Chapter 10:

First Human Lesson

The past couple of days on the road had been devastating in terms of hype, to say the least. The Plantar kids all expected that Hop Pop's Rules of the Road would put a damper on their enjoyment. They never realized until now just how worse and soul-sapping it could get as time went by.

It always seemed like, every time they passed by an area, establishment or an activity that seemed fun and interesting, well worth stopping to check out, there was always a rule that prevented them from experiencing it and they continued to travel non-stop. And each rule ranged from somewhat reasonable to utterly ridiculous.

They encountered a beautiful rainbow waterfall? Rule number 243: 'All natural phenomena lead to an unnatural death.'

They passed by a zone called Zoom Dunes, where people can ride their snails at fast speed across dunes, with no speed limit? Rule number 149: 'Never drive faster than a june bug can fly.'

They came across a restaurant called 'Amphibia's Best Diner!' where they also sell crickets-and-cream ice cream? Rule number 193: 'Don't stop anywhere claiming to be the best.' and rule number 194: 'No ice cream in the fwagon.'

And Hop Pop was adamant in following the rules because they were logically sound. Despite the fact that the logic came from Hop Pop himself, so it was more bias than anything.

Inside of the fwagon, Sprig was at the dining table, his upper body sprawling across the surface as he helplessly watched every single exciting location passed by through the window.

Anne was resting on the sofa, looking up her smartphone which, much to her dismay, was the most interesting thing to look at for much of their uneventful trip.

Polly was in her bucket, sleeping with a mask on, since she decided that her dreams would be much more fun to experience than anything that the trip had to offer with all those rules set in place.

Suddenly, the orange-haired boy slammed both of his fists on the table, as he raised his body up with his back straight. "Aaargh! This really frogging sucks! All of these once-in-a-lifetime experiences are literally passing us by!"

"I know, right?" Anne agreed. "There's only so much my phone can do to keep me busy before it gets boring way before we get to Newtopia. And this is gonna be the first time that this ever happens!"

"Can you two be quiet…?" asked the drowsy Polly, as she moved around slightly in her bucket to try to get back to sleep. "You just dragged me out of my fun dream where I went to the past to go to the future with a weird animal with bulky arms coming out of his two mouths that I called Aoshima who shoots rainbow beams from the mouths of his hands…"

Sprig and Anne both looked bewilderedly at the purple tadpole, weirded out by the description of her strange dream.

"… You know what? If I get bored looking at my phone, I'll follow Polly's example." Anne said.

"Same here." Sprig concurred. "But still… Dang it!" He slammed his face against the table surface, as he let out a disheartened groan. "This trip is an absolute nightmare… I don't believe this…"

The brown-haired human looked over at her best friend and felt bad for him. The trip to Newtopia must have been the very first time that he and Polly had ever gone on a trip before, considering their excitement. Now, because of Hop Pop's ridiculous rules, their first experience had been tainted with boredom, and if this continues, Sprig and Polly would never want to go on a trip ever again.

Anne tried to think of a way to make the trip worthwhile for the Plantar siblings, distract them just enough until they reached Newtopia, but her options were limited. What could she do to keep Sprig, Polly and herself busy for two weeks until they get to their destination? Perhaps she should start with something small and go up from there.

Then, she remembered her offer to Sprig the other day. She promised him that she would teach him a bit about the human world, to help him get used to his human form and stop worrying about his predicament until they found a solution.

She got up from the sofa, walked over to the table and sat next to her friend who was too preoccupied with his torment of boredom. "Hey, Sprig. Remember what I told you the other day? About me teaching you stuff?"

"Hm?" He turned his head towards Anne. At first, he did not know what she was talking about, but after a bit of searching in his mind, he immediately sat up straight, becoming more interested. "Oh! You mean the whole 'teaching me how to be human' thing?"

"Yep." Anne nodded. "I think it's a good time as any for us to do this thing, right?"

"Well, we got nothing better to do at the moment, so sounds like a good idea, Anne!"

"Cool." Anne smiled. "Although, granted, I haven't really come up with a good subject to talk about yet. I was hoping to do that when we stop by a couple of places, but you know well as I do that that's not an option. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess."

"It's okay, Anne." Sprig reassured her. "I can wait until you find something. We have all the time in the world, for better or worse."

"Okay then."

The Thai-American girl began to ponder on what kind of subject that she could talk about to her friend. Her first thought was her experiences back on Earth, but which one? It had to be a story with a good message to reflect upon, and that it showed some of the things that humans could do that differ from what frogs could do.

Then, she thought about her passing comment related to the trip from a couple of days ago.

"Remember when I mentioned how my dad drove us to the Grand Canyon and didn't stop at all?" she asked.

"Yeah? What about it?" Sprig said.

"Well, there's more to it than just that. Let me tell you all about it…"

I was 5 years old when my family and I went on a trip to go visit some friends in Colorado, in the middle of nowhere. The reason why we were on that trip in the first place, as far as I know, was because my parents' friends had some pretty nifty antiques that they want to give us that could be worth giving to the Thai community, and they weren't willing to ship them to us. Try and make sense out of that.

I was pretty excited about that trip, because that meant that we get to see all those amazing touristic spots on our way there. It was also my first time going on a trip, period.

But I found out later down the road that my dad wasn't planning on stopping at anything that's not a gas station. So we ended up driving past all those spots that I was dying to see for myself. And it was the same thing when we were driving back home.

But then, on our way back home, I saw a sign saying that we're almost at the Grand Canyon, and I was jumping in my seat with excitement! I can't believe that this is happening!

On Earth, the Grand Canyon was one of the many famous touristic locations in the world. If you want me to give you an idea on what it is, try and think of a big, awesome-looking mountain that you can imagine, split it apart in a few places just enough that a single river can flow through, give it a bit of a shine on the walls, and there you go! That's the Grand Canyon to you!

When I first heard about it, I was stoked. A canyon where you can climb up to the top and see everything from far away and experience the coolest looking scenery that you'll ever see in your whole life? That sounds like a blast! And it's literally right in front of us! I'm about to experience the famous place in the States for the first time!

But silly 5-year-old me. I should have known that my dad would never stop at the Grand Canyon either. And that was the last straw for me.

I remembered that I was sitting on the back seat, watching the Grand Canyon through the back window, as it became smaller and smaller as we drove farther and farther away from the cool-looking mountains. I was really sad that we never stopped even once to check out what might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"Anne, please sit back down." My dad told me, looking at me through the rearview mirror. "It's dangerous for you to be standing on your knees like this."

"Dad," I said as I turned my head around, looking at my dad sadly. "Why couldn't we stop at the Grand Canyon?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm afraid we can't afford to stop." My dad replied. "Your mom and I closed the restaurant for the weekend, and we need to get back just in time to reopen it, as expected."

"But it's boring!" I complained. "We never stop at anywhere fun! What's the point of driving so far away just for some dumb old statues?"

"It's not just any statue. It's full of history related to our culture, Anne. It's worth getting for the community, don't you think?"

"But you never liked history! You like playing video games!"

"Uh… Ahaha… That's true." My dad sheepishly admitted. "But your mom likes the history of our culture. She's the one who said that those statues are interesting in the first place."

"I did say that." My mom said, sitting on the passenger seat next to my dad. "But it is your idea that we should drive for 12 hours to Colorado, and then back."

"Well, you know me. I always want to please you when the opportunity presents itself." Dad said, looking at mom with love in his eyes.

I turned away and pretended to gag at the sight of my parents being all lovey-dovey with each other, a normal reaction for a little kid too young to understand love.

"You are so sweet, thi rak (my dear)." Mom seemed to appreciate the gesture, but I could feel that she was disappointed for me. "But you must think about our daughter as well. It is her first trip, and she is unhappy. We can afford to have the restaurant closed for an extra day."

"Hmm… I'm sorry, but I worry too much about the restaurant. Especially since we are always too close to comfort to pay the rent each month."

"You always worry, yet we always manage to get through. Would I agree to us going on this trip if it was not the case?"

"Well, no. But that is besides the point. We are going home before the end of the day, and that's that."

Mom sighed. "Oh Bee…"

The car stuttered a bit before it went back to normal.

"Bee, this is the tenth time during this trip that the car acts like this." Mom said worryingly. "Did you get it checked before we left?"

"Well, uh, no." Dad replied. "But it's good! The car behaves like this every once in a while, and it still works fine! Trust me on this, Oum!"

"I have some doubts about this…"

It looked like my dad wasn't budging from his stance about this trip, so no amount of complaining that I do would even put a dent on it. I sat back down on my seat and looked out through the side window. My arms were crossed and I was on the verge of tears, knowing that I'll never get to experience all the cool stuff that we came across.

Some time later, I dunno how long, I eventually saw a huge sign that says that a restaurant called 'The Grand Canyon Deserts' is located at the next stop a few miles away from there. I got a bit excited, since there was another place related to the Grand Canyon in our way. But knowing my dad, he'll never stop at that place, just like with all the other touristic spots that we drove past.

Then, I had an idea. One that can guarantee that we'll stop at that restaurant.

"Dad! I have to pee!"

"Really? Right now?" Dad asked, surprised. "But we just went to the bathroom an hour ago."

"You know that she is still young, Bee." Mom reasoned. "You are not going to ignore Anne's needs just because we already went, are you?"

"Hm… You have a point. Okay. We will go to the next stop and you can go pee over there, Anne. But after that, no stopping until we get back."

"Thank you, dad!" I smiled widely. It worked! I actually convinced my dad to go to the next stop! I wasn't going to miss my chance in experiencing what the Grand Canyon has to offer! Putting aside the fact that it's just a regular old restaurant and that the name is false advertisement, but can you blame 5-year-old me?

So my parents and I stopped at 'The Grand Canyon Deserts.' It looked like one of those retro diners from the 50s, with a big fancy-looking sign to give it an impression that it's much more impressive than it actually is. Mom and I were the only ones going to that diner, while dad stayed behind.

When we went inside, the first thing that I did was look around the place in awe, knowing that I just stepped inside of a building with deep connections to the Grand Canyon. Like I said, though, it was just a regular diner, in hindsight.

I remembered that there were quite a few people inside. There were a couple of tourists, some family who were travelling the same way we do, some sad-looking people who were alone, and for some reason, a scary-looking biker gang sitting at the far corner of the diner. That last one was weird.

Anyways, I was able to go to the bathroom (And before you ask, I really did feel the need to pee before the idea of stopping at the diner came to mind), but not before we had to order something before we could even use it.

Mom wasn't sure what to pick, so I just stepped in and ordered one item on the menu that had the name 'Grand Canyon' on it (If you're wondering what it is, it's a huge plate of cut, roasted pork with sunny side up eggs and fries with honey drizzled on them. Oh wait, you might not know what I'm talking about. What's the equivalent of a pork in Amphibia? Uh… It's like a slice of roasted grubhog? With cooked spider eggs and some potatoes on the side, dipped in… fish chum? Urgh, I think I grossed myself out.)

After my trip to the bathroom, while we were waiting for our order to come, I had the brilliant idea of asking everyone in the diner about the Grand Canyon, oblivious to the fact that I might've been a bother.

What's it like, being on top of the Grand Canyon? How pretty is it? Do the walls feel smooth? Can we walk inside of the walls? Can you create a human-shaped hole on the ground if we jump off from the canyon, just like with that coyote from that cartoon?

Mom had to apologize for me barging in on them out of nowhere and asking them questions. Especially the last one.

After I was a bit satisfied with the diner, thanks in no small part to the Grand Canyon special, mom and I went back to the car where dad was waiting for us. We both got back to our usual seats.

"You two sure took your time." Dad remarked. "Was there a big line up to the bathroom?"

"No, no. We had to order food and eat at the diner to be allowed to use the bathroom." Mom explained. "You can thank Anne for taking up so much time by talking to most of the customers in there."

"I learned a lot about the Grand Canyon!" I proudly said, smiling.

Dad laughed. "It sounds like you had a good time, Anne. Well, now that you're done, it's time for us to go home. No more wasting any more time."

Dad turned the ignition on to start up the car. The car stuttered as a result.

"Uh… Hold on. Let me try again." he said, turning the ignition on again.

The car stuttered like last time.

"Bee…" Mom spoke to him, worried.

"It's okay! Just a couple of false starts is all!" Dad tried to reassure us, laughing nervously. "Ok, the third time is the charm!" He turned on the ignition for the third time.

The car stuttered again and…

POW!

"Oh no!"

The huge sound nearly made us jump out of our seat. If the sound wasn't worrying enough, then the smoke coming out of the hood of the car definitely was.

My parents and I quickly got out of the car. My dad moved to the front and opened up the hood, where even more smoke came spewing right in his face, making him cough while he fanned it out and covered his mouth and nose.

Mom and I watched as dad was inspecting what was going on with the car. I saw that the expression on his face was becoming more and more distressed, like he just realized that he's in serious trouble.

"But… But the car was working just fine, a moment ago! It kept us going for several hours straight! How could it have waited until now to break down on us?!" Dad shouted, scratching his head anxiously.

"Thi rak, forgive me if I add more to your frustration," Mom apologized preemptively. "But I did tell you before to get the car checked every once in a while, especially during a long trip like this one."

"I-It's okay! Everything is going to be okay!" Dad tried to reassure all of us, especially himself, as he started working on the car engine, even if it looked like he had no idea where to look in there. "Let me try and fix the car! I promise that I'll get it done just in time for us to get back home!"

This is one of my dad's flaws, at least back when I was a little kid. Whenever my dad causes a huge stink, he'll always try to own up to it by fixing the problem on his own, and he's too stubborn and anxious to just take a minute and think, or even listen to other people's suggestions. Most of the time, it was my mom who has to bail him out when that happens.

My mom sighed, knowing that it was another one of those situations, and pulled out her cellphone. "I am going to call the nearest towing company. It will be faster this way." she said, dialling the number before putting her phone in her ear.

I looked back and forth between my mom and dad. Seeing each of them trying to solve our car problem in their own way, I wanted to pitch in as well.

"I'm gonna get help!" I yelled before I ran towards the diner, my first idea being to ask the people in there for help. By the time that I got inside, my mom cried out for me to come back, but I was too focused to even listen.

"Help! Help us!" I screamed on top of my child lungs. For the first few seconds, I was able to get everyone's attention. But immediately afterwards, they all went back to what they were doing before.

"Please! Mom and dad need help!" I screamed one more time, hoping that someone, anyone would answer my cry for help.

It sort of worked, because the really nice brunette waitress with a bob haircut came to me, bending down to meet me face to face. "Aw, what's the matter, hun? You say that you need help?" she asked me.

I quickly nodded and pointed at my parents and the car outside of the restaurant. "Our car broke! We can't leave! Can you help us?"

The waitress looked at where I was pointing and silently gasped. "Oh dear. That looks like trouble. Where do you live?"

"California!"

"Ooh, that's definitely some ways away. That's no good." The waitress remarked. "Give me a second, darling. I'll call for help right away."

"Hold it."

The waitress and I heard a tough-sounding voice from the opposite side of the restaurant. I looked over to the direction of the voice, trying to see who it belonged to from the people sitting far from where I was.

Then, someone stood up from the table. It was a large, tough-looking old man with grey hair tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a black leather vest with a crazy logo on the back, as well as a pair of ripped jeans. When he looked my way, I saw that he had a moustache and a stylized goatee and was wearing some shades.

I froze up because I recognized him as part of the scary-looking biker gang sitting at the far corner of the diner. The only people who I never asked about the Grand Canyon a while ago.

He started to walk towards me, causing the nice waitress to take severals steps back, probably because she was as scared of him as I was. Once he was standing right in front of me, that was when I found out just how big and towering the guy was compared to little me, which didn't help with calming my nerves at all.

The biker dude was staring down at me, like he was looking straight into my soul. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't say a thing. I couldn't move from where I was standing. I just froze up on the spot, helpless in the face of the guy who looked like he came straight out of a crime show.

"Anne!" I heard my mom's voice.

I quickly turned around just in time to see her enter the diner. I didn't hesitate to hug her legs as soon as she showed up. "Mommy!"

"Anne, please do not run off on your own!" Mom said, wrapping her arms around me. "I was scared that you might get hurt somehow!"

Mom kept hugging me for a few seconds, before she looked up and saw the scary-looking biker guy herself. She immediately stood up with her back straight, mostly likely because she got spooked like I did.

"O-oh! H-hello!" she stuttered. "C-can I help you, mister?"

The biker dude stared at my mom the same way that he stared at me, a moment ago. He then turned his head towards the car outside, where dad was still trying and failing to fix the engine by himself. Then, he changed his sight back to me. I could only look at the guy's face, scared out of my mind and unable to say a thing. He kept his eyes on me for a moment.

And I could have sworn that his eyes softened, behind his sunglasses.

"… Wade!" He shouted a name.

One of those gang members came running as a result. It was a pretty slim guy with spike mohawk hair dyed in green, wearing the same clothes as the big guy. Kinda looked off on him, to be honest.

"Yo! What's the hubbub, boss?" The guy named Wade asked, looking at both me and my mom. "Want me to take care of this lady and the kid?"

My mom instinctively pulled me in her arms, protecting me from whatever that guy was planning to do.

"No." The big boss said. "See that smoking car over there?" He motioned his head towards our car outside.

"Yeah?" Wade said.

"Get the tools from your bike and fix it for them." The boss ordered.

My mom and I were shocked by what he just said.

"Are you kidding me, boss?" The slim gang member sounded just as shock as we were. "You want me to fix the car of a couple of strangers?"

"Yes. Just do it already."

"No way! I ain't gonna waste my talents as a mechanic for some nobodies! What's in it for me, anyway?"

"How about we hit one of the most famous bars in Arizona later tonight? My treat."

"Oooh…! You're hitting me where I'm weak, boss!"

The Wade guy turned around with his back facing us and his arms crossing into one another. He was considering about the boss' offer, since his leg was bouncing in place in a way that helped him focus on a thing. After a bit of time passed up, he let out a shout and turned back towards us.

"Fine! I'll do it! It's the busted-looking car over there, right? Let me get my tools and get this over with!"

He then walked past us and got out of the diner.

Mom and I were still shocked. The big scary gang leader was actually offering to help us out. That really defeated everything I know about the kind of guy he was for my 5-year-old mind.

"I… I do not know what to say." My mom said, facing the boss. "Thank you, sir."

"Hm." The boss grunted. "Let's go check up on your car. I'll need to make sure that Wade isn't fooling around with it.

Mom slowly nodded.

The three of us all left the diner to go see my dad, who was still trying and failing to look into the car engine until we showed up. He had the same reaction as us when he first saw the biker gang leader, freezing up in place and stuttering. Mom barely managed to calm him down by explaining the whole deal with the guy, even though she wasn't sure about him herself.

Not long after, Wade showed up with a toolbox in hand. It took a bit of convincing from mom for my dad to step aside and let Wade take a look at the car engine himself.

"Oof. This car here looks like it hasn't gone through maintenance for a long time." he noted after barely a minute of looking into it. "Not sure if I'll get the job done, but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"A-are you really willing to fix it?" Dad nervously asked. "N-not that I find worrisome or anything…"

"Well, if it were up to me, I wouldn't bother wasting my time with you folks." Wade harshly said. "But I got orders from the boss here, so not much I can do about it."

After he opened up the toolbox and pulled out a couple of tools in his hand, Wade started to dig into the engine. My parents and I watched him work, still worried if the car's really gonna get fixed or if the guy was good on his word. At least, that was how I felt.

Meanwhile, I noticed that the boss was slowly making a full lap around the car, taking a look at it for himself. He did stopped for a moment behind it, presumably to check the license plate, before he finished his lap.

The boss then turned his head towards dad, startling him as a result.

"California, huh?" he said.

"Um, y-yes. We are from California, sir." Dad replied.

"You folks are a long way from home. What brings you here?"

"W-we, uh… We, um…" Dad stuttered before he cleared his throat to try to get a hold of himself in front of the gang leader. "We were visiting a friend in Colorado the other day. Now, we're on our way back home when our car broke down on us here."

"That so? Hm."

When the boss looked down at me, I got startled the same way as my dad. Just like back at the diner, it was like he saw staring deep into my soul, and I didn't know what to do.

Even though his shades made it hard to see, I was certain that his expression softened, juts like last time.

"… Cute little kid you got here." he spoke. "How old is she?"

"Anne? Um, she's five." Dad replied.

The big guy chuckled. Somehow, I could feel a hint of sadness in his voice. "Five, huh? Reminds me of my own kid…"

Dad looked confusion.

The gang leader turned around and stared at the road that stretched down as far as the eyes could see. "When I looked at your kid, she had the same pure and innocent look on her face as my own back then. Not to mention that her way of asking around in the diner inside was so full of energy and eagerness, it's almost scary just how similar your kid is to my Sandy. I haven't seen all of that in a long time."

He sighed, as he put his hands on his hips, with his head lowered towards the ground. "… Makes me wonder how she's doing after all these years…"

Mom and dad both shared a brief look at each other. I think they were as curious as I was about the gang leader's deal with his daughter.

"E-excuse me if I pry too much, sir." Mom cautiously said. "But about your daughter, you have not seen her in a long time?"

"No." he replied. "Not ever since she was in her mom's custody after our divorce."

I flinched from hearing the word 'divorce.' Even as a little kid, I knew what it meant. After all, I knew another person who had to experience that…

"I am sorry to hear about it, sir." Mom apologized sympathetically.

"You know it had nothing to do with you." The boss said, turning his head towards mom. "Besides, I was the one who got my family in this mess in the first place. All because I was exchanging their happiness for work."

He fully turned around to face us once more. "You know, you folks going on a roadtrip reminded me of a similar thing that my family and I went through. One day, we were travelling a long way from home for a family reunion. I didn't stop at any touristic spots, because I was focusing more on getting that family reunion over with, then returning home as soon as possible so I can go back to work. My daughter was complaining about how I was doing things during the trip, and even my wife had issues with it."

His situation sounded really familiar. Looking at my parents, they both had a look that suggested that his story sounded familiar to them too.

The leader looked at the canyons far away from where we were. "The Grand Canyon was the final straw. Me driving past there was when my relationship with my family became strained. It all escalated from there, up until the divorce. I couldn't believe that it took me until then to realize how much I screwed up."

He let out a sad sigh, as he took off his sunglasses to reveal his blue eyes. They looked really tired, so I assumed it was because he was growing old. Thinking about it now, I think it's also because he had years to think about what he had done.

"You know what's ironic? I prioritized work over my family because I wanted to secure my daughter's happiness, to make sure she becomes successful when she grows up. I was so hellbent on making sure of that that I lost sight of what really mattered. And to pour salt on the wound, I ended up losing my job not long after the divorce. So everything I did for my kid was all for nothing…"

I didn't understand a lot of his words, but I did get the feelings behind his story. It made me really sad, having to hear him go through all of that for his family, only to lose it all in the end. And I think his story had an even bigger impact on my dad, who looked like he was thinking really hard about it.

The boss chuckled. "Well, that's not something that I do often. Me telling my life story to a couple of nobodies." He turned his head towards us, as he scratched his nose with his finger. "Sorry that I talked your ears off."

"No, actually. I'm grateful that you told us." Dad said, no longer sounding nervous in front of the guy. "I can sort of relate to your story."

"That so? Hm." The boss had his hand down on my dad's shoulder, who flinched because of how hard he slammed his hand on him. "Take it from me, then. Just because you're working hard for your kid's future, doesn't mean that you can just ignore the present. No loving family should go through what I've gone through."

"I understand." Dad nodded. "Thank you."

We then heard the sound of the hood being closed, as we all turned our heads towards the slim gang member. He let out a sigh of relief and wiped his forehead with his arm, before he turned around to see us.

"Alright! I managed to fix up a bit of the engine." Wade said, putting away his tools back inside of the box. "Your car should last for another day or two. Just get it checked by a professional when you get back, unless you want a car that's good for scraps. Got it?"

"Thank you so much, mister." Mom thanked the slim dude. "Is there anything that we can do to repay for your service?"

"No need. The boss already got it covered with his offer." he said. "But if it weren't for him, I would've charged you folks a pretty penny."

"Um… How much, out of curiosity?" Dad asked.

"10 000 dollars, give or take."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, we're a biker gang, if it ain't obvious. We're not running a charity here. The gas, our bikes and our stomach ain't paying for themselves, you know."

There was a moment of silence between us. Then, dad let out a nervous laugh. "Hahaha! You're a funny man! You almost had us believe that you're the kind of people who would resort to extortion!" He turned his head towards the boss dude. "He is quite the comedian, right?"

The boss didn't say a thing.

"Anyway, we're done here, right?" Wade asked. "'Cause I'm really in the mood to drink 'til I drop at Arizona's finest bar! You're paying for the drinks, right, boss?"

"Sure thing." The big guy replied. "Go get the boys back in the diner and meet me at our bikes. We'll leave in no time."

"Woo! Let's do this thing!"

Wade quickly went back inside of the diner to get the other gang members.

"Well, that's my cue to leave." The boss said, putting his sunglasses back on. "Oh right. I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, you can call me Bee. My wife is called Oum, and our daughter is Anne." Dad replied. "And you are?"

"Name's Pete. A pleasure to meet you." The boss named Pete offered my dad a handshake, and dad gladly took it. "You folks go and enjoy the rest of your trip back home, you hear?"

"We will. Thank you, Pete."

"Thank you so much for all that you have done for us, Mr. Pete." My mom bowed her head to him in gratitude.

The big guy looked down at me. I wasn't as afraid as before, since I got to witness how nice of a guy he was after he helped us out. For the first time since we met, he smiled warmly at me and gently patted my head. "You have fun too, little Annie."

"T-thank you, mister!" I said my thanks.

And then, Pete left us alone.

After that, my parents and I simply drove away from the diner, our car somewhat fixed just enough for us to get back home safely, at least according to that Wade guy. We spent half an hour in complete silence, besides the sound of the car engine and the radio keeping us entertained.

I didn't know what my parents thought about the whole experience back there, but for me, I was glad that I got us to stop at the diner. Not only did I get to experience a tiny bit of what the Grand Canyon had to offer - Again, that was how 5-year-old me thought at the time - I managed to have us avoid the worst possible scenario of having the car break down in the middle of nowhere, and got some help from people that we didn't think would help us. I was proud of what I did, even though it was a complete accident.

But unfortunately, that was all it was. My dad was still going to drive us all the way back home without stopping at anything, like usual. Our stop at the diner was my last-ditch effort see what a touristic spot outside of our state had to offer. Now that we were done with it, all that was left was a non-stop drive back home.

At least, that was what I thought.

"Anne?" My dad suddenly called out to me, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, dad?"

"Do you remember that one place with the giant apple that we drove by yesterday?"

I nodded.

Dad then smiled. "What do you say that we take a visit this time?"

I let out a huge gasp of surprise. "Can we?!"

"Haha! Of course!"

I couldn't believe it! My dad, who just moments ago was so adamant in not stopping at anything, was actually offering to stop at one of the places that I wanted to see during this whole trip! I squeed out of joy and was bouncing up and down in my seat constantly, ignoring my dad's plea to keep myself still.

"What is with the change of heart, Bee?" My mom asked, smiling presumably because she was happy with my dad back-pedalling on his initial stance.

"Well, I have been thinking a lot about everything." Dad explained. "And I realized that you're right, Oum. What is the point of doing all of this if our daughter is unhappy? Especially for her first trip? I admit, I was being too strict this whole time…"

"I am happy for you, thi rak."

"Thank you, Oum. I'm also glad to know that I didn't miss my chance to please you with this one." Dad gave her a loving smile. Catching the sight of my parents being all lovey-dovey again got me to stop bouncing in my seat, and I pretended to gag like last time. "But if we are going to close the restaurant for an extra day, we'll need to work extra hard to recuperate the cost. The rent is still a problem…"

"I can think of one way for us to get what we need before the deadline."

"What's that?"

"You should cancel your preorder of that controller that you had your eyes on earlier this month."

Dad dramatically gasped. "Not my one-of-the-kind limited edition controller! I was looking forward to that!"

"If you want to stop worrying about the rent, sacrificing that controller that costs a fortune will be the way to go." Mom stated, as she crossed her arms.

"But…! But…!"

"No arguing with me, thi rak. You know in your heart that I am right, as always."

Dad whined. "Yes, my love…"

I giggled at my mom and dad's harmless bantering.

My parents and I then took our sweet time visiting all the places that we came across during our drive back home, which were also the places that I wanted to go since the start of our trip.

"… And that's the end of my little adventure involving the Grand Canyon." Anne concluded.

When she finished telling her story, she looked over to the smiling Sprig who was staring at her with wide eyes full of wonder, with his face resting on the palm of his hand while the elbow was on the table, keeping the hand up.

"So, got anything to say about it, dude?" she asked, her lips forming a smirk from how her friend looked.

That caused him to snap out of his trance, as he blinked his eyes twice and lightly shook his head. "Oh! Well, that was a really nice story you just told me, Anne." he said. "I'm really glad that your dad changed his mind about the whole 'not stopping at anything' business."

"Yeah. I'm glad too."

She gazed out through the window next to the dining table, as she reminisced about what she went through with her parents during their misadventures in Arizona.

"You know, it's funny. Up until I started talking about my story, I always thought that my dad was so stuck-up about a lot of stuff that he never tried to understand my feelings. I almost forgot that he's willing to change how he does things when it really matters, especially for my sake."

A sincerely sad smile appeared on her face, as her heart ached from remembering her father. "I wonder… if it's because it's been so long since I've seen my dad…"

"Anne…" Sprig grew concerned for his best friend.

When she noticed how the orange-haired boy looked at her, she quickly shook away the sadness in her smile and wiped off any trace of tears that might have formed in the corner of her eyes. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get a bit emotional for a second there."

"Hey, I don't mind." Sprig reassured her. "I mean, you've been stuck in Amphibia for three months. No one's gonna judge you for missing your family."

"Thanks, Sprig. Really appreciate it." Anne said, happy that her friend was very understanding of her situation.

"So… What's the lesson in your story, Anne?" he asked.

"Oh right! The lesson!" the brown-haired human exclaimed, having remembered the whole point of her telling her story to her friend. "Okay, so the deal with that is, uh… Well, it goes something like, um… Oh geez. This is a really bad time to not remember what the point of my story is…"

Anne switched her focus to trying to figure out the moral of her own story, tapping her head with her finger as a method of helping her get to the bottom of it.

However, her concentration got interrupted by Hop Pop opening the ceiling hatch from outside to loudly make an announcement.

"Red alert, kids! We're coming up on the Ruins of Despair!"

Just the name alone piqued the two humans' interest. They quickly went to the door, opened the top of it, and stuck their heads out to get a clear view of where they were. They both let out an astonished gasp.

Surrounding the road that they were travelling on were several mysterious stone forts that looked like they had been there for a very long time, as evident of the moss growing on some of the forts, as well as others looking like they were sunk into the ground that they were on. Every single one of them were strangely shaped like frogs, with two large domes serving as eyes, and the large gate acting as the mouth. There were even a pair of arms sculpted onto the structures.

"Whoa! What are those weird structures?" Anne asked.

"No one knows, Anne." Hop Pop replied from the bench on the roof. "They've been here long before any written history. Just a mystery better left unsolved, as far as I'm concerned."

"So, Hop Pop, any rules that you got about this one?" Sprig sarcastically asked.

"A few. But just looking at it should tell you all you need to know about how we should approach this."

The Plantar boy let out a frustrated groan, retreating his head back inside of the fwagon, along with Anne.

"I can't take it anymore!" he yelled, shaking his fists up towards the ceiling. "What's the point of traveling this far away from home without experiencing what the world has to offer?!"

"I'm with you, dude." Anne agreed. "No offence to Hop Pop, but his rules of the road can just kiss the bottom of my shoe. It's total nonsense!"

Sprig sighed in exasperation, as he sat back down at the table while he watched the mysterious forts passing by from the window. "Man! If only Hop Pop does what your dad did at the end of your story! He should know by now how bored out of our minds we are 'cause of his stupid rules!"

"Yeah, but my dad only changed his mind because we had to stop at the diner where we met those nice biker dudes who showed us what happens if he sticks to his guns. I don't see a single soul around these parts of the world."

"Still, though!" Sprig crossed his arms and put them down on the table before resting his chin on them. "Hop Pop needs to know how wrong he is! But I really don't know where to start from here! It's not like we can just come up to him and get him to stop the fwagon because we really… have to… go…"

Sprig trailed off and widened his eyes when he got an idea from what he had just said. He turned his head towards Anne to see that she was also looking at him with eyes widened from realization. It was safe to say that they both had the same idea.

"Hey, Anne," said the mischievous Sprig. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, you bet I do, Sprig." confirmed the conniving Anne. "Let's take a page out of my own book."

The two humans nodded to each other before they went up to the ceiling, opened the hatch and poked their heads through there.

"Hey, Hop Pop?" Sprig said.

"What is it, boy?" Hop Pop asked, turning his head around to look at the two humans.

"I, uh… I have to pee!"

"Pee?!" The elderly frog shouted in disbelief. "Right now?! But we just went on a bathroom break an hour ago!"

"Come on, Hop Pop!" Anne implored him. "You know that Sprig is still getting used to his human body. You're not gonna ignore his needs just because we already went, are you?"

"Hmm… Well, you have a point." Hop Pop conceded. "Whoa, Bessie!"

He pulled on the reins to bring Bessie and the entire fwagon to a halt.

"Alright, fine. Go and find a place to do your business, Sprig. And make it quick, understand?"

"Got it, Hop Pop!" Sprig said.

"I'll come along with him." Anne said. "You know, just to make sure that he knows what he's doing."

"If it makes things go faster, then go right on ahead."

"Got it! Thanks, Hop Pop!" Both Sprig and Anne expressed their gratitude to the elderly frog, before they proceeded to quickly exit the fwagon from the back door.

The two humans both laughed with each other as they ran across the road, their plan to have Hop Pop stop the fwagon in the middle of one of the most interesting and peculiar parts of Amphibia ended up working in their favour.

"Haha! I can't believe that we're finally doing this!" Sprig exclaimed. "Thanks, Anne! You taught me a really good lesson from your story!"

"Don't thank me just yet, buddy!" Anne said. "The best part is just around the corner!"

And so, Sprig and Anne began to explore the mysterious Ruins of Despair without the careful eye of their grandfather watching their every move, ignorant of the dangers that the ruins have in store for them.

End of Chapter