Road to Anywhere (boyxboy)

Chapter 15: Cooking with gas

"You treat me like a child sometimes."

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"Ok, so according to Google maps, it should be on the next left." Oliver glances up from his phone to look out of the front windscreen. Slowly coming into view is the sign of a tent and caravan with the words ''Pitch Haven." Written across the top in italics.

Morton indicates to turn in. He takes the gravel track towards an open space, which accommodates a car park. Jojo grinds to a halt in one of the spaces, with Morton switching off the engine. "So, what now?" Morton looks at Oliver, who seemed to have taken the lead.

Oliver looks out of his side of the window to a log cabin hut, with the word 'Haven enquiries' written along the top. "I guess we will go there." He says in thought. He looks back at Morton. "You coming?" Morton nods and they get out of the camper and head towards the building.

As they push the door open, they are greeted with the smell of pine, possibly highlighting the outdoorsy feel the place was trying to portray. A young person, possibly 15 or 16 sat behind the counter, looking evidently bored as his eyes stayed fixed on his phone. Then an older man appears from somewhere out back. He greets Oliver and Morton with a smile as he claps his hands together, rubbing his palms. "Yes gentlemen. What can I do for you?"

Morton looks to Oliver, to take the lead, with Oliver reluctantly stepping forwards. "We want to park our campervan, maybe one or two nights?" He looks at Morton, who nods slightly in agreement.

"Not a problem. The friendly man chuckles as he gets paperwork in order for Oliver to fill in. "You say you have a campervan. Do you need a canister for your hob."

"My hob?" Oliver looks at the man confused before looking again at Morton. "Morton, do we have a hob?"

"I dunno?" He pulls a face with a shrug to his shoulders.

The man now laughs at the pair. "Your campervan will most probably have a gas ring of some kind. How have you been preparing your meals?"

"Chef"

"Service station."

The man shakes his head. "Neville... here!" He calls over his shoulder to the otherwise occupied youth, who looks up begrudgingly from his phone. "Get a canister for these novices and show them the basics would you?" Neville huffs in annoyance as he looks at Oliver and Morton, before leaving the small space. "You will be in pitch 15." The man says, as Oliver begins to fill in the details and Morton assumes he had to drive the camper to the said destination.

Soon the campervan pulls into the allotted bay, with Morton getting out of the camper, to see the youth pulling the gas canister on wheels his way. He ends up standing next to Jojo. "Open up." The kid gestures towards the side door.
Morton felt a little foolish as he reluctantly opened the side door, with the young lad getting inside and turning a handle which seemed to be built into the frame. Suddenly, a small shelf unit is revealed, showcasing two cooking hobs. "Your cooker." Neville says with a sigh as he backs out of the vehicle. Morton is rendered momentarily speechless. He felt stupid for not knowing such a basic thing and to top it off, had to be shown by someone much younger than him. "I guess you will need help with connecting the gas too." The young lad looks at Morton with a slight smirk.

"I can do that, thank you very much. Do you think I'm a total idiot?" Morton takes a hold of the cylinder and struggles to pull it towards him. It was much heavier than he thought.

"Do you want me to answer that?" Neville replies with a glare, as he looks Morton up and down.

"We can take it from here. Thanks." Oliver now approaches, sensing the fallout beginning to occur between the two and they had only just arrived.

"Suit yourself." The young man sighs as he pulls his phone from his pocket and walks away, staring at the screen as he leaves. Morton takes his gaze from him to now look at Oliver. "He was a cheeky shit." Morton pats on the side of the canister like he is petting a horse. "Did you know we had cooker in there?"

Oliver now pokes his head into the van. "I do now." He says with pleasant surprise. "He was a cheeky shit who knew more than us anyways." He looks at Morton holding the canister. "Maybe it's best if I try to connect it."

"Why? Don't you trust me?" Morton replies, rather offended.

"Not with flammable gases." Oliver laughs. "Why don't you go to the camp shop and get some food for us to cook."

"You treat me like a child sometimes. I'll have you know, I ran a shop for six month on....my...own!" Morton grumbles as he walks away, still muttering to himself.

Oliver watches him leave. Did he really treat Morton like a child? He was trying to protect his friend from getting hurt. That was all. He looks back at the less than helpful instructions on the side of the cannister, wondering if he had bitten off more than he could chew. But Oliver had the urge to get it sorted before Morton's return. The overwhelming urge to not let him down arising once again. But in all honesty. He was as clueless as his friend and a little scared he could actually blow up the van.

"Need a little help?"

Oliver's train of thought is distracted momentarily as he looks up to see a familiar face....