Chapter Five: It's a long way, to Tipperary, I mean, California!
"What's that song, about um, that place and it was a long way to go, it's a long way, da da da da da, to the sweetest girl I know, that one?" asks Venice from the middle seat of the car.
"Tipperary," replies Icing. "It's a long way to Tipperary."
"It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go, it's a long way to California, to the sweetest girl I know, goodbye Dallas inter-state, farewell El Paso, it's a long long way to California, but, um, El Paso doesn't rhyme with 'there' does it? Farewell El Paso, it's a long long way to California, but to California, we'll go! Ta daaa!"
"Charming," says Barkley from the passenger seat.
"Did we bring the portable DVD player?"
"Yeah, it's under the, um, under, it's on the back seat somewhere," says Icing glancing in the car mirror. Venice scrabbles around for a while, and finds it, pulling wires from all over the car. She hands Icing the adaptor to plug into the cigarette lighter.
"What shall I watch?" she asks. "What did we bring? The Others, seen it, Austin Powers, nah, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, whyever did we buy that? Ah ha! Return of the King." And Venice was silent, through Lordsburg, Tucson, Yuma, and then the state line.
"California!" Venice jumped out of the middle seat and into the sunshine, spreading her arms wide and twirling about. "Two days and we're here!" Levi and Harley quickly followed her, leaving Barkley and Phoenix to lock up the cars as they ran into the state line buildings.
"Girls, don't spend too long, we've still got over a hundred miles left before we reach LA," calls Barkley.
After sprucing themselves up in the bathroom, the girls got back into the cars.
"Icing, I'm coming with you," calls Levi across the parking lot.
"Alright," shouts back Icing. "Barkley, Levi's coming with us!"
"Ok."
"I'll stay with Phoenix then," says Harley slamming the car door shut. Levi knocks on the window of Harley's door. She winds the window down.
"Barkley says take this, in case we get seperated once we leave the highway. This is where we're staying, little town just outside Los Angeles, and this is the junction where we come off the highway," explains Levi pointing at the map then handing it to Harley. "I just wanna get some stuff out of the back of the car." She clambers into the car, gathering her travelling things.
"I think Levi's going with Phoenix and Harley," says Venice in the other car. Barkley starts the engine.
"Alright then, lets roll."
About twenty miles down the highway, Icing stares out of the back window. She pokes, Venice, who's sitting in the passenger seat.
"I can't see the others anywhere," she says, and Venice turns to look herself.
"Barkley, we've lost Phoenix," she says to her brother. He glances quickly in the mirror.
"Alright, we'll keep going, we can't really stop on the highway and then they'll either go past us or they'll have taken a wrong turn out of the last service station and be a while behind. We'll keep going to the hotel, and check in and wait for them there," says Barkley.
"Sure. Venice, where did you put the DVD player?" asks Icing, throwing stuff about in the back.
"It's on the floor," replies Venice.
"Well isn't that a great place to put a delicate and valuble thing," says Icing with sarcasm. She looks around on the floor and pulls the player up, handing Venice the adaptor, it's plugged in.
"Barkley," says Venice, a further twenty miles down the highway. "I need the bathroom."
"What?" asks Barkley. "You don't go back at the state line when you spent twenty minutes in there?"
"No, I had to make myself look beautiful," says Venice. Sighing, Barkley looks for the nearest service station.
"Alright, we're about five minutes away and then we'll stop."
In five minutes, Barkley pulls into the service station and Venice hops out of the car quickly. Icing, pulling the earphones from her ears looks about the parking lot.
"Barkley, Phoenix is here!" she exclaims, opening the door. The other car is parked about fifty yards away and Icing runs towards it. Back with Barkley she tells him that no ones in the car.
"They must all be inside," she says. Barkley puts his hand in his pocket and brings out a handful of change, and he and Icing go into the shop to get candy and water. Phoenix is paying at the checkout, and Harley is browsing the candy aisle.
"Hey Phe," says Barkley as he takes a twelve pack of water and chocolate bars to the checkout. "Thought you'd taken a wrong turn out of the service station." Phoenix hands the checkout girl some coins.
"Yeah, got here before you though," he says. "It's been really quiet without Levi."
"Without Levi?" asks Barkley.
"Yeah, she's really noisy whenever she's with us, she hasn't been a nuisance has she? She gets on my nerves when I'm driving."
"Levi isn't with us," Barkley stops and says.
"What? We thought she was with you, she came back to us and then went back to you, you haven't got her?"
"No, she never came back to us," sasy Barkley.
"Then she must be back at that state line."