1 Road Trip Bridget tossed her duffel bag into the back of the minivan Aunt Katie and Uncle Dan and her cousins Matt and Chloe were already inside ready to start their trip Do you have your phone her dad asked standing next to the van Yeah of course Bridget groaned She never went anywhere without her smartphone He knew that That was one of the reasons her friends called her Bridget Gadget She always had some sort of tech device with her Okay be sure to listen to your aunt and uncle her dad said And I know you’re really into your new headphones But please give your ears a break during the drive and talk to your cousins 5
Bridget had her high-tech digital-sound headphones resting around her neck Her dad understood how much she loved them In fact he had helped create them at his tech company Lingo The headphones had blue and green LED lights that lit up and pulsed to the beat of whatever song Bridget was listening to They were also wireless so no cords got in the way when she was grooving to music being played from her smartphone Yeah okay I’ll try Then she scowled and added I still can’t believe you’re making me go Bridget and her best friend Emma shared the same musical taste Lately they were into one band in particular Crush Crush was a popular all-girl rock band They wore colorful outfits and played upbeat music Both Bridget and Emma knew all the words to every single song Bridget had even made some mash-ups of their songs on her computer Tonight Crush was finally playing a concert in Cyber Hills But Bridget would miss it She’d be on a weeklong road trip to South Dakota with her aunt uncle and cousins 6
Bridget’s dad had told her the trip would be a good chance for her to bond with her cousins She only got to see them once or twice a year But Bridget wasn’t happy about going on the trip She felt it was unfair that she had to miss the concert for a stupid road trip The Crush concert was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Those big stone faces on Mount Rushmore would be there forever At least Emma had promised to take a lot of video at the concert with her smartphone so she could show Bridget later It wouldn’t be the same as actually being at the show but it was better than nothing I know you’re upset about missing the concert Bridget’s dad said But this trip was planned months ago Canceling it isn’t an option Bridget rolled her eyes Yeah I guess Knowing that her aunt and uncle had specially planned this trip for her and her cousins didn’t make things any better At least hanging out with Matt was possibly the one thing that almost made Bridget okay with missing the Crush concert She and Matt had 7
