The Art of Enjoying Vacation

"Are you kidding me?!"

Cara, Katie, and Angelica were bumping along a pebble road in a green rental car, wobbling through a flourishing forest. Angelica was at the wheel, with Cara in the passengers seat.

"When you said we were going on vacation, I thought of the Bahamas!" Cara protested.

"Look," Angelica started, not taking her eyes off the uneven road. "I figured that you realized we weren't going to the Bahamas when we landed in Norway."

"Agreed," Katie said, climbing over the backseat to join her companions over the console.

"Where's your seat belt?" Cara asked, slightly annoyed.

"Earth," Katie said. She turned to her twin. "How much farther?"

"Not much," Angelica shrugged. "About 5 minutes."

"Great," Cara grumbled. "Of all the vacations, we chose to go to a teeny cottage in tiny Norway."

"Quit the bad mood, Cara," Angelica said, glancing at her friend for a split second before turning back to the road. "We've been cooped up in that apartment for 7 months, we needed a vacation, this is long overdue."

"I'd prefer a vacation that's not to the middle of nowhere," Cara said, rolling her eyes as she looked at the trees floating past.

"Cara, stop the bad mood!!"

"Yeah, what goes around comes around," Katie said, poking her head between the front seats again.

"You mean like the virus?" Cara scoffed.

"SHUT IT, CARA!!"

"Katie, seat belt."

Katie shot Cara a glare. "Why? We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"Ahem. Road. Rocky road. Almost speeding. Uneven rocky road," Cara added.

Katie sighed and flopped back into her seat, clipping her seat belt.

Angelica glanced at Katie through the rear view mirror. "Don't worry, we're almost there."

"Yeah, I can't wait to-"

"OH S---!! FOX!!!!!!"

Angelica's yell (and curse) interrupted Cara's comment. The car came to a sudden halt, sending rocks flying everywhere. A fox had appeared on the road in front of them.

"Shoot, he must be of tortoise descent, look at him, making sure to go as slow as possible!" Angelica yelled, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as the fox took his sweet time taking in the scene.

Angelica went to Cara. "Cara, can you get out and-"

"Whoa, Angie, step on it, fox is gone, I repeat, the fox-is-gone!!!" Katie practically screamed, exaggerating the last few words.

Angelica stepped on the gas, and the car stormed through the rest of the forest at lightning speed. It came to an all too sudden halt.

Cara, who had thrown her hands over her face in fear, peeked out from behind one of them. "A-are we there?"

Angelica grinned. "I do believe so."

Katie, whose face had been stricken with fear just moments before, smiled. "Wow."

In front of them was a cute little cottage. It had a stone walk leading up to a light blue door, surrounded by dainty flowers and what appeared to be a vegetable garden. The stone chimney let out little wisps of gray smoke, and the roofs teal shingles perfectly matches the door. The house itself was brick, with white windows that had wooden flower boxes below them.

"This is actually nice," Cara said, dumbstruck, as she glanced past the wind shield.

"I take pride in my work," Angelica said smugly.

Cara shot her a glare, but did not argue.

Katie was rummaging through the trunk, tossing contents to the front of the car

"Cara's....mine...Angelica's....Angelica's...Cara's.....hey, Angie, is this yours or mine?"

Angelica blew at her bangs. "Wouldn't it be easier to just go outside and open the trunk?"

Katie shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Cara rolled her eyes as she reached for her car door handle.

"We've been here exactly 16 seconds and the car has just become a luggage disaster. I hate to see how the rest of our vacation is going to go!"

* * * * * * * *

"Nice shack," Katie said, overlooking the 70's furniture in the living room. She turned back to her twin, and said darkly, "But lets get down to the point- which ones my bedroom?"

"The ugly one," Cara smirked. Katie frowned. "Okay, just kidding, the red one."

"Yup. Cara, you get the green, and I get the blue. And Katie, look out, you're gonna go back in time when you see that furniture in your room."

Katie gaped. "You mean that I got the old room?!"

"The 40's one, to be exact," Cara laughed. "I wasn't lying when I said the ugly one."

"You seem to be enjoying taunting Katie about her room, Cara, but you should see yours. Hope you like the 30's, Cara."

Cara's mouth fell open, horrified. "I...got...the 30's room?!"

"The one and only."

Katie laughed out loud. "Cara, that's what you get!!"

Cara made a quick attempt to think up one of her usual sarcastic retorts, but nothing came to mind. "Let's just unpack and go get some dinner," she mumbled, walking past the bathroom and towards her room, dragging her suitcase behind her.

* * * * * * * * *

"Let's see... is 5 dollars enough? I forget how to convert dollars to Krones," Angelica said, looking pleadingly at the clerk. The clerk gave her a look of horror and awe, she couldn't tell which.

"Erm...no. Oookay, let me see, do I have anymore cash?"

They were in a gas station, attempting to buy food for the house. Cara and Katie were impatiently waiting behind Angelica, who was rummaging through her purse as she attempted to pay for the tub of Jen and Berry's ice cream she had insisted on purchasing.

"Um, is a ten enough?" Angelica asked weakly, waving a ten dollar bill in front of the man. His eyes grew even wider.

Angelica bit her lip. "Um, sorry, I guess that won't do either than, huh? Uh..."

"You are RICH!!" The man shouted so suddenly that Angelica jumped up, her wallet and several bits of change falling to the floor.

"You...you speak English!!" She said, her tone quavery and surprised.

"I'm pretty sure that was the language," Cara muttered under breath.

The man gave Angelica a beaming smile. "Yes, I speak English. Are you sure you want to give me a ten for this small pint of ice cream? That would be a lot of Krone change!"

"Uh, so I do have enough money?!" Angelica panted slightly. "Good, erm, here's a five, that should be enough...."

"Thank you!" said the man as he handed her her change. "Have a good day, miss's!!"

Cara rolled her eyes as they walked out of the gas station. "All that over a tub of ice cream. Sheesh."

"...AND it's a bad flavor," Katie added, scrunching up her nose as she read the label. "Spotted Swirl. How cheesy can you get? They must have been desperate!!"

"C'mon, Angie, when are we gonna get real food?" Cara asked as she climbed into the backseat of the car.

"We're not," Angelica said plainly as she took her seat in the passengers seat.

"Pardon?"

"We're not getting food, Cara. We are going to sit and stare at the walls with our stomachs longing for something to digest and us refusing to give it to them. That is what we are going to do."

Cara grimaced as Katie turned the keys, and the engine roared to life. "So you're saying that we starve?"

"I'm saying that I'm the boss of this vacation because I bought everything. So, unlike everything else, Cara is going to pick up the tab at the restaurant we're going to."

"Oh, goody, we're going to a restaurant!!" Katie exclaimed eagerly as she backed out of the deserted parking lot. 'Which one?!"

"Yeah, I should know what I'm paying for," Cara smiled from the backseat.

"It's called 'Virkelig dyr'-the restaurant."

"And that is translated too--?" Katie asked as she typed it into her GPS.

The GPS said 'Turn right on Forlatt kjørefelt."

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Forlatt kjørefelt? What the heck's that supposed to mean?"

"Abandoned Lane," Cara said quickly. "Angelica, what's the restaurant name mean?"

"You translated the road, what makes the eatery any different?"

"I've never heard those words before," Cara explained.

"Fine. It means 'Really Expensive.' "

Cara did a double take. "EX-CUSE ME?!?!"

"I just told you," Angelica said stiffly. Katie was trying the best she could to hold in her laughter.

"Just HOW expensive is 'REALLY EXPENSIVE?!" Cara bellowed as Katie turned into a dainty little town with an actual road.

"Okay, so they're a bit overpriced. Some stuff is just like that back at home!" Angelica compromised.

Cara was steaming.

"Um, hate to break you guys up, but, I think we're here."

The car jerked to a stop. In front of them was a modern, lit up building that had a massive sign that read (in solid gold lettering) 'Virkelig dyr'.

Cara's mouth hung open. "I. Hate. You." She yelled, before stepping out of the car. "This-this-is that solid gold?!"

"Yeah," Katie muttered scrolling through her phone. "Some reviews say here that they even have gold utensils and plates. Real gold! Epic, man!! Thanks for treating us, Cara!"

Cara looked as if she was about to explode. "You guys planned this," she hissed angrily, shooting the twins deathly looks.

"Hey," Angelica smirked, opening the door (made of solid platinum) for the others. "This is our Norwegian getaway. And Cara," she added, leaning in towards her friend. "I wouldn't get too worked up over this small matter. After all, this is just the first night of our trip- what makes you think this is going to be the biggest thing that happens while we're here?"