Chapter 4: Triplicate Girl vs the RV
Triplicate Girl has never seen an RV before. She imagines it to be much like a mini replica of a 20th century house, constructed from fibreglass and chipboard, just like the buildings in the historic model village she visited once as a child. She can see it now, the interior done in tastefully retro pastel colours, fitted out with all the modern comforts of home-jet powered showers; plasma TV screens and computers; probably even autopilot so you don't have to actually drive the thing (she can't see how one would manoeuvre an entire home around a corner anyway).
Just imagine this construction rolling gently along a road, the curtains flapping delicately at a half open window. Or maybe even genuine Venetian blinds! Triplicate Girl wonders what colour these blinds will be, rolling through the colour palette in her mind's eye from clear blossom honey to a sensual chocolate brown. She will sit near the front of this TV, and hopefully Bouncing Boy will come and sit next to her. They will marvel at the passing scenery, feel the breeze caress their cheeks, perhaps share a secret smile. Then Bouncing Boy will probably ruin the moment by producing a bag of stale chips from under the seat.
The stark reality of the RV comes as an undesirable shock to Triplicate Girl. It is the size, shape and texture of a cargo container, rather like an oblong tin can, with the head of a lorry and the tail of… err… well it's got a ladder on the back for some extraordinary reason. The only entrance it has is the one side door, so in the event of an emergency you are well and truly stuffed, and underneath that is a metal step that requires a considerable amount of fiddling about with before it can be persuaded to slide in or out.
As Triplicate Girl enters the RV, she finds to her left a rather small fridge which has a seemingly pointless square of metal nailed to the side, looking like it's trying to imitate a trivet. To her right is a low backed scratchy seating area complete with rickety table and two oversized seatbelts. Opposite this is a three-seater leather cream-coloured sofa (also offering only two seatbelts) which she finds inordinately distasteful. Facing the fridge there sits a microwave, oven and sink, which looks an awful lot like manual labour. She opens one of the cupboards underneath the sink, only to be confronted by a wooden board with a sticker on it saying: THIS IS NOT A STORAGE COMPARTMENT. Hmm, useful.
Walking past the kitchen area she comes across the tiny bathroom, equipped with a toilet and a miniature shower that she can envisage quickly becoming an extra storage compartment. Then, at the very back, there is a double bed, which is the first sign of a bedroom (though it is to be noted that there is another twin bed above the drivers' seats). It is covered with a disgusting nylon bed spread, the colour of stale urine.
Or perhaps it is meant to be rays of sunshine, Triplicate Girl thinks, stumbling out into the fresh air. She sighs and looks back at the RV pityingly. It possesses a charming little hooded face-that is probably its best feature. Anyway, she wants to like it and she's going to enjoy this trip, even if it requires the usage of amphetamines.
Heh, it was fun to write this chapter, that's what our RV looked like. Please review!
Love Jay :D