One For The Road ✔ | A short novella |

10. Las Vegas Part I

Chapter Ten

Las Vegas

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"Buy the ticket. Take the ride." Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Ellis

Las Vegas, The Flamingo Hotel & Casino, 11.30am - August 18th

Ellis

"If they run out of waffles and bacon before we get to the next serving station I am going flip out."

We're in line for the mega brunch buffer at The Flamingo Hotel & Casino, and Jessie is running low on patience. It's the hangery-ist I've ever seen her and the cutest.

Call me crazy but there's something insanely attractive about a food loving girl whose only mission is to stuff her face full with waffles and whipped cream and eggs over easy.

"Did you get your photos?" She asks, eyeing up the silver cloche's and the servers as they dish out crisp and golden round waffles. "Did they let you up to the rooms?"

I shake my head and balance against a neon pink flamingo plinth. "Nah. You need keycards to get up to any of the floors except this one."

"I'll take your picture outside by the flashing sign after we've re-fuelled, if that'll make the trip here a little more worthwhile?"

I appreciate the offer but visiting the hotel featured in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the eighth film on my list, isn't the only reason we're here. I'm pretty sure Jessie's been planing this mini-excursion since we arrived, such has been her hankering for fried breakfast foods and the buffets that provide them.

"Avocado on toast, really? That's all you want?" Jessie snorts, as we reach the end of the long line and head for a small table overlooking the swanky outdoor pool area. "We come all this way and you pick that?"

"What's wrong with it?"

She tosses back her hair and relents with a shrug, already tucking into her plate piled high. Where on earth she puts it all I've no idea but it's fun sometimes to watch. "Nothing, I just worry that you'll be hungry later."

"We're only driving 20 minutes away from the strip, I'll be fine," I say, unfolding the small pocket map of Las Vegas we picked up from our hotels foyer. In an hour or whenever Jessie's finished chowing down on whatever she can get her money's worth for, we plan on driving out to see more of sin city's sights.

The infamous Neon Boneyard, where all the iconic Las Vegas signs from decades past are housed is the first calling point and though she's been acting pretty blasé about it, as if it's a way to get out of our hotel room during the day, I know that deep down Jessie's really excited about it.

"Whatever, it's your loss," she says with a slight lopsided grin. "Anyways, I meant to ask you something."

And out of nowhere she brings up the very thing I've been trying so hard not to think about, because when I do, I feel so terribly guilty that I just stammer and sound ridiculously suspicious.

"So what you you're saying is you've heard nothing about Uni?" Again she presses me, half her attention on my mouth as it sputters and stutters out words and the rest on her plate of waffles.

I hold onto the table leg and clench my fingers where she can't see. "Um, no why? Have you?" It's a solid deflection.

"Not yet but we get our results in a couple of days and I wondered if your university has sent anything out, for you?"