As the bullet train barreled down the track, Tech found himself staring out the window, admiring the scenery of the outer rim as they finally left the bustling cityscape of Acmetropolis. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ralph fast asleep in his seat. Rev was busy listening to music on his MP3 player while staring out the window. He had an almost resigned look on his face, sort of like he was trying to mentally be anywhere but where he was.
Tech reached over to Rev and gently tapped him on the shoulder, making the young roadrunner jump as he caught his attention. "Oh, Tech," Rev sighed, "Is something wrong?" "You tell me," Tech said softly, "You've been staring off into space ever since we left the station." Rev turned to see his father fast asleep and beaconed Tech closer. "If I'm being honest, Tech," Rev whispered, "I'm not exactly looking forward to going home. I mean… I left for a reason."
"I figured as much," Tech nodded, "You didn't seem thrilled going off to visit your folks the last time. I guessed there'd have to be a reason. But it's not going to be forever, you know. Just long enough for you to get back on your feet." "Yeah, but… how long is that going to be?" Rev asked sadly. As Tech opened his mouth to speak, he heard a voice calling out from down the hall. "Snacks, coffee, confections!" Tech stood up and looked out to see a young human man pushing a food cart down the hall.
"Over here," Tech called, waving the cart down. The cart manager's eyes widened slightly as he approached and slowly came to a stop. "What kind of snacks do you carry?" Tech asked. "Nothing for your kind," the pusher snorted. "Hey, his money is as green as anybody else's," Rev snapped, "And he's not the only one in this booth that could use a snack."
"Didn't you eat before you left your place, Tech?" Tech and Rev turned to see Ralph looking up at them through tired eyes. "Of course I did, but that was," Tech paused and looked down at his watch, his eyes widening at seeing the time was now 8:30 am, "A while ago. Besides, I'm not looking for a meal. I just something to tide me over until we reach the halfway point and we can stop for some lunch."
Tech turned and scanned the snack cart for anything that looked appealing, eventually landing on what looked like a strip of beef jerky, only to quickly realize it was something else. "Hey, Omaha deer jerky!" Tech picked up the package and smiled, licking his lips and said, "I haven't had this since I was a kid. How much?"
"Uh, the half-strips are five dollars apiece," the man droned, "We have longer strips that go for $15 each." Tech reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, flitting through the cash and pulled out a $20, "I'll take this and one of the longer strips." The cart pusher nodded and grabbed a long stick of deer jerky, handing it to Tech and taking his $20. Rev grabbed his wallet and pulled out a ten saying, "I'll take two of the half-strips."
"Rev, we don't eat deer meat," Ralph said disapprovingly. "It's my money," Rev said with a shrug, "I can do with it what I please." Rev took his deer jerky and was about to hand the man his cash before pausing and said, "Do you have anything to drink? I desperately need a drink, even if it's just water."
"Yeah, we have water bottles," the man nodded, "The standard sized water bottles are a buck." Rev nodded, reaching back into his wallet and pulling out a five saying, "I'll need three, please." After the cart pusher handed Rev his items, Rev handed one of the bottles to Tech and tossed the third to his dad, giggling as Ralph jumped when the bottle landed next to him on his seat. "You going to order anything, pops?" the pusher asked with a snort.
"It's a long way to the break station, Pa," Rev said as Tech walked back to his seat, "You probably should get a little something-something to tide you over. Especially since you didn't really have much to eat for breakfast." "I'll live." Ralph waived, "Thanks for the water, though." Rev gave a shrug and walked back to his seat as the cart manager went back to pushing his way down the hall.
Ralph watched as Tech unwrapped the half-strip of deer jerky and took a deep breath, savoring the aroma of the meat before taking a small bite, humming contently as he chewed. Ralph turned as he heard the crinkling of plastic next to him, seeing Rev unwrapping one of the half-strips he purchased and taking a few quick sniffs. Rev shivered and shook his head, saying, "Whoa, that's strong! Smells kind of gamey, too."
"Mm-hmm," Tech hummed as he swallowed his food, "Deer is a game animal, Rev. Of course it's going to smell gamey. Don't let the smell fool you, though," Tech paused and took another bite, "It tastes delicious." "Says you," Ralph groaned, "Of course you'd think it tastes delicious. You're a coyote, a carnivore."
"Roadrunners aren't exactly vegans, Pop." Rev defended. "Let me put it this way," Tech said, "Take one bite, and if you don't like it, I'll eat it and buy you something else. I think I saw some cookie wafers and I know how much you love those."
"If you had that much cash on hand, why couldn't you pay your own way?" Ralph asked coldly. "I never said I couldn't," Tech snapped, "But $30 is a lot of cash for a single ticket; it's almost half of what I had before I bought this stuff. I only brought this money because I wanted to have something to buy food with; I didn't think you'd flake on the tickets."
"Pa, it's fine," Rev said trying to calm everyone down, "Tech can always reimburse me for the ticket later if he feels he has to. For now, can we all please just relax and enjoy the ride?" Ralph sighed heavily as Tech nodded and took another bite of jerky. Rev sighed and took a quick sip of water before taking a small bite of his jerky, letting out a high-pitched hum that caught the others' attention. "Rev, are you alright?" Ralph asked.
"This is good," Rev hummed, "It tastes kind of like beef jerky, but kind of not… it's got an aftertaste that reminds me of grass and mulch. Not exactly what I'd call delicious… but still very good." Rev broke off a tiny piece and held it out to Ralph, "Here, Pa, try some." Ralph flinched and waved his hands wildly saying, "T-that's okay, Rev. I'll pass." Rev and Tech exchanged an annoyed look, rolling their eyes before simultaneously taking another bite of their jerky sticks, trying not to giggle as they hummed with satisfaction.