Ben sat in his room, packing up the last things he would need for the trip. He would be gone for three whole weeks, so obviously there was a lot he needed to bring. Of course, most of it was already packed, but there were a few final things to collect.
He quickly tied on his makeshift headband, which he had kept from the island and continued to wear most days. No matter how many times his mom bought him real headbands, it was the only one he'd wear. Once he was confident he had everything, he dragged it downstairs and placed his bags by the front door. His mom walked over with her own bags.
"Okay, do you have everything you need?" She asked.
"Yep." Ben unzipped his fanny pack, looking through it to make sure he had everything, then closed it up. "Remember, call me if you need anything, Ms. Fadoula and Yaz will be here soon."
"I know, mom. I'll be fine." Ever since Nublar she had treated him like a fragile flower, in reality he was much less fragile than before. Well, if you excluded his extreme fear of large birds.
It had been five months since him and the others had been rescued, and he couldn't exactly blame his mother for being anxious. But still, it could get kind of annoying sometimes.
"Bye Ben, I love you." She hugged him and he tensed up, going stiff as she kissed his forehead. "Love you too."
As his mom went out the door, he pulled out his hand sanitizer and rubbed it on his face.
Ben's mom was going to be out of Illinois for three weeks because of work, and since Yaz and her mom already had a road trip planned for the week, Ms. Fadoula had offered to pick up Ben and take him with them.
He had been a bit reluctant, insisting he'd be fine to stay home alone. But he had been shut down immediately, told there was no chance he'd be left alone for nearly a month. So, since he had no choice in the matter anyway, he would be picked up in about five minutes and taken away from the comfort and safety of his home.
After hearing his mom's car leave the driveway, he dragged all his things onto the front porch, listening carefully for any danger as he stood there. Ready for something to jump out. He also kept a constant watch on the sky, just in case.
He went tense as a van pulled into the driveway, he assumed it was Yaz and her mom, but what if he was wrong? He had to be ready to run. Luckily, it was Yaz who jumped out as the van came to a stop.
"Hey!" She called out. She still looked around the same as the last time he saw her, except maybe a little taller. She looked like she had gained weight as well, which was definitely a good thing.
"Hey, Fadoula." Ben smiled, a genuine smile. Seeing any member of the camp fam always eased his anxiety. He grabbed his bags and headed over, Yaz took them from him and tossed them into the back of the van. "We get the backseat, middle is being used for roadtrip supplies." Yaz explained, opening the van door and climbing over bags to get to the back of the van.
Ben took one last look at his house and followed Yaz into the van. He sat by the window, since no one wants the middle seat, and buckled up, Yaz did the same, then took out her phone.
Ms. Fadoula looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled at him, Ben gave her his own awkward smile.
"Hey Ben! How are you? It's been a while." Ms. Fadoula greeted him cheerily.
"I'm good, thanks." He lied, but when people ask that they rarely want to actually know.
"You know, when your mom messaged all of us about how she had a big work trip I was honestly excited, it was such perfect timing for you to join us! The drive was long, and me and Yaz are tired, but we'll stop at a hotel and spend the rest of the day there. Sound good?"
"Yep, thanks." Ben nodded. He felt guilty, they had driven ten hours straight just to pick him up, they could be enjoying their mother-daughter road trip together right now, but he was ruining it. He grabbed his phone from his pouch and opened it up, the lock-screen was Bumpy, obviously, and the home screen was a picture of him and the rest of the Camp Fam.
He went to messages, and tapped on Maes contact, looking through all the pictures and videos of Bumpy.
Ben was very grateful his mom had bought him a phone after the Jurassic World incident, and even more grateful that Mae had agreed to exchange numbers and update him on Bumpy every once in a while. Which was usually a few times a week, since he worried a lot about her.
He missed Bumpy, that was for sure, but he was glad she was being well taken care of, and obviously he couldn't bring her to Chicago, that'd just be cruel. He put his phone away and turned to look out the window, watching traffic and tall buildings go by. Ben was definitely glad to be leaving the city, he liked it here, yes, but he preferred being out in nature. And in the city, he couldn't see any stars.
Ben was anxious, but admittedly excited to get out and explore new places.
