After Saamir's dad arrived, everyone began to gather around the various cars. It wasn't only Saamir's family, cousins included, and Inari's family, that were going. There were other family friends going as well. It was a large group.
"Alright, the drivers know the route, right? We first drive to Lake Lousie, and then…" Saamir's dad began to quickly give a general route that they would take and where the main stops would be, when they would eat, etc. He was the most excited for this trip. He loved seeing the mountains and lakes, even thought he had visited Banff maybe a million times. "If everyone knows, quickly figure out where you will be sitting." Saamir walked towards his truck. It was a Toyota Tacoma with a desert type color. His mom hated the color, but Saamir liked it. He couldn;t let her decide everything in his life. A bit of freedom in choice was needed.
Anya of course had to sit with Saamir since Aliya was going to be there. Her husband wasn't present since he was away on a business trip. He wouldn't be present at all during the trip, which made her sad, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.
'Where should I sit?' Inari didn't want to sit with her parents since they wouldn't let her listen to the music she wanted, plus her little brothers were a hassle. She wanted to sit with Anya, but Saamir's comment annoyed her a little.
"Inari, what are you doing, come here with us." Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, it wouldn't be easy to judge, but Anya waved her hand and beckoned her over. Sighing a little, Inari walked over, showing a smile on her face. Only she knew if it was fake or not.
"Saamir, have Aliya sit in the back for now. You can let her on your lap once we leave the city. If the cops see you, then we would be in major trouble. Mom and dad would go crazy." As Inari approached the car, she noticed the siblings bickering again.
"Who cares, I'll pay them off or something. Plus, Aliya is so little, what will they see?" He said with annoyance.
"Aliya, sit in the back or else mommy will get very mad." Anya ignored Saamir completely seeing he wasn't going to listen. Instead, she growled at her daughter, who quickly sat in the back with a frightened expression.
"I hope this car crashes and you go down first." Narrowing his eyes, Saamir hissed.
"If I go down then so will you. So it works for me.�� She tapped his cheeks before sitting in the back with Aliya. Saamir snorted before walking to the driver's seat. Inari walked towards the back seat as well. "Inari, you can sit in the front." Anya spoke with a smile.
Although a bit hesitant, Inari nodded her head and sat in the front seat. The car was clean and smelled minty. She buckled her seat belt and watched as Saamir sat on his seat and began to readjust it. Even though it should be to his liking already since he was the only one driving it, he still had a habit of adjusting it again. "Alright, we're going to the gas station outside of the city first, it should take us, give or take, twenty minutes to get there." Saamir's dad spoke aloud before getting in his own car and driving off. Saamir started his car and followed behind the others. He was all the way in the back when it came to the car lineup. He was the better driver, plus he had a GPS and could find his way if he got lost, or could help others who got lost as well.
Saamir followed behind them casually. His right hand was on the wheel, while his left was on the window still of his door. Occasionally, his left hand would grab the bottom of the steering wheel. "So Inari, what are you doing in school?" She was right beside him, it would be awkward if he didn't say anything.
"I'm done, actually." She said with a smile.
"Oh really? What do you do then?" He asked curiously.
"I'm an accountant." A bit of pride filled her words.
"Accountant? You must be great at math then. I'm absolute garbage at math. I can barely do basic arithmetic." With a light laugh, he tried to make a small joke.
"From what I've heard, you aren't bad." She said while also smiling.
"I'm better than Aliya, atleast I hope." He replied. Inari laughed lightly as well, but she felt awkward on the inside. The conversation was a little bland, plus she didn't want to talk to Saamir too much.
"What about you? A doctor in California? Impressive." She smiled.
"It's not really a big deal, there are thousands of doctors out there, I just happened to squeeze through by luck." Inari was a little surprised by his way of talking. He kept talking as if he was dumb, even though that wasn't the case. In her eyes, he seemed rather weird for doing this; a little annoying. "Seriously though, things have changed since I last came here."
He suddenly became a little nostalgic. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, look at all of you. You were still in high school when I last saw you, and now you're already a successful accountant. And then there is everyone else, the house, and even the city itself. It really is different." He explained while looking around the city as he drove.
"That's because you never visited. You should have come home atleast once." Anya spoke from the back.
"You know I was busy with so much. Not only the hospital, but I was busy setting up my life over there." He said while still looking out the window.
"After setting everything up, you want to throw it all away?" Suddenly, Anya spoke with a serious expression.
"Relax, I'm not throwing anything away. I'm just letting Kesor have it. I don't need it anymore, I have had my fun." He smiled. It was always his plan to let Kesor take everything after him, this was his only brother, who was similar to his own child. "Anyways, should we take a quick detour?"
"And go where?" Inari and Anya asked curiously.
"Well, unlike you guys, I didn't have many hobbies. I would normally be out with Harsh exploring the city by foot. Our favorite place was going to Kensington, I haven't seen it in a while. It was always so bright and lit up, even during the night. Why don't we go there real quick and maybe show Aliya that weird antique shop." He waited for their approval.
"Up to you, I'll just text dad that we will meet them at the gas station." Anya agreed easily.
"Are you alright with it?" Saamir asked with a smile.
Inari nodded her head. "I don't have a problem."
"Great." He smiled and suddenly took a left at a stop light, heading towards the center of the city. His face showed a bit of excitement. Driving around for a bit, taking a bunch of turns and so much more, he finally arrived on a small street filled with people and stores. "Wow, it's even better than before. So many stores that didn't exist before."
"It's been eight years, of course there will be some change." Inari spoke plainly, looking at his excitement weirdly.
"I know that." He laughed lightly. "It's just… amazing. You know? Like, I used to come here so much with my friends, yet it is so different now. Time is such a crazy thing, right?" Raising an eyebrow, she continued to silently watch him become excited.
"Pizza!" Aliya who was also looking outside suddenly pointed at a pizza store. "Can we get some, mamu?"
"Yeah, let's grab a box." He smiled and quickly parked the car. "Alright, what do you two want?"
"I'm alright." Inari answered quickly.
"Just say it. I'm getting a box so it isn't a big deal." He persisted a little.
"Cheese is fine for me." She finally spoke.
"Get a few vegetarian slices." Anya said right after.
"Alright. Aliya, let's go and order some. Anya, text mom and dad saying that they should go on without us. I will catch up, I know where they will be. If they get mad, well tell them I wanted to do something." He didn't care if anyone would get mad at him, at most they would yell, but he could take that. It was no issue.
"No problem, just go and get some. Also get me coke." Anya said while leaning back on her seat.
Saamir nodded and stepped out of the car. He pulled Aliya into his arms and carefully crossed the street.
"Anya, want to switch?" Inari suddenly said.
"Why?" Anya asked curiously. "Aliya is back here, so it would be better if I'm here as well. What's up though?"
"I don't know, it's weird sitting next to your brother. I barely know the guy and we are forced to talk and everything." She said bitterly. She didn't mind saying this to Anya, they were close enough.
"But why?" A sly smile suddenly appeared on Anya's face. "Want to know something? Back then, when Saamir was still here, he had a small crush on you. Not only you, but he liked almost all of my friends." She giggled. "He changed now and doesn't care about these things, but back then he was a lot younger."
"Really? So your brother liked all of your friends? Including me?" She was a little shocked.
"Right? He used to be like, 'hit me up with one of your friends'. He was joking of course, since he would never do anything like that, but he still said it, which meant something." Anya kept looking at her friend with a smirk.
"How does that make things better now?" Inari spoke with a frown. "Past or not, joke or not, now things will be even more awkward. Here, switch seats with me." Inari persisted even more. Her face didn't show embarrassment, just a bit of annoyance.
"What if Aliya pukes or gets sick, will you take care of her? Clean her vomit, calm her down?" This was the biggest reason Anya was in the back. Aliya was still little, so a long car ride like the one they were having wasn't going to be something easy for a kid. "Here, when Aliya falls asleep, we can switch, alright?"
Sighing a little, Inari nodded her head. There wasn't much that could be done. 'WHy didn't I just sit with mom and dad, all of this could have been avoided.'
After about fifteen minutes, Saamir and Aliya arrived with a white box in their hands. "Alright, so I just got a large cheese and this small veggie. Since you only eat veggie, just keep this yourself." He passed the smaller box to Anya. "For Aliya, grab a few slices and just place it in your box. She might even be able to finish one slice, they're not small." He smiled and helped Aliya into the car while sitting in the front. He passed the cheese box to Inari. Opening it up, Anya reached over and grabbed a couple slices, placing them into her own box.
"Where to next? You still want to explore or are we catching up with the rest now? Mom said you better hurry up since dad will be mad if you mess up his planning." Taking a bit of her own slice, Anya warned with an indifferent look. She wouldn't get in trouble since it was Saamir who brought them out here.
"We'll go catch up with them, but I want to drive by something called 'Peace Bridge'?" He raised an eyebrow and spoke with a bit of doubt. There was never such a thing eight years ago, but he did know a bridge was being built over the river.
"Sure." Anya was focused on her food and didn't comment any further. She fed Aliya as well, but the latter was able to eat herself for most of the time.
Putting the car into drive, Saamir went towards the 'Peace Bridge', which was actually very close to where they were. It was really only a five minute drive. They were near the downtown area after all.
"So this is it?" He drove on the right side of the sky reaching the building. Separated by a long river. The long bridge was red, with a unique design. "Cool, cool. I bet dad comes here every week or something to show it off, right?"
"What do you expect? Everytime we come here, he gives a detailed history of it. Like, the bridge has been here since 2012, it's been seven years. We know about it, it isn;t something new." With knitted brows, she complained while angrily chewing her food. "Luckily for me, I don't have to be around for that most of the time." She felt blessed that she could avoid the history class that occurred every weekend, atleast most of the time. Yet, just the thought still irritated her.
Saamir smirked yet also felt blessed he was gone for that. After driving by the bridge, he nodded his head and began to pick up in speed. He needed to catch up with the rest after all. They were likely already on the highway that led to the gas station.
Unlike before, the drive was a little more silent. Anya was in the back doing her own thing with Aliya, while Inari wasn't really willing to talk. Saamir didn't understand the atmosphere too much, but he could tell that the silence was a little tense. He hadn't touched the pizza slices yet since they were too hot, it would just make driving more difficult for him. He kept his eyes on the road, sometimes looking out from his left to see the various cars. If he spoke honestly, he didn't like driving too much. It was boring. Sure, a few hiccups would occur at times, but normally it was quite boring. Lifting his right hand, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, turning it on.
"What are you doing?" Inari suddenly asked from the side. She had a surprised expression, yet her face showed a bit of fear.
"I'm just turning on my bluetooth, why?" He looked at her weirdly. He didn't see anything wrong with his actions.
"Don't you know what could happen if you are distracted even once?" Holding onto her seat belt tightly, she looked at him with a bit of frustration. Normally, such a thing wouldn;t bother her, but she had never sat in the same car as Saamir. She didn't know how good he was at driving.
"Relax, I'm just turning my bluetooth on. I'm not going to look through my apps." A wry smile appeared on his face. "I don't usually break the law."
She clenched her fists a little in fear, yet didn't say anything more. A bitter expression appeared on Saamir's face when he saw this. Shaking his head, he quickly hooked up his phone and began to play his songs. "Do you want to pick the songs?" He shook his phone in front of her, yet she shook her head, declining him. "Anya, control the music." He passed his sister the phone seeing that Inari wasn't interested. 'Why is she acting so weird? Maybe I should tell Anya to make her switch cars or something, I don't think she likes me.' He noticed her attitude and could see the dislike in her eyes. Saamir didn't know the reason, and honestly he wanted to know why, but it would make things more awkward if he asked. Rather than putting himself in such a position, he wanted to enjoy the trip.
--------"Saamir, why did you guys take so long?" Arriving at the gas station filled with lots of cars, Saamir saw his dad looking at him with a frown. Saamir walked out of his car and smiled awkwardly.
"I just wanted to see some old sights. It's been eight years daddy." He acted a little more docile seeing his dad frowning. His dad would be alright with many things, except people ruining his trip plans. That's when things got personal.
"You could have waited. Because of you, we had to wait here for more than ten minutes." With a frown, he walked away after scolding Saamir.
"Ha ha." Anya walked behind him and looked at him with a teasing smile.
"Shutup." He frowned and walked back to his car. It was already filled with gas, so he didn't need to fill it up again. "Aliya, do you want to go to the washroom? It's going to be a while before we will find another washroom, so if you want to go now, then tell me." Looking at his niece, he spoke with a gentle smile.
She shook her head. "No, but I want to drive." She pointed at the steering wheel, making Saamir laugh.
"Of course, now you will drive with me." He picked her up and sat on the driving seat. Inari quickly went to the back seat while Anya climbed up beside Saamir. "Anya, can you go and grab a few things for the ride?"
"No way, go and do it yourself." Seeing her lack of cooperation, Saamir frowned.
He couldn't do anything since she was like this. He just passed Aliya to her and got out of the car, quickly entering the gas station.
"Bhaijan, what are you guys grabbing?" Entering the gas station, he saw a few of his cousins and their kids walking around with various items.
"Just a few candies and drinks for the ride." His bhaijaan was standing by the counter. His wife was beside him, holding on his arm and talking sweetly. She was a beautiful woman as well, making them look like a perfect match.
"Alright, just grab whatever and leave the payment to me." Smiling, he began to search for his own things.
"Saamir, you are younger, so don't start doing this now." His bhaijaan sighed.
"It's fine. Daddy said that I would have to do this either way, so it isn't a big deal." Saamir walked towards his bhaijaan's two kids and helped them pick a few items. He loved kids. Especially since he wanted to finally settle down himself, so the idea of family was a lot more appealing to him.
As he was shopping around, he noticed more people entering the gas station. It was beginning to overfill.
"Alright, just tell me what you guys want, I'll bring it with me." Some of the new people were strangers, while others were family friends. Sill, it would be rude to take over the whole place with just his family. Lots of people would probably get irritated by it.
"Fine." His bhaijaan didn't really mind this. They were all close like siblings, so it wasn't weird for Saamir to handle the money.
Saamir began to pick out all the items; candies, drinks, water, medication, and a few more items. Arriving at the counter, he quickly paid and walked outside. He could help pay for his family, but paying for his family friends, would just offend them. If his dad did the deed, that would have been different, but he was still a child in their eyes, so it would be outright humiliating if he paid for theirs as well. Afterall, the people that came were the grownups.
"Hey Saamir, come here for a second." As he began to drop off items to his various cousins, he heard his mom calling for him.
"Yeah?" He walked while carrying an energy drink in one hand.
"Take Kesar in your car as well, he is complaining about being bored with us." Saamir looked behind his mom and saw his younger brother looking at him with a pleading expression.
"I don't mind, we have room." This was actually a good thing. He was bored in his car since Inari seemed to dislike him and he didn't know how to bring up the topic of switching cars. Anya was doing her own thing, making him a little bored. Aliya would probably be awake for another hour or so before he would fall asleep.
"Kesar, don't be annoying" His mom glared at her youngest child before letting him follow her older son.
"Thanks Saamir. Mom and daddy are so boring. They listen to their old songs and stuff, it's so annoying." He sighed and walked with a hunched back.
"I thought you brought your nintendo to keep yourself busy. What happened with that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It ran out of battery…" A bitter look appeared on his face.
"Idiot." Saamir sighed and pulled out his wallet. "Go and get a few of those battery storage things. Also get an aux cord and something else if you want it." Though Saamir was strict, he did spoil his brother a little.
"Thanks." Kesar quickly ran to the gas station while Saamir walked back to his car. "Anya, Kesar is sitting with us now."
"Alright." Anya smiled. She adored her younger brother much more than Saamir. After all, she could command Kesar, not Saamir.
"Aliya, are you ready? All you have to do is hold onto the steering wheel, ok?" He picked up Aliya from Anya and placed the former on his lap. Helping her grab the bottom part of the steering wheel, he waited patiently for Kesar.
"Is this safe? Won't we get in trouble?" Inari asked from the back. She was worried about Aliya's safety the most, since she was just a little girl. 'How could he even think about doing something so reckless? Isn't he worried about endangering us all, especially Aliya?'
Saamir looked back at her with a plain smile. "It will be fine. Aliya is great at driving, right Aliya?"
"I'm better than mommy." She spoke with pride.
"Everyones better than your mom." Saamir spoke with a sweet smile while rubbing her head.
"Relax Inari, Saamir does this all the time with Aliya when we visit him." Anya spoke up to help relax her best friend. She could understand where Inari was coming from, it was dangerous after all, but she trusted Saamir. "And you, I passed my drivers test on the first try. It took you three." She then glared at Saamir. "I'm way better than you."
"Then why isn;t daddy letting you drive any of the cars? He strictly said that only I will drive my car and not to let you even try." A smirk appeared on his face.
"Daddy's just biased because I'm a girl." She glared at him.
"If that was the case, he would prevent mom from driving, but isn't she taking turns with him?" His sister had a habit of pulling the 'it's because I'm a girl' card for every situation. Yet, he wasn't an idiot.
The door suddenly opened and Kesar climbed in with a smile. In his hand were a few items, most of which were passed to Saamir. "Saamir." He passed a credit card back to Saamir.
"Alright, are we ready?" Saamir took the car and asked everyone. Seeing them nod his head, Saamir honked the car and waved at his dad who was waiting for everyone.