After the nice trip with Arthur, I had to finish up my last classes before my Fall break trip with Chani to her parents' cabin. Just one more day, and we get to leave for most of the break! I'm excited to go up to the cabin, to be in nature once more, but I'm nervous about having to meet Chani's family to do so. She told me they had set up lunch to see, mostly Chani and also me. They have no clue about our affairs, and they should never find out, according to Chani, so I'll be introduced to them as a friend instead, taking some of that pressure off of me.
"You doing alright?" Chani's question broke me out of my thoughts. We were currently in my room, and she was helping me pack for our trip.
"Yeah. Just thinking about meeting your parents." I admitted.
"It'll be fine." Chani attempted to reassure me. "We just need to spend lunch with them, and then we'll be in the clear."
I nodded, still not excited by the idea.
"Mali. You'll need a bigger jacket than these." She ran her finger along my handful of jackets. "We can run to the thrift store and see if we can find something before we watch our movie."
"Alright."
"What movie did you want to watch, by the way?"
"How about the next Hellraiser movie?"
"Which one are we on now? The third one, right?"
"I'm pretty sure." I placed the last of my clothes in the duffle bag. Other than a jacket and my outfit for the travel day, everything was ready. "I'm ready to leave when you are. To go to the thrift store."
"And get some tea." Chani laughed.
I smiled, rolling my eyes. "And some tea, I suppose."
"Come on."
Chani and I headed off campus, first stopping by our favorite tea shop in the area for a to-go drink, then heading to the thrift store. Thankfully we found me a nice warm coat in black, to match my style, and work for our trip. I ended up calling Alice while we were out, but to no avail, as she didn't pick up. Chani picked out the craziest clothes she could find for me to try out to try and cheer me up. I didn't really work, but I appreciated her doing it. After shopping, we then returned to campus and to Chani's dorm room, where we started the movie. I ended up dosing off part way through.
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"You still nervous, Mali?" Chani asked as we headed to her parents' house. We were lucky to sleep in today, neither of us having classes. I looked forward to sleeping in during our trip most days, as I hate waking up early.
"A bit."
"Just make sure you don't let our…thing slip, and we'll be fine." She sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry that we have to pretend to be straight, Mali."
"It's okay. I get it. My parents are the same."
"Well…my dad's a pastor, Mal."
"Oh wow." I looked at her in surprise. "Can't imagine what that's like."
"Means I spent a lot of my time at church." She cracked a smile. "Mali. What do you eat when we're not eating together? I never see you cook anything."
"I use the microwave mostly. I practically live off this kimchi ramen from King Soopers. It's the best!"
"I'll have to try it sometime, in that case." She laughed. "How are you alive, though? With all that sodium."
"No clue. I also like to add another packet of ramen, just the noodles, if I'm hungry."
"That's a shitload of ramen, Mal."
"It is." I smiled proudly.
Before too long, we arrived at her parents' house and shuffled out of the car. They seemed to have a beautiful house in a seemingly nice neighborhood. Most of the people we had seen in the neighborhood were white. Chani and her family seemed to be the outlier. I couldn't help but to wonder if they had faced any discrimination from their neighbors.
"Come on." Chani smiled at me softly, motioning for me to follow her up the driveway.
We came to the door where she knocked. The door was opened after some loud footsteps from the other side. An older man opened the door, looming over the both of us and not just because we were a step lower than him. "Chani." He didn't smile as her saw her, just moved out of the way to let us in.
Chani stepped past him and urged me to do the same. I looked around the house. It was very well furnished and clean, better than my parents' house. Both of them seem to always have something better to do than clean up.
"Hey, dad." Chani smiled at him, confirming my suspicions. "This is my friend I've been telling you guys about."
"Hi." I waved nervously.
"Mal--Mal, something, correct?"
"Malia." Chani corrected him.
"Ah, yes. Well, go meet with the others. Lunch is almost ready."
Chani and I started down the hallway and into the kitchen. Chani's dad was really intimidating. I was just glad I didn't have to talk alone with him. Chani introduced me to her sisters and mom who were working on lunch. Shortly afterward, her mom ushered us into the dining room where food was served. I was thankful to not be the only vegetarian, as my parents always complain about me having a meal separate from theirs.
For the most part, the family talked, leaving me out of it, though I was thankful for that as I rarely had to say anything. And before too long, food was finished and the women started cleaning up while her father had us follow him outside where the truck was prepped, the UTV Chani had told me about, in the bed.
"Just be safe, Chani." He turned to face her, looking as serious as ever. Chani didn't seem intimidated by him, leading me to believe it was just normal. "Don't wreck our things, please."
"I won't." I could see her roll her eyes and cross her arm. "We'll be fine."
Chani's dad pulled out a set of keys. "And don't wreck the cabin. Clean it up and bring the trash back down before you leave. Or else." His threat wasn't said, but sent a chill down my spine.
"We will. It'll be nice and shiny, dad." She grabbed the keys out of his hand, before turning towards me. "Let's get our luggage into to truck, Mal."
We walked over to the Civic, took our suitcases out, and moved them into the, now, unlocked truck. The both of us said our goodbyes and piled into the truck, heading off towards Leadville, an approximate two hour drive. On the way up Chani told me a story about how she went to one of the mines up in the mountains with her schools.
"They had a cave-in and put a fake body there! It traumatized me as a kid!" Chani laughed.
"I can imagine." I shook my head with a smile. "I've always hated mines, so I don't blame you, and I didn't even have a reason like you do."
"During outdoor lab, we had the option to go into a different mine, and I sat out because I was too traumatized by the other one. Though they did talk about it being haunted, so I kinda wish I had gone."
"Sounds like something you'd like." I chuckled.
Around an hour and a half later, we arrived in Leadville and then ten or fifteen minutes further up the road, and we arrived at the cabin. It seemed nice from the outside, but not exactly what I was expecting. It looked more like a house than a cabin, but maybe that's because I was expecting a Lincoln Logs cabin.
"We need to unload the UTV, but after we get settled in I thought we could walk around downtown Leadville and get some dinner. If that's cool with you." Chani took the keys out of the ignition and opened the door, getting out.
"Sounds great." I crawled out as well, walking to the backseat door to get my bag and Chani's suitcase out.
----
Chani and I walked around Leadville for a while. There were quite a few shops along the main drive, giving us something to do for the few hours before dinner time. We bought a handful of things, but all small enough for us to carry along with us, as well as some fudge. Chani told me that whenever she goes into small towns in the mountains, she always has to get some fudge since they have the best kinds.
Eventually, we settled down in a café lounge for some dinner.
"So, what's your opinion on Leadville so far?"
"Reminds me of home." I smiled slightly, taking a sip of my drink.
"I keep forgetting you grew up in such a small town. All my friends from high school grew up mostly in the same area or in some other suburban areas."
"I'm just a little country gal." I spoke with a southern accent.
Chani laughed, shaking her head. "Who would've known I would fall for a small-town goth."
"You've already fallen for me?" I looked at her with feigned shock.
She rolled her eyes. "Maybe. Just don't tell anyone, okay?"
I smiled. "No problem."
After dinner, we headed back to the cabin and watched some TV before going to bed. I sat awake for a while, thanking any god out there for my luck in finding Chani. I missed Alice, missed when things were good, but with Chani, it felt like things were always good, rather than when she felt like putting in the effort to make things better for me. I wanted to tell Chani how much she meant to me but wasn't sure how to put it into words yet, how to express what she meant to me and how much it was growing. But I was going to figure it out this trip. To give it my best shot and see what would happen.