Road Trip: Part 1

It's the day of Tyler's road trip, and all of his friends are accompanying him, so they set off for a weekend in the country side; but nobody can predict what happens when they reach the end of the road. Will everything go smoothly, or will a kink in the chain be discovered?

Our High School is Better Than Yours! Season 1, Episode 7: "Road Trip"
The musty aroma of her bedroom comforted Ellie as she tossed another jumper into her rucksack and sealed it in one swift moment. Her drawers were now bone empty, her wardrobe ransacked, bags bulging at the seams. She rose, her bag like dead weight in her left palm, and scanned her bedroom for one last time. Ellie got terribly homesick, even when she didn’t sleep at home for one night. She had to overcome her fear – she’d agreed to go on this road trip, and she couldn’t let her friends down.

“Ready to go?” enquired Tom, poking his head around the varnished doorframe. All of the attendees were preparing at Ellie’s house.

“Yeah, sure,” she grinned, struggling to stand, the strap of her struggling bag slicing deep into her palm, leaving a crimson imprint on her chalky flesh as a reminder it was there. Tom disappeared behind the walls, and the faint sound of him leaping down the stairs could be heard lightly. Ellie chuckled silently, and followed him.

The living room was extremely spacious, consisting of a blood-red carpet adorned by a cream-white rug, a collection of bare white walls and a patterned ceiling. Three cushioned sofas, each perfectly clean, and two armchairs decorated the floor, and a large glass coffee table stood, tall and proud, in the center of the room. Normally the living room was silent and lifeless, but now it was full of noisy, chattering teenagers, packing bags and exchanging goodbyes with their parents. Delilah sat cocooned in the arms of one armchair, fiddling with her mobile, texting her mom; Joey and Tyler stood busily chatting by the front door; Sam lay down on the sofa, avidly reading a book, one hand resting on the small but noticeable bump protruding from her stomach. I guess evidence of the baby is starting to show, Ellie thought as she dumped her bags on the floor and flexed her slender limbs.

“Ellie?” she heard a woman call, and she swiveled round to see her mother standing in front of her, a gentle smile on her lipstick-caked lips, her arms outstretched. Ellie grinned, and embraced her mom, the aroma of her mom’s strong but sweet-smelling perfume invading her smell. Her mom always looked gorgeous, even on weekends, when she wandered round the house in her pajamas and spent almost all day on the laptop, reading fan fiction. Silky hair the precise color of black ink fell to her shoulders, and her piercing green eyes could be seen in pitch black. Ellie and Mauricio often nicknamed her ‘The Witch’, a name their mom did not approve of.

“Hey, Mom, I’ll be back in two days,” said Ellie, pulling away from her mom and swooping down to pick up her bag. Her mom grinned, yet the worry in her expression was highly visible. “Don’t worry, I’ll be safe. I promise I won’t go wandering off with strange boys.” Her mom chuckled, and stroked Ellie’s soft face.

“Be careful, sweetheart. It’s a scary world out there. Stay close to your friends, especially Tom and Manuel – I trust them two. Do not go in any clubs,” her mom said, her voice silky like velvet.

“Mom, I’m fourteen. I look younger. You think they’ll let me in any type of nightclub?” asked Ellie, her eyebrow slightly raised. Her mom sighed, amused, and embraced her daughter in another brief hug.

“Alright, everybody, ready to go?” Tyler called from the doorframe, a backpack slung over his brawny shoulder, breaking his conversation with Joey.

“Yep!” everyone chorused, excitement in everybody’s voices. Tyler flung the door open and sunlight flooded it, illuminating the house, yet the rays of light were soon blocked by the group of teenagers bundling out the door.

Tyler raced across the grassy front garden of Ellie’s house and reached his car, a Jeep with several seats. He slid the key into the small keyhole, and twisted the object as far as it would go until he heard the familiar click which signaled the lock had given way. Then he circled the car, flinging open all the doors, as his friends piled into the vehicle.

His fingers clasped the cold handle to the driver’s door and he opened it, and slid into the comfy seat, shuffling around to get comfortable.

“You guys want the radio on?” he yelled, and was answered with a loud ‘yes’ from his passengers. He swiftly turned the knob and a loud blast of rock music poured out of all the speakers, and suddenly everybody was singing along to the popular song which engulfed the car in sound. He chuckled, and slid the key into the car, and the music was abruptly drowned out by the sound of a revving engine.

Sam sat pushed up against the rolled-down window, the car speeding up a lone country road, a harsh wind flying in her face and entangling her blonde curls. Her palm rested on her stomach, constantly checking for any kicks, despite the fact she knew it was too early. Her baby bump was just forming – a small bump sticking out from between her hips. It just looked like she’d had a huge lunch. But she worried about when she was nine months, and it would look like she was hiding a beach ball beneath her shirt; that would be ten times harder to hide.

Her father had noticed the small bump the night before, and had questioned her about it, but she just muttered some excuse about being really hungry and ordering a colossal lunch, and that it had affected her, before hurriedly excusing herself from the room. She never saw her father’s reaction.

“Hey, Sam, you okay?” she heard her friend ask, and turned her head to see Delilah staring at her, a genuine smile upon her lips. Sam smiled back, and nodded, but she couldn’t stop herself from staring at her stomach. She couldn’t stop concentrating on the ever-growing bump.

Delilah followed her gaze. “It’s a little noticeable now,” she whispered, leaning away from the other teenagers, and Sam nodded again. “It’s alright. We’ll find ways to hide it when it grows – just wear loads of baggy jumpers,” she continued, and Sam nodded again, remembering the skin-tight t-shirt she’d packed. Huh, I can forget wearing that, she thought.

“Op, op, op, op, oppan Gangnam style!” the attendees chorused the popular song which blasted round the car, then burst into fits of laughter. Sam smiled, attempting to join in, but she didn’t feel in the mood.

“Okay, okay,” said Ellie over the music, still giggling. “Everyone say their highlights of this year so far. Go,” she muttered, and pointed to Tom, whose eyes immediately diverted to Sam. He quickly looked away.

“Erm…Delilah’s party, because I got so bloody drunk!” he admitted, and everyone burst out laughing again.

“My highlight is meeting Joey,” she whispered, and wrapped her arm around her boyfriend’s shoulders, who leaned in and gently pecked her on the corner of her mouth. Delilah chuckled, and everyone else sighed, some in happiness, some in disgust.

“Mine would be…” began Joey, thoughts racing through his head. “Meeting my beautiful girlfriend here, and joining the football team.”

“Mine would definitely be getting into the Power Squad, and becoming the captain,” Ellie smiled, but her grin fell when Delilah’s icy stare pierced her eyesight. Tom noticed it, and laughed under his breath.

“Mine is…” called Tyler from the driver’s seat, cutting in. “…mine’s finally passing my Math test, which I’ve failed ever since I came here.”

“You failed your Math test three years in a row?” enquired Delilah, scoffing.

“Yep,” grinned Tyler. “If Mrs. Wallace hadn’t given me another shot at that test, I’d be falling behind.”

“Sam, what about you?” question Manuel, speaking for the first time. Sam sat up, the muscles in her back knotted from the awkward position she’d been sitting in. Her eyes immediately diverted to her stomach, and then to Tom, who was shooting her a dagger look.

“Erm, mine would be…meeting Delilah, who’s been an immense friend ever since I met her,” Sam eventually said, and Delilah beamed, flashing the twinkling, square pearls which sat in her gums.

“Thank you,” whispered Delilah, and unbuckled her seatbelt to briefly hug Sam. The rest of the teens sighed, some clapped gently.

“Oi, Tyler, turn that radio up!” shouted Manuel before anyone could interrogate him about highlights of the year. Tyler laughed, and his bony fingers hit the volume knob; the music volume increased dramatically, almost deafening the attendees who weren’t expecting the sudden change, and released a burst of song into the vehicle. Everyone immediately burst into song.

A deep glow shone upon the horizon, a mixture of orange and pink, the clouds perfectly shaped to make the gorgeous scene look like a painting. The sunset illuminated the sky, and silvery stars began to blossom against a silky blanket. The car strolled down the lone county road, treating the teenagers to a gorgeous view. Tyler stroked the steering wheel, slightly turning it whenever they reached a corner, switching gear whenever he needed to. His parents had always complimented his driving skills.

“Yo, Ellie,” called Tyler, which caught Ellie’s full attention. She unbuckled her belt and clamored towards the driver’s seat.

“Wassup?” she asked.

“Look in my backpack - here,” he reached across to his rucksack which sat nestled in the arms of the passenger seat, and handed it to Ellie. “There are some bottles of pop in there. Hand them out, and save one for me.” Ellie nodded, and Tyler heard the sound of clinking bottles emerge from the back seats.

“Here you go!” a hand clutching a cold bottle of cola protruded from the seats, and Tyler took it and broke the top off with his teeth. He took a large swig, then relaxed as the cold liquid swam down his throat.

He finished the bottle off very quickly, completely draining it of fluid. He felt around the inside of the door, searching for the button, and he finally found it. A sudden gush of air threw itself out of the half-rolled down window, spreading Tyler’s hair all over his face, limiting his eyesight. He tossed the bottle at the window, hoping it would fly out into the bushes and shrubs.

Because of the wind, he didn’t see the bottle clunk with the closed part of the window. It fell down into the depths of the car, and peacefully rolled underneath the brake pedal.

Tom sat on the back seat, snuggled up in the comfy fabric, his friends all succumbing to fatigue around him. Ellie’s head rested on his shoulder as she slept silently, her chest rising and falling in sync with her slow breaths. Delilah slept peacefully on Joey’s lap, and Manuel took up the space of three people, stretched out across the seats.

He looked around, hoping someone else was awake apart from Tyler, whom he didn’t want to disturb. His eyes flickered round the room, but everyone was asleep. Ellie, Delilah, Joey, even…

No, she wasn’t. Her eyes were open.

“Sam?” hissed Tom, and Sam looked over, showing no signs of tiredness. She gave a weak smile. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, flexing her arms and her shoulders. “How’s… how’s the baby?” he enquired, lowering his voice.

“It’s fine. My baby bump’s growing,” said Sam, clutching her stomach. Tom smiled as he saw the bump sticking out between her hips, and nodded, satisfied.

Knowing there was no one else to speak to, he twisted his head and turned to Tyler. “Hey, Ty, are you okay? Are you awake?” he questioned, scrambling over to the front seat.

“Yes, I’m awake and fine,” Tyler replied, keeping his eyes locked on the road. “Is everyone back there asleep?”

“Yeah, I’m the only one awake,” he said. “Delilah and Joey are asleep on each other and Manuel’s snoring like hell and I’m piss bored. It’s been an awesome evening so far, Ty, it really has; all the singing and the ‘highlights of the year’ moment and the sharing of all that cola you gave us. So, where are we headed tomorrow? The nightclubs? A hotel? As long as I don’t wake up after a drunken night with my eyebrows shaved off and handcuffed to a radiator with ‘Muppet’ penciled across my forehead, I think the nights out will be awesome. You know…I once had a really drunk night, and a week after, I found out that I’d – Tyler, look out!”

Tyler realized he’d taken his eyes off the road to face a chatterbox Tom. His head swiveled round to look out the windscreen, and that’s when he saw it. A thick, bulky, rough-surfaced tree lay in the path of the car, completely blocking off the road with no warning. A tree lay in the road, and the vehicle was barreling towards it at full speed.

“Brake, brake, BRAKE!” screeched Tom, and Tyler slammed his foot on the brake pedal, yet the pedal refused to go down. He stepped on it harder and harder, yet it did nothing to decelerate the car. Sh!t, sh!t, sh!t! Tyler screeched in his mind as the front wheel skimmed against the tree. Something’s blocking the bloody pedal!

But there was no time to swoop down and dislodge whatever stopped the pedal. The car slammed into the trunk, tossing it off-path. The head of the car flew sideways, and plowed through the wooden fence which outlined the road like a knife through butter. The car flipped as It rolled down the steep hill, and after several tosses, finally came to rest in a ditch.

Blood leaked out the shattered windows as the sun crept over the horizon.