Have you ever had that certain phase in your childhood that, when you reflect on it in the present, you realize you were such an ass for acting like an inconsiderate child for showing a display of aggressive tantrums because you couldn't get what you wanted?

Well, in my case, I have one. It was when Mom, Dad, and I went on a trip to Japan. It was a three-day trip. But three days was not enough for me. It was so fun, and I don't want to go home because I know I will never have the chance to bond with the mom and dad again like how we bonded on that trip because of their work when we get back home.

And so when the three-day trip ended, and I was sulking, throwing a tantrum, at the back of the car on the way to the airport, I snatched our plane tickets from the glove box, ripped them, opened the car window, and let the wind blow the pieces of the plane tickets.

Obviously, both my parents were raging mad at me. The budget for the trip was exceeded. We had to buy new plane tickets that were bound to leave the next day, and they both lost a day of their jobs.

When we got home, they made me eat vegetables for a week, which was the grossest food ever invented. But it was fine by me because I got another day of bonding with them in Japan.

That memory resurfaced right at this moment as I watched Luna and William argue with James, saying the same thing I was screaming at the back of the car on that Japan trip with my family.

"We are not going home!" Luna and William said at the same time.

James stepped outside the car and announced, "I am truly sorry, but you have to come home. Even if you two insist not to. Now, may the two of you please go inside the car willingly, or else I have no choice but to get you both inside in the 'Conjoined Twins' way."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What on earth is a 'Conjoined Twins' way?" Kayden asked from behind my back, brimming with curiousness, surprised that he eavesdropped on the conversation despite being busy waving his hands on the road, asking for a ride from passing vehicles.

Luna let out an exasperated sigh and looked back at us. "It's when James here would tie us together in a rope back to back and shove us inside the car," she said, rolling her eyes as if tying two people together and plunging them inside a car is a very perfect normal occurrence.

"That sounds brutal," Erin said.

"Totally kidnapping," Damien uttered.

"I know, right?" Luna said, then turned her back on us once again and continued to argue with James.

With the soggy, sultry weather of Arizona and the too many occurrences undertaking at this moment—the broken car, Luna and William arguing with James, and the tongue clicking of disappointment from Kayden signaling our lack of a temporary ride—my body stung with both drench and anxiety, making this desert weather more like pure fire on my skin.

But as soon as I saw William approaching me with a cold, pale face of apprehensiveness and holding my shoulders with both of his hands and shaking them, a frigid sensation spread out my system, making this scorching weather bearable, but my anxiety much worse.

"Ellie!" William said with urgency, "What are we going to do now? This trip is my only way to enjoy my remaining days before they throw me this massive trading business I never dreamed of handling!" William continued, panicking as he walked back and forth.

"What are we going to do?!" William yet again screamed in frustration, infecting me with his panic.

"I don't know! Oh my God! Calm the fuck down and let me think!" I retorted back.

"Think quickly, please!" William retaliated.

"Fuck! Shit! Help me out here. How can we delay James?" I asked nobody, hoping someone would give me clever ideas like how I ripped our plane tickets on the Japan family trip I had.

I felt a tap on my left shoulder just to see Ace doing strange hand gestures, "What?" I asked him, annoyed.

Ace pointed to his mouth, and it took me a second to realize that he was asking permission to unzip his mouth. "Oh, go on. Speak." I commanded.

"I have an idea," Ace said as Nico, Damien, Erin, and I looked at him, skeptical.

"Okay, let's hear it," Nico replied.

Ace's mouth formed a mischievous grin and said, "Tires."

We all nodded quietly, probably in denial that maybe at this time Ace was useful. Ace was not an asshole. And Ace might save us from this situation.

"That's totally not a bad idea," Nico replied, his tone trying to resist the fact that he was impressed with Ace.

"Now, I just need you all to distract that driver guy," Ace said, pointing his index finger at James, who was now trying to get something from inside the car.

A rope.

"No, no, no," William uttered as he took a step backward slowly, and Luna got hysterical and wrapped her arms around James's neck to jump on his back. William then again made a quick run to the disaster that is Luna and James to take the rope.

"We! Are! Not! Going! Home!" Luna screamed in James's ears as James struggled to keep his balance, and then thump! James and Luna fell to the sandy ground.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, "This is pretty much a distraction. We go there and block James's view and do your work," I commanded to Ace. " And hey, Kayden, find us a ride as soon as possible, please."

Kayden saluted me.

From the ground, James and Luna were now covered with sand. I called Nico to help me disentangle the raging Luna from James, who was now red as a tomato. Nico pulled James out of Luna's grip, facing back the Toyota Century, just as I did the same to Luna, who was still screaming like a mad woman.

"Luna, calm down!" I shouted at her. Still screaming.

"Luna!" I shouted louder, and still, she was screaming. I could already feel a burning sensation on my arms that were wrapped around Luna's as I kept on trying to resist her with no success.

So with all my strength, I turned her around to face me and slapped her.

"Girl! Calm down!" Luna, stunned by my slap, stopped screaming. "It's okay. Calm down. We have a plan, okay? And I'm sorry that must have hurt." I gave her a sorry smile. " But seriously, though, calm down."

Luna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and nodded slowly, saying, "Okay, okay. I'll calm down." She opened her eyes and asked. "What's the plan?"

From behind, I saw Nico still holding James red as a tomato and guiding James to sit on the sandy ground to calm down too.

I looked back at Luna. "Tires," I replied, and she gave me a questioning look. I raised my eyebrows at her and motioned for her to take a peek at Ace behind James and Nico, who was hiding at the back of the car with a sharp object, getting ready to sabotage one of the back tires.

"We got this, okay? Now what you and William need to do is pretend to go willingly with James inside the car and that rope." I said, looking back to William, who was still holding the rope, "Wrap that around James in the driver's seat when the car starts to malfunction."

Luna nodded. I turned her around, and we walked back to James, Nico, and William.

"I am sorry, James," Luna said the moment we got in front of James. "I should have calmed down. I know you're just doing your job and our parents are madly worried about us. I am sorry. We will go home now, " Luna continued, whilst William, with mouth agape, was confused.

Nico let James stand up as James tidied up his necktie and cleared his throat, "I am sorry too, senora. Just following orders."

"But in one condition"

"What the hell?" William questioned as he looked back and forth between me and Luna.

Luna walked towards him, grabbed him by his arm, and leaned into him to say something. William looked back at me from his shoulder with a smirk, his eyes reflecting those of an impish child.

"As what I am saying, James," Luna continued, "in one condition, you have to help them with their beat-up van right there," Luna said pointing to our beloved smoking battered Volkswagen van as I see Ace behind succeed with his mission.

"How am I going to do that, miss?" James asked.

"Find and call the nearest repair shop or something," Luna answered.

James let out a sigh, then took out his phone and dialed a number. One thing that makes everything not impossible is being rich because thirty minutes later a roaring sound of a towing truck rushed on the road and halted in front of us.

"Well, there's your request, miss," James said as the towing truck towed our van, and we all watched as the Volkswagen hung in the air and then settled at the back of the car.

"I guess this is goodbye then," William said with his best attempt to sound downhearted.

"I guess," I shrugged, and then we hugged each other. Luna and William get inside the car as we climb to the back of the towing truck.

With the towing truck getting ready to drive away, James started the car, but instead of moving forward, the car was thumping and vibrating, and I saw Luna and William with mischievous smiles from the back seat.

"THE ROPE!" Kayden screamed.

The two mischievous smiles became hysterical laughs as William started to wrap James with the rope. James, with his gritted teeth, wriggled his way out of the rope, but with no luck.

"Faster! Faster! Come on!" we all screamed, and the towing truck started to move.

Luna snatched James's phone from the front seat, and the two cousins halted their way out of their car and into freedom—that is, the towed Volkswagen van.

Screams of "Hurry up!" and laughter from this chaotic scene are all I heard. And I realize how ironic it is that, despite the chaos happening right now, I find myself laughing, smiling, and thankful that this chaos is happening.

Luna and William made it to the towing truck laughing. All of us laughing.

James let out a groan of frustration from the car, still trying to set himself free from the rope.

"We're sorry, James!" Luna screamed. "We'll make it up to you! We swear."

Luna gave James a goodbye flying kiss, and the truck drove away.