She then opens up her curtain, revealing herself to her family.
"Oh, hello, there, Maya!", Mrs. Schoppenboer said when she noticed her. "You slept a whole lot tonight!"
"I did?", Maya asked.
"Yeah, it's close to noon right now.", Mrs. Schoppenboer said. "Did you take too long to fall asleep or something?"
"Uhm, yeah, I did."
"I see... Anyway, I suggest waiting until lunch to get something to eat, or else you're not gonna be hungry enough for a good meal. Is that ok?"
"Sure thing, mom!"
Maya then went down, washed her face, grabbed a can of energy drink and went back to her bed. She began texting her friends when, suddenly, she noticed some tugging on her curtain. She opened it up to see who it was. It was Coco.
"Hey, Maya!", Coco said.
"Oh, hey, Coco.", Maya replied.
"I'm sorry if I'm being too invasive right now, but, right before you woke up, I heard some shaking noises coming from your bed. Is everything ok there?"
"Fuck! She noticed it!", Maya thought. "What do I say now? Please, think, Maya, think!"
"Maya?", Coco asked, noticing that Maya was taking too long to respond.
"I, uhm, oh, had an itch!", Maya quickly uttered.
"An itch?"
"Yeah, a very bad one at that."
"Oh no! What could be causing that?"
"I don't know, a mosquito probably entered the RV while we were sleeping or something?"
"Oh, that must be it! Well, mom and dad brought some repellent with us, so, if you want to, you can come down and put some on yourself."
"Oh, thanks."
"You're welcome, Maya!"
Coco then went back down, and, as soon as Maya was about to close her curtain, Mymy's head popped out of her bed.
"Psst, Maya!", Mymy whispered. "Can I get over there real quick?"
"Uhm, sure?", Maya replied.
Mymy then climbed up and closed the curtain.
"That wasn't an itch, was it?", She asked.
"Nope, it was me having another withdrawal.", Maya replied.
"A withdrawal?", Mymy replied, slightly concerned. "Did you at least bring some more booze with yourself? Neither of us can risk being caught, you know?"
"I did, actually, and I even got some from the mall yesterday!"
"Wait, really? How?"
"I shoplifted."
"Oh... what did you get?"
Maya then got her backpack and opened it up, first showing the bottles of Buckfast.
"Isn't that the stuff with caffeine that Scottish people like to drink?", Mymy asked.
"Yeah!", Maya replied. "I really like the energy it gives me!"
"Huh... I should probably make some caffeinated alcohol for you when we get back home then!"
Maya then got her vodka bottle out, and then one of her cans of beer.
"Belgian beer, really?", Mymy asked when she noticed the beer's brand.
"Yeah, what about it?", Maya asked back. "We were in Belgium."
"Yeah, but you could've had the decency to at least get some Amstel or Heineken instead of... this!"
"Blah, blah, blah, make some of your own beer if you're so worried about that then!"
"Whatever, at least you have some spare alcohol with you. Just adjust your drinking times so you don't wake up shaking again, alright?"
"Alright."
Mymy then went back down and began texting Vera.
"Hey, teacher!", Mymy said. "Maya shoplifted alcohol yesterday."
"And?", Vera replied.
"I'm not being able to capitalize off her drinking!"
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"
"I know you can't do anything, but I still need some advice or something!"
"I don't know, shoplift some booze and then sell it to her?"
"Good idea! Thanks, teacher!"
"Whatever, just stop wasting my time now."
"Ok, teacher, I'm sorry. Bye!"
Right after this, Maya receives a call. It's Cato. She picks it up.
"Hello?", Maya says.
"Hey, it's me, Cato!", Cato replies.
"Oh, hey, Cato, what's up? How's your trip going?"
"It's going amazingly, Maya! We visited a whole bunch of cool spots here in Egypt and I took some amazing pictures along the way! You should definitely see them!"
"Thanks, Cato, I'd love to see them!"
"No problem! Ah, and by the way, I'll be going to Alexandria for a couple of days, and, after that, I'll get to Barcelona for a quick visit."
"Wait, you're going to Barcelona too?!"
"Yeah! Are you going there too? Depending on when you go there, I think we can hang out there together!"
"Hold on, let me ask my mom...", Maya then opened her curtain. "Mom?"
"Yes, Maya?", Mrs. Schoppenboer responded.
"Are we going to Barcelona at some point of the trip? And if so, when will we get there?"
"Yeah, we'll go there after we visit Paris and Montpeiller, so it'll probably take at least 3 or 4 days before we get to Barcelona. Why do you ask?"
"My friend Cato's gonna be there too in a couple of days."
"Cool! You two should hang out when we get there then!"
"Yeah, mom, thanks!", Maya then gets back on the phone. "Yup, we're gonna be there too in around 3-4 days!"
"Hey, I think that's around the time I'll be there too!"
"Nice! Tell me when you get there so we can hang out over there."
"Will do! Anyway, how is your trip going?"
"It's going great! It's pretty relaxing, I got a whole bunch of food back in Belgium, and the French countryside is beautiful!"
"That's great! Anyway, gotta go now. Bye!"
"Bye!"
Cato then hung up. Mymy, who was overhearing everything, popped her head out of her bed and tugged on Maya's curtain.
"Psst, Maya?", Mymy said.
"Oh, hey, Mymy!", Maya replied after opening her curtain.
"You and Cato are gonna meet up?"
"Yup!"
"Can I join you two? I kinda miss her already."
"Oh, sure thing! You two are best friends after all!"
"Thanks!"
The two then spent some more time in their rooms, Maya checking out the pictures that Cato sent her. Many of them featured the pyramids and the Sphinx.
"Nice pics!", Maya texted Cato. "We should snap some together when we get to Barcelona!"
"We definitely should!", Cato replied.
Soon, however...
"Kids!", Mrs. Schoppenboer said. "It's lunchtime!"
Everyone then went to have lunch. Today was veggie burger day, and it was absolutely delicious.
"Hey, kids!", Mrs. Schoppenboer began. "Me and dad have a plan for today."
"What is it, mom?", Coco asked.
"A bit down the road there's a spot from which you can see Britain even without a telescope, and we're thinking of visiting it."
"Wait, really?", Coco asked.
"Yes, really, Coco! I think you girls will love it!"
After lunch, the RV took off, and, shortly later, they arrived at Cap Gris-Nez, parked and went over to the very edge of the cape and began to observe. As the day was clear, they could see the coast of England. Maya, reminding herself of her online British friends, took a picture of the coast and sent it to Neil, her online Scottish friend. Her caption read:
"I see your country from here lol."
Immediately later, he replied.
"Based."
Maya then replied:
"Btw, I've been drinking some Buckfast recently. I now get why you guys love it so much!"
"Wait, they sell it outside of Britain?", Neil asked.
"Apparently!", Maya replied. "I found it in a store in Belgium, and made sure to get it!"
"Aren't you 17 tho?"
"I shoplifted it."
"Oh. Make sure to not beat someone to death while on it tho lmao."
After taking more pictures, everyone went back to the RV and took off. Four hours later, they stopped at a parking lot in Paris and slept the night away there.