The sun was starting to set over the McMansion hellscape as the last of the balloons bobbed lifelessly against the overpriced wrought-iron fence. The businessman’s check had cleared\u2014mercifully\u2014and the van was loaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mostly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassie climbed in last, her arms covered in smeared cake frosting and possibly face paint. \u201cThat kid spit<\/em> on me. Twice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI saw,\u201d Maya muttered, arms crossed, rage-smoldering. \u201cYou flinched the first time. That was your mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane slammed the side door shut with enough force to rattle the window seals. \u201cDrive.<\/em> If we don\u2019t make this next gig, I swear I will bite someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark, already in the passenger seat, glanced back with the expression of a man who had accepted the universe\u2019s cruelty. \u201cWhat was that, like, thirty-five miles of emotional damage?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah grunted as he shoved his drums back into place in the rear. \u201cThis is how I die. Not on stage. Not in glory. Just slowly melting into a puddle of rage in a van that smells like fruit punch and broken dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel slid into the driver\u2019s seat with a grin that could only be described as bravely optimistic bordering on oblivious.<\/em> \u201cHey, c\u2019mon! The little guy hugged me at the end. Said we were his favorite band!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie deadpanned, \u201cHe also asked if we were part of Paw Patrol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That got a low growl out of Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI swear,\u201d he muttered, digging claws into his seatbelt, \u201cif one of you so much as mentions \u2018Baby Shark,\u2019 I will end<\/em> this tour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The van lurched into gear and pulled out of the neighborhood. The silence inside was thick enough to chew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n POP.<\/strong> A glitter balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It exploded with a faint twinkling<\/em> sound and showered the interior in a final, fatal sparkle storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNOOOOOOOOO!\u201d Jonah screamed, smacking at his sleeves. \u201cIT\u2019S IN MY DRUM PADS<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIT\u2019S IN MY FUR<\/em>!\u201d Mark shouted, sounding like someone discovering a cursed tattoo mid-concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie coughed. \u201cI swear this stuff multiplies. I had glitter in my nose.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane was vibrating. Actively vibrating. He turned slowly toward Gabriel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel flinched. \u201cLook, I didn\u2019t know!<\/em> He said \u2018private party,\u2019 not \u2018cake-fueled hell rave for six-year-olds!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya grabbed a bag of gummy worms off the floor and hurled it at him. \u201cYou said we only play as a pack.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, well\u2026\u201d Gabriel shrugged, catching the bag with one hand. \u201cYou\u2019re still alive. That\u2019s something!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane pinched the bridge of his muzzle. \u201cNo talking. Nobody talks. Until we\u2019re at the next venue. And if there\u2019s a bouncy castle there, I will burn it down myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan we at least get food?\u201d Jonah grumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s still cake,\u201d Gabriel offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The growl<\/em> that rose in the van could\u2019ve registered on seismic equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark, ever the voice of reason\u2014albeit exhausted reason\u2014sighed. \u201cI\u2019ll call ahead. Tell them we\u2019re twenty minutes late. And maybe also warn them that we\u2019re all one sugar crash away from homicide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The sun was starting to set over the McMansion hellscape as the last of the balloons bobbed lifelessly against the overpriced wrought-iron fence. The businessman’s check had cleared\u2014mercifully\u2014and the van was loaded. Mostly. Cassie climbed in last, her arms covered in smeared cake frosting and possibly face paint. \u201cThat kid spit on me. Twice.\u201d \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3265,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/3265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
From the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n