“Once we get your inheritance, we are going to have some fun,” I say.
Right on cue Jace takes his backpack and opens it, showing us the brand-new vests he got for all of us. “We get the helmets when we are there.” Elden takes one of the vests, inspecting the print on it before his eyes widen.
“No way!” he exclaims.
Jace punches his shoulder playfully. “It’s a brand-new quad driving place. We get one each and will drive across a veld.”
“Unattended,” Vincent grins. “Because your beta is so cool, he’s already driven once and forged a license to trick the humans.”
“I can’t wait,” Janice says. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
“We’ll get our own quads, too,” I tell her. “It’s going to be crazy.”
“Pity that Calv misses it,” Vincent says in his usually good-natured way. I don’t really miss Calvin, but I need to get used to him being around. It’s not fair to discriminate against him just because I don’t click with him.
“I am not sure he would have liked it,” Elden muses.
“I bet he would have aced it,” Vincent says. “He told me on one of his missions, he actually trekked through a desert on one of these trucks.”
I don’t tell Elden what else I’ve planned, because I am still not sure it’s something he will want to do. For now, we should get his money and his mother’s belongings from the deposit, and then take off to our quad adventure. The date with the bank goes smoothly, and with the documents prepared, the key, and Elden and Carolina’s identities verified, Elden soon receives the possessions from his late mother. Now that he is eighteen, he has many more liberties, so he decides to open up a brand-newaccount, only accessible to him and maybe later to me once I’m eighteen, where he stores his mom’s money. Neither his father, the Elders nor anyone else will have access to it.
Aside from the money, he receives a box with his mom’s rare jewelry and some memorabilia. There is also a new letter with it, which I assume will clear some things up for Elden. Vincent offers to store everything for Elden while we are on the road today, but he doesn’t seem to be able to let go. Jace offers him his backpack instead, in which Elden safely stores his mom’s belongings and insists on keeping the backpack on him.
The organizer of our quad adventure is already waiting. Fortunately, none of us lacks any confidence. So, when he asks if we all know what we are doing, Vincent acts as if he has never done anything else but cruising on go-karts and quads, while Jace and Elden shamelessly steal Calvin’s desert story.
“And the ladies?” the man asks.
“I have a truck driving license and one for a tractor,” Janice says much to my surprise.
“I’ve only gotten my driving license,” I tell him. “But with that many skilled quad and truck drivers around me, I should be safe.”
“And you are really above sixteen,” he asks skeptically.
Of course, that’s his main issue!
“She is my girlfriend,” Elden tells him. “And I am certainly not dating a fourteen-year-old. She is seventeen.”
“No way, did you drink from the fountain of eternal youth?” he asks. “If yes, I’d like to know where it is. Everyone always thinks I look older than I am.”
“Same,” Vincent says while doing the paperwork. “It’s annoying.”
It takes half an hour, but then we are all done and standing in front of our quads. There is a long, predefined path we can takethrough dust and mud, forest, rocks and even a river. It’s going to be amazing!
“Off we go,” Janice says, helping me start my quad, before jumping on her own.
“You really know what you are doing?” Jace says, amazed. “Hot!”
Janice looks flustered again, but also happy. Meanwhile, Elden turns to look at Jace, raising his brows. “Laying it on thick today,” he mutters towards Jace.
Jace looks slightly embarrassed.
“Well, duh,” I whisper. “He clearly likes her.”
“Oh?” Elden asks in interest.
Jace gets saved by Vincent and Janice, who are both impatiently calling for us. “That’s a talk for later,” Jace mutters.
“Let’s go,” I yell, before starting my quad. I’m driving next to Elden, while Vince and Janice lead the way. Jace is right behind us. Eventually, Jace and Elden get used to driving their quads and speed them up, soon matching themselves with Vincent. They stumble and get knocked over all the time, but whenever it happens, Elden just laughs.