the bistro down since the last time you called, oh…" Larry checked his watch. "45 minutes ago?"
"He said everything's fine." Jack answered Janet's question and pointedly ignored Larry's.
"How shocking." Larry leaned against the car.
"Well, that's good." Janet also ignored Larry's comments. "You ready to go?"
Jack shivered. "...It's pretty cold. Maybe I should've told him how to turn the heat up." He glanced back at the payphone.
"I think he can figure it out, honey." Janet smiled sympathetically.
"Sometimes the dial gets stuck."
As if she sensed that Jack was coming up with another excuse to prolong their stay at this rest stop, Terri's face slowly appeared at her window as she cranked its lever down. "What's the hold up now? I thought we wanted to hurry!"
Jack rolled his eyes, but followed his friends back into the warmth of Larry's car.
"I just wanted to make sure Felipe knows how to close up shop." Jack explained, resettling himself in the passenger's seat. "I only got the chance to go over it with him once yesterday."
"He knows how restaurants are run." Terri replied. "You should have more faith in him."
With a sigh he leaned back in the seat. "Yeah, I guess so."
Janet gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "The bistro will be fine, Jack."
His free hand briefly enclosed their hands before she withdrew hers to move the driver's seat forward so she could reach the pedals better.
"I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have come. Four days is a long time to be away."
"Are you kidding?" She exclaimed as she clumsily willed the seat closer to the wheel. "You need a break! You've been working so hard lately!"
"Yeah, because I have to." He replied wearily.
He knew how hard it was supposed to be getting a restaurant on its legs, but he'd never been more exhausted in his life. In theory, a break should be good! But this was the first time he was leaving the bistro for more than a day since he opened up the business less than two months ago, and not being there was proving to be a very stressful experience for him.
"Look, buddy." Larry's voice now came from directly behind him. "If it makes you feel better, business is always lousy around the new year."
"Exactly!" Janet agreed brightly. "I'm sure Felipe will be bored to tears watching it for you."
"If there was any time to take a few days away from it all, it's now." Larry assured him.
This did manage to calm his nerves a little. "Lousy business, huh?"
"Yeah." Terri added. "You should be used to that by now."
"Terri!" Janet hissed while Larry suppressed a chuckle.
Jack turned his head to look at his roommate in the backseat. "Thank you for that."
The blonde merely shrugged half-apologetically. It was kind of the truth after all.
"I think we've had enough REO Speedwagon for the rest of the trip." He announced in retaliation.
"Hey!" Terri protested as he leaned forward to eject her cassette tape from the stereo.
"You should learn to be nicer."
"And you should stop being such a baby. We were listening to that!"
"We've listened to this all the way through at least five times." He exaggerated. "It's driving me crazy!" After they'd hit hour two on the road, he had been on the lookout for a reason to turn it off.
"Then you should have brought your own music to play!"
"You guys can't honestly say you're not sick of listening to this are you?"
Larry shrugged. "I don't mind it." He was just glad he wasn't driving anymore.
"I love REO Speedwagon." Janet said as she reversed out of the parking spot.
The silence in the car was brief as Janet maneuvered back onto the main road. She could sense trouble afoot if she didn't step in.
"Jack, just put the tape back in." She murmured.
His frown deepened but he knew he was outnumbered and so he reluctantly pushed the cassette back into Larry's stereo. "You always take her side."
Sound erupted from the speakers and Bruce Hall was allowed to continue encouraging everyone to be-bop.
Janet sighed. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by that. Right, Terri?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah… sure. Sorry."
He wasn't buying it though, and crossed his arms and looked out the window.
The friends had been planning this trip ever since the week of Thanksgiving, when Larry won a raffle at his job promising a free hotel stay for four people in Las Vegas over New Year's weekend. After unsuccessfully trying to convince a few of his dates to tag along with him, he very generously offered to share the prize with his neighbors.
Now until just a few days ago, Jack had been going back and forth on whether he would actually go on this trip or not. He was finally convinced (or as he liked to put it, massively guilt-tripped) by the girls when Janet declared she didn't want to go on a trip with Larry if he wasn't coming along, and consequently, Terri definitely wouldn't go if she ended up being the only one of the three accompanying Larry. But the most guilt-inducing part of the situation was that all three of his friends had already gone through the trouble of taking time off from their jobs, so the least they could all do was actually go through with the Vegas trip as a four piece.
That graciousness could only go so far though. The stress was making him very touchy and the opposite of a fun traveling companion. And somewhere in the back of each of his friends' minds was the concern that he was going to make this weekend a very long one if he kept this up.
.
Apart from the occasional distribution of directions from Jack, who had the responsibility of paying attention to the map (though Larry knew the path to Vegas like the back of his hand, Janet insisted they bring one along just in case), the car had gone quiet for quite a while. Since she was driving, Janet wasn't sure whether that quiet was due to lingering upset from Jack and Terri's little tiff or if everyone was just sick of being in the car for so long.
Not having the luxury of relaxing, she thought she'd try revamping morale or at the very least get everyone talking again because otherwise, the rest of the drive would be very boring for her.
"So…" She ventured aloud. "Anyone have any resolutions for the new year?"
She chanced a glance over at Jack. Brows furrowed deep in thought, his gaze was focused on the road ahead of them. He was either still pouting from Terri's comment or he was thinking of some other vital piece of information that would result in the downfall of Jack's Bistro if he didn't relay it to Felipe as soon as humanly possible. In the rear view mirror she could see Larry's eyes were closed and Terri was adjusting the blanket she had brought along for the ride.
She may as well be talking to the members of REO Speedwagon in the little cassette tape.
"Well, I'm going to get up early every morning to go jogging before work." She pressed on.
Still working on re-covering herself with the blanket, Terri frowned. "Don't you already go jogging all the time?"
"Not every day. And not before work." Janet explained. "This is completely different."
For some reason this irked Jack. But maybe he was just determined to find everything irritating now. "Janet, you hate waking up early."
"Yeah." Terri confirmed. "Just last week you swore at me when my alarm went off for work!"
"It was four o'clock in the morning!" Janet retorted so loudly that Larry jumped awake from his accidental nap. "...And I wasn't swearing at you… I was talking to the alarm clock."
"Oh really?" Terri asked. "I didn't know the alarm clock was also named Terri."
"Alright." Janet said. "So I'm not the biggest morning person. But I think that could change next year."
"Is that so?" Terri knew all too well that without fail, Janet's morning routine was regularly accompanied by a grumpy demeanor and wishing she was still asleep.
"Yes." She insisted. "Isn't that the point of new year's resolutions?"
"To punish yourself?" Jack offered. He too had a preference for sleeping in late.
"To challenge yourself." Janet corrected him.
"Same thing."
Not letting Jack's attitude and Terri's sarcastic nature get to her, she took their oppositions in stride. "Care to share your resolutions then?"
Aware that they were being a little judgemental towards Janet's (truly unreasonable) resolution, Terri decided to humor her. "I don't know, uh…" She tried thinking up something on the spot. "Maybe find a nice rich guy to marry or something." She joked.
"I always thought new year's resolutions were kinda dumb." Jack declared.
Of course they weren't going to take this seriously. "So no one likes resolutions?"
"I do!" Larry replied through a yawn.
'Really, Lar'?" Jack asked.
"Sure. Janet's right. What's the fun of life without a bit of a challenge?"
Jack pulled a face. "Why would anyone want to make life harder than it already is?"
"It's not like that." Janet laughed at his interpretation. "Think of it as just setting a goal for yourself, or self-improvement."
Even though she could only see him in her peripheral vision, she could tell this wasn't doing anything to convince him.
"Oh, come on. You can't think of anything you really want to do or accomplish?" She asked. "There's nothing you'd like to make happen next year?"
His frown softened at this framing of the question. He studied her side profile and thought, well maybe there was one thing. …But no. That was too optimistic to hope for. He averted his gaze to the map in his lap, smoothing out one of its creases. "Still sounds useless to me."
And to that Janet could only shake her head with a good natured smile, because sometimes there was no point when he was in one of his moods. "Okay, okay." She replied gently.
"He's kind of right though." Terri chimed in again. "People hardly ever keep up with their resolutions to the end of the year anyways."
"Exactly." Jack pointed over his shoulder to the blonde. Apparently he was willing to briefly forget her dig at the bistro if she was going to take his stance on this subject.
Larry in turn, sat up a little more straight in his corner of the backseat. "Well, that's because most people don't set realistic goals for themselves."
Terri shrugged. "That's also true."
"Yeah. See, Janet, for instance, getting up early in the morning to go jogging every single day? You're just setting yourself up for failure." He explained with the authority of a life coach. "People always think they're going to exercise more than they actually will."
"Excuse me. I can go jogging every morning." She replied defiantly.
"Sure sure." He waved her off. "And Terri, finding a rich man is just about chance, there's no skill in that."
"We'll see about that." Terri quipped.
"What's the perfect resolution then, Larry?" Janet asked a little sourly.
"Yeah." Terri wondered. "What's the big plan for 1983?"
"I'm glad you asked." Larry smiled. "Actually, I'm hoping to finish filling up my new little black book by the end of next year."
If the girls were still seated next to each other, their synced eye roll would have been an amusing sight.
"Typical." Terri voiced.
"Hey, I have my goals. I'm not directionless."
"You really think you'll finish it next year?" Jack asked skeptically. He'd just seen Larry flipping through its pages earlier in the day before packing it away in his suitcase.
"Of course I do. It's a year full of experiences to have and new women to meet."
"Well, good luck with that."
"Thanks, pal."
"You've been going through a dry spell lately haven't you?"
Larry grimaced. "The holiday season is always slow." He clarified to Terri, who thought Jack's comment was funny.
"Sure, that's what it is."
.
Now it must have been nearly an hour after the sharing and making fun of resolutions when Janet correctly suspected that they'd taken a wrong turn at some point while she was at the wheel. To this day she still insists it was Jack's fault since he was supposed to be helping with directions. Jack claims no wrong-doing in the Vegas drive of '82.
With the sun beginning to set and without a clue where they were, the group ultimately decided they needed to make one last pitstop at a rundown gas station that stood alone on a long stretch of nothing in all directions.
"That was fast." Larry said to Jack who was trudging away from another payphone and back to Larry's car at the gas pump where he was refilling the tank.
"Nobody picked up the phone." Jack explained. "I need to get more change." He was secretly grateful that Janet had gotten lost because he knew his friends weren't going to grant him another phone call to the bistro on the road otherwise. Felipe's not answering was very concerning to him though.
"Jack, buddy." Larry patted his friend's shoulder. "At this rate you're going to spend all your money making phone calls to that Felipe guy. You're not gonna have anything for the casinos this weekend!"
Jack shrugged his hand away before opening the passenger door to retrieve his wallet. "I have to get in touch with him, Larry. Why didn't he answer the phone? What could possibly have happened that he couldn't answer the phone?"
"Did you stop to think that maybe he's got customers to serve?"
He took this in and shut the door. "Oh god… what if he's swamped with customers? It's just him and the new kid manning the place." He stood frozen as he thought about what that would then mean. "If it's too busy that could affect the customer experience and then word will get out that the bistro has poor service!"
Larry raised his eyebrows.
"Peter doesn't even know how to brew a pot of coffee! I knew I shouldn't have given Vanessa the weekend off. What was I thinking?"
He snapped his wallet open and dug around for more coins. "I should call her too. Maybe she'll go in and help out for a little while…"
Larry returned his attention to the gas pump while Jack counted and recounted the remaining coins in his possession.
"Say, Larry… Could you spare me a dime?"
Larry sucked his teeth. "Sorry, buddy. No can do."
"Oh come on."
He put his hands up. "No way. I've been saving my money for Lady Las Vegas. It doesn't get used for anything else."
"You just paid for gas!"
"The car is getting me to Vegas. You bothering Felipe isn't doing anything for me."
"Larry, it's 10 cents. 10 measly cents!"
"What is?" Terri called out. The girls were walking out of the store. She was carrying four cans of soda and Janet was towing a bag full of food, squinting at the map, and holding a pen between her teeth.
"Girls!" Jack dashed in their direction. "Let me get that for you, Janet." He carefully pulled the bag out of her grasp but received no reaction from the brunette for the act of kindness. She simply had a better view for focusing on the map. "I need 10 cents for the payphone." He explained.
"Wow, you already lost all your spending money?" Terri teased.
"Could I just get the 10 cents?"
"How about you help Janet figure out the fastest way to get there instead of wasting even more of our time." And the blonde handed him his soda instead of a precious dime.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" He protested. "It's not my fault Janet went the wrong way."
"You're in charge of the map! You were giving her directions!"
"And yet she still took the wrong turn. It happens to the best of us."
Despite their bickering, the two were still careful to act as Janet's eyes, leading her to the car while she studied potential ways to get them back en route.
When they reconvened at the car, Jack set his soda on its roof and handed the bag off to Larry.
"Janet. Sweet, beautiful Janet." He tried flattery and smoothed out her windswept hair. "Would you be so kind as to lend me 10 cents?"
Without giving him the courtesy of meeting his pleading eyes, she spread the map over the hood of the car and took the pen out of her mouth. "Get in the car, Jack." She leaned forward and drew a careful line from their current location to the direction of Sin City.
His face fell. "But, Janet!"
"No. I said to make your phone call fast while we were inside."
"Janet! Please!"
"Jack! Get in the car!" She ordered.
Terri and Larry quickly filed into the back of the vehicle as if she was scolding them too.
"But-"
"It's going to be dark soon!" She snatched up the map and pulled open the door to the driver's seat. "We should've gotten there hours ago!"
Her patience with him had fizzled quickly when she found out he couldn't multitask being a grump and reading a map.
"Then what's a few more minutes?" He stressed. No one understood. The bistro could be in shambles for all they knew.
"Are you making it your mission to make this the longest drive of our lives?"
"Of course not! I just need to check up on the bistro. Felipe didn't answer the phone!"
"Well, maybe you could have been calling him from the comfort of the hotel right about now, but you led us into the middle of nowhere instead. Who knows how long it will take to get there now." Her upper body disappeared as she ducked into the car and slammed the door.
Jack, in turn, opened his own door, but only so he could carry on their… conversation. "Oh, so it's my fault that we're getting there a little late?"
"Well, we could've been eating dinner on the Vegas strip by now." Terri answered for Janet. "Instead we're eating lunch meat sandwiches from a gas station thanks to you."
Janet interrupted him before he could even begin to respond to this accusation. "Just get in the car."
"Yeah," Larry said. "It's too cold for you to be leaving the door open like that."
"No, no. Hold on." Jack crossed his arms. "So you guys really think it's my fault that we're not there yet?"
"I thought we were being pretty clear about that the whole ride." Larry replied.
He huffed dramatically. "So us having to turn around twice because Janet forgot the map and you needed your gold tie didn't happen to slow us down at all?"
"Hey!" Janet squeaked before Larry got the chance to respond. "I did not forget the map! Whoever was out the door last was supposed to grab it!"
They each looked at Terri, who was chewing a mouthful of her sandwich. "Oh, no. We already went through this when we turned around the first time. Besides, we realized we didn't have the map five minutes into the drive. It doesn't count!" She defended herself. "Larry made us turn around again almost an hour in."
"That tie is my lucky tie! I don't go to Vegas without it!"
"Hey, you know what?" Jack pointed out. "If Larry was driving the whole time, we wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place. He's made this trip a million times."
"Excuse me for resting my eyes for a little while."
"Okay, you know what?" Janet was ready to put an end to this argument. "This is wasting even more of our time. So Jack, you better get in the car within the next 20 seconds or I'm driving away without you." She threatened.
He was this close to saying, 'Go ahead and leave me then!' But that particular look on Janet's face would always pull rank and she tended to act on her words. So instead, he slid into his seat and shut his door.
At first he thought she was handing him the map when she lifted it from her lap but as he reached out, she extended it towards the backseat.
"Would you two pay attention to the line I drew?" She asked of Terri and Larry.
Even this Jack took to heart.
"Sure." Terri retrieved the map and laid it out on the seat between herself and Larry.
"Thank you. Could I have my food?" Her arm remained outstretched.
Larry rummaged through the bag and shook his head.
"What?" Terri asked, passing Janet her drink.
"Nothing. It's just that this is supposed to be a fun trip." He handed Janet her sandwich.
"We know that." Terri insisted.
"No. I don't think you understand." He prodded Jack's shoulder with the remaining wrapped sandwich until he grabbed it. "It's Vegas. It's New Year's." He spoke significantly. "It's Vegas on New Year's! How often does that happen?"
Terri took a sip from her soda before responding. "Once a year."
"I'm being serious." He crumpled up the now empty food bag. "If I had known you three would be like this, I wouldn't have invited you. I mean, why'd you even agree to come if you were just going to argue the whole time?"
"I'd hardly say us being a little irritated because…. it hasn't been the smoothest drive… counts as arguing the whole time." Janet sniped.
"We're not there yet. The trip hasn't even started." Terri added. "And you weren't exactly silent while we were arguing."
"But I'm willing to put it behind me. I don't know if you guys are. I don't want you all ruining the happiest place on Earth on the best holiday of all time."
"That's Disneyland not Las Vegas, Larry." Jack said.
"If that's what you think, then you haven't lived the true Las Vegas experience."
What they would each define as a good time probably didn't look like whatever Larry was smiling so wistfully about.
"The best holiday? Really?" Terri questioned.
"Absolutely." He reaffirmed. "You don't have to buy presents for other people, you don't have to cook; you get to stay up all night and party, and you get to kiss someone when the clock strikes midnight."
But no one else seemed to find his reasons all that appealing because they were quiet while Janet put the car back in motion. And Jack's can of soda that he left on the roof could soon be seen crashing to the pavement from Larry's window.
"It's also bad luck to go to Vegas if you don't want to be there. Not a lot of people know that."
Jack furrowed his brows. Not only was this claim stupid, but he also knew it was being directed more so at him than the girls. "Since when?"
"1962." Larry said very seriously.
"Ah, yes." Terri mimicked his ominous tone. "1962.."
"No, listen." Larry said through a bite of his turkey sandwich. "My mom and Aunt Lois had been planning to take me and my cousins up to Vegas the last week of summer break before school started."
"Wait." Janet had to intervene. "Your mom took you to Vegas as a child?"
"Well, yeah. Those were always the best family vacations. But that's not the point of this story."
She blinked. "Family va-" But she stopped herself. This explained a lot about him as a person. "Go on."
"Anyway, my cousin Dennis wanted to go to San Francisco that week instead. Apparently there was some exhibit at one of the art museums there that he just had to see." He explained.
Jack sighed and unwrapped his food. Not that he would admit it to Terri, but dinner on The Strip sounded a thousand times more appealing than this sorry excuse of a sandwich, one slice of deli meat and one slice of cheese on white bread…
"He would not shut up about it. I mean, all summer he was talking about needing to go to this exhibit before it moved to D.C.. He's one of those pretentious artsy types. Always has been. Even when we were kids. Don't know where he got it from."
"What does this have to do with bad luck?" Jack asked.
"Well, let me tell ya'." Larry took this in stride. "We decided to vote on it. You know, like a democracy. And he was outnumbered four to one, because let's face it, who would want to go to a museum when you could go to Vegas instead."
"Janet, you're going to turn right at the next intersection." Terri, thankfully, was keeping her eye on the map.
"Dennis threw this big fit. The whole ride there he made sure we knew how much he'd rather be in San Francisco. When we got to Vegas he'd drag his feet and complain every chance he got about how he was never going to see that exhibit." He took a drink from his soda. "That's when all the bad stuff started happening." He stated.
This did not spark the interest he was expecting so he resumed his tale of apparent misfortune.
"First of all, me and my other cousin, Sandra, got food poisoning and were stuck up in the hotel for three days." He said like he still couldn't believe his luck 20 years later. "Then when it was finally out of our systems, Aunt Lois made Dennis take me and Sandra to go shopping while she and Ma stayed back and sunbathed on the balcony off our room. The only thing was that the door to the balcony got jammed and they were stuck outside for hours. They got arrested when they climbed over the balcony of the next room over to get indoors." He shook his head. "Worst part though was when someone stole the battery and three tires from Aunt Lois' car because Dennis couldn't bother parking it in a decent part of town away from the hotel."
The car hummed along the empty road while his friends considered this.
"...And you think all of that happened because Dennis wanted to go to San Francisco?" Jack finally asked, certainly not moved to change his mood.
"Not think, Jacko, know." Larry clarified. "Ma got so sunburned she had to cancel her tattoo appointment. She and Aunt Lois had to use their winnings to pay for bus tickets all the way back home. This is an even longer trip by bus just so you know."
"They must not have won that much then." Terri noted.
"Actually they had a decent amount, but bailing them out of jail used up most of it. And bus tickets were cheaper than getting new tires and a car battery."
Janet, ever the sensible level-headed one, said, "I don't know, that just sounds like an unfortunate weekend."
"Sure, just based on one story you might say that. But just know that every time we went to Vegas before that and every time I've gone after, this theory has proven to be true. I go with people who respect Las Vegas and we have a great time. Always ends in disaster when they're mad about being there. I went with this girl about 10 years after the Dennis thing. Whole time she was mad at me 'cause I lost our tickets to the Bowie concert we were supposed to go to that weekend instead."
"I don't blame her." Jack said.
"Ended up stranded out in the desert for a night." Larry shuddered at the memory.
"I don't know. That all sounds like a stretch." Terri added, rounding out the trio of naysayers to Larry's superstitious warning.
"Hey." He said cautiously. "Believe what you want. But I'm speaking from experience. My advice is to start acting like you want to be there or we're all going to suffer the consequences."