Page 15 of Alice & Meg, Girls Trip

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, finally giving in to the fact that I was awake now. “Did you at least start the coffee since you were up so early?” I asked, hoping for some good news as I shuffled toward the kitchen area.

“Duh,” Greta grunted, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “You really think I’d be functioning without my usual three cups?”

Well, at least that was something. I could smell the rich aroma of coffee filling the RV, and it perked me up a bit.

“Are you making breakfast?” Lennox’s voice came from one of the bunks as I walked by. She was burrowed under the blankets with just one eye peeping out like a little mole.

“Hungry?” I asked, stopping for a moment to grin at her.

She pulled the blanket down to expose her face fully. “Starved.”

I smiled back at her and continued into the kitchen. “Let me get a few sips of coffee in me, and then I’ll start on the breakfast burritos.”

“Oh, yum,” Lennox moaned, sounding like she was already dreaming of the meal.

Greta and Raven were on my heels the whole way, practically buzzing with energy. I could tell they were dying to spill whatever it was that had them so excited.

“Don’t you want to know why we’re so excited?” they asked in unison, their voices full of anticipation.

“Coffee,” I mumbled, focusing on pouring myself a cup of the dark liquid. I needed that caffeine hit before I could deal with whatever crazy scheme they had cooked up.

Greta rolled her eyes dramatically and then nodded to Raven, who took her cue and moved toward the door of the RV. She swung it open with a flourish, stepping aside to let me see outside.

“Ta-da!” Raven called, her voice filled with triumph.

I moved closer to the door, my coffee cup in hand, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I saw what was parked outside. “Where the hell did you guys get golf carts?” I asked, completely caught off guard. That was not at all what I had been expecting.

“They rent them by the hour or by the day,” Greta announced proudly, beaming at me. “And they each fit six, so we can go everywhere together.”

“We snagged these two for the next five days! They gave us a great deal,” Raven added, clearly pleased with their morning haul.

I shook my head, half in disbelief and half in amusement. “You guys are something else, you know that?”

“Come on, Meg! Think of all the fun we can have now!” Greta was practically bouncing with excitement.

“Yeah, imagine zooming around the campground in these bad boys,” Raven added with a grin.

I took a sip of my coffee, the warmth and caffeine starting to work their magic on my groggy brain. As much as I wanted to grumble about being woken up early, I couldn’t help but smile at their enthusiasm. They were right—this could be fun.

“Alright, alright,” I said, holding up my hand in mock surrender. “But first things first—let me get some breakfast inme. Then we’ll see what kind of trouble we can get into with those golf carts.”

“Deal!” Greta and Raven said in unison, their excitement now fully contagious.

As I turned back toward the kitchen, I could hear the others starting to stir, drawn out of their bunks by the promise of breakfast and the smell of coffee. Lennox was the first to join me, her face still sleepy but eager as she sat at the dinette.

“Did I hear you say golf cart?” she asked, her curiosity piqued by the noise.

“Yeah, it seems Greta and Raven managed to snag some wheels for the week to get us around on,” I replied with a grin as I cracked eggs into a pan, already thinking how those golf carts were going to help us get around pretty darn quicker than walking would. Greta and Raven’s surprise addition to our transportation was a great start to the day.

Alice

“Maybe someone else should drive on the way back.” I stumbled off the golf cart, clutching my stomach. The breakfast burrito I’d devoured earlier felt like it was about to make a reappearance, and I wasn’t thrilled about it.

“Come on,” Greta moaned, clearly unbothered by my distress. She slammed the parking brake into place and glared at Reva, Wendy, and Nikki as we hurriedly disembarked. “It’s not my fault that squirrel darted out in front of us. I had to hit the ditch, or we would’ve hurt him. I’m not in the mood to be patching up animals on vacation.”

“Uh, is that something you do when you’re not on vacation?” I asked, still feeling a bit queasy but curious despite myself.

Greta nodded enthusiastically. “I’m a vet,” she beamed proudly, giving a mock salute. “Trying to save the world one animal at a time.” She pointed and wagged her finger at all ofus like we were her new recruits. “Make sure to spay and neuter your pets.”

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