1.1.2: 2016 C.E. - Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona U.S.A. - Tom Slumbers

Tom's mother was a bubbly woman; constantly smiling when happy and invariably happy when there was no good reason not to be. Her son, Tom, was no different, taking after her more than his father, a fun loving but practical man. Tom was a bit more on the practical and mischievous side of bubbly than the whimsical side that his mother placed firmly within, but he was pleasant company nonetheless.

As Belinda navigated through craggy gorges and over small arid stream banks, she kept smiling in the rear-view mirror at her son and his friend, Felix. "We're almost there!" she exclaimed, with the faux excitement that only a mother can to her children and their friends. "Only a few more miles 'till we reach the Skywalk!"

She looked back in the rear-view mirror again to find the calm, but happy faces of the companions she'd taken on this interstate adventure. Tom and Felix both responded 'yeah' with as little enthusiasm as one would expect from young teens after several hours of driving.

They had been looking forward to this camping trip, but more because of the time they'd get to spend hanging out together than the trip itself. They had been friends as long as either of them could remember, and their annual trip to the Grand Canyon National Park was always a good time.

As they pulled up to the parking lot, Tom and Felix were interrupted from their game of chopsticks by Mrs. Hum. "Remember boys, this is a lot of peoples' first time seeing the Grand Canyon, so don't ruin it for them; let them have some discoveries too". "You say that every time we come!" decried Felix. "Do you really think that a day at the Grand Canyon can be ruined anyway?" Tom asked, his tone gently defying his attempt at deadpan satire.

Belinda pulled into a parking spot and raised an eyebrow in the rearview mirror, all mirth suddenly absent from her expression. "Okay, besides that one time," Tom allowed. "Try three" stabbed Felix jokingly. "Hey, what about your six strikes?" Tom spat back, now fully exposing his teeth in a wicked snarl of a smile. "I know it's not much coming from me" he said holding up a hand and wiggling his fingers, "but when I can't truthfully say that the number of times you've gotten chewed out by security can be counted on one hand, it takes a lot to convince my parents to let us hang out!"

"Ha Ha," Felix harped, "Just because you need your fingers to count past five doesn't mean you're any less of a pain in the a-" he was immediately and effectively muted by a sudden motherly bark. "Hey!" Bel snapped at them; her normally amiable persona set aside in favor of stern resolve until the impending doom which loomed over their outing was nipped.

She turned around, the pilot's duties no longer requiring her full and immediate attention. The two friends lowered their hackles and belayed their lovingly-crafted jeers. Her stern expression softened, pausing for a moment to allow the air to clear before continuing. "Just... try to have fun in a... not out-of-a-Calvin-and-Hobbes-comic way, okay?" she requested, hoping that it did not fall on deaf - or forgetful - ears.