On the Road

Road trips were always a headache for Kathryn; they forced her to pack up two days before the trip, check to make sure she had everything, and then panic because she remembered something she was missing two hours before she had to leave. Nevertheless, she was being dragged, against her will, to travel with her friends to Oregon. The reasoning? “To have fun.”

What that meant, she didn’t know.

“Kat, hurry up! J’s literally going to leave you behind, I swear.”

Kat sighed. “Doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Kat’s best friend, Willow, grabbed her hello kitty suitcase out of her hand and stuffed it in the back of J’s car.

Kat rolled her eyes. “Why are we rushing in the first place?”

Wil shrugged. “The faster we get there, the more stuff we can do. It’s simple logic.”

Kat rolled her eyes. “You and I must have different definitions of logic, then.”

J sent a signal with his horn about his impatience. Kat is forcefully shoved to the left side of the second row, and Wil follows close behind.

“Okay,” Wil announced. “Now we pick up Kaleb.”

Kat froze. Kaleb’s coming? She suddenly felt cramped in J’s car, and all she wanted to do was to get out. Too late, she told herself. The car’s already moving.

It’s obvious Wil recognized the change in Kat’s mood, because she placed her hand on top of her own. “We have to do this,” she whispered. “It’ll be good for the both of you.”

Kat didn’t agree. What he had said on the last day of school… wasn’t something she was ready for. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about any of it; she didn’t have an answer.

“You know what he said, right?” Kat hissed back. “Did your ‘logic’ ever happen to think about how awkward these three hours will be knowing that he and I are in the same car?”

“You’re overreacting! Just because he… likes you… doesn’t mean you two can’t still be friends. And I don’t understand; you told me you didn’t exactly “turn him down.”

“I didn’t! It just surprised me, okay? I wasn’t ready for it. I’m still not ready for it! We’re only sophomores, Wil.”

J made eye contact with Kat through the front view mirror. He shook his head. “My man is a good guy. You’re really gonna let one confession destroy an entire friendship with him?”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through Twitter to distract her; to worry about things not exclusive to only her life. The ride to Kaleb Kat is left guilty, queasy, and hungry. Three feelings that didn’t mix well at all.

Kat regretted sitting on the left, because it meant she had to watch Kaleb come out of his house like a weirdo. She tried to keep her head down the entire time, while Wil went out to help him just as she did for Kat.

The door closed shut. “Hey Kat,” he began, giving her a small wave.

Kat nodded. There was something stuck in her throat that made it difficult for her to verbally reply. Wil simply eyed her back expectantly. Kaleb was already putting his seatbelt on, and Wil just wouldn’t give in. As soon as the car started moving, an elbow pierced into her rib.

“Ow,” she squeaked. Kat pulled out her phone and began aggressively texting Wil.

I hate you, u know that?

How do u not have the decency to reply? All you have to say is “hey,” or “hello,” or something!

I acknowledged his presence, it’s good enough.

For u maybe, but how do u think he feels?

I don’t have the energy to think about other people’s feelings rn, Wil

Too bad. We came on this trip to have fun. No matter how much you try to avoid him, we’re staying together.

Kat let out a deep breath. Why had she agreed to this in the first place? Oh right, she didn’t. And now she would have to suffer two nights with these three people. It wasn’t like she hated them. She just… would rather be somewhere else doing something else. Anything else. At this point, it was desperation.

She tried to fall asleep. I mean, her eyes were closed, and she was thinking about Harry Styles, but the car was being obnoxious. Every time she felt herself reaching REM sleep, they’d cross a speedbump, or drive past people who played their music like they were at a concert. It was horrible. Worst of all, it was so quiet that you’d think they were all asleep; but in fact, they were all wide awake.

“All right everyone,” Wil shouted, clapping her hands. “I want to have fun on this trip. So, we’re going to play a little game. J, you keep driving, but occasional comments are allowed. Just make sure we don’t get into a car crash. As for the rest of us… we’re going to do a game of Would You Rather!”

Wil pulled out a thick book of would you rather questions. Kat almost snorted. Wil was really pushing for this.

“Okay, let’s see. Would you guys rather lose your sight or lose your memories? Kaleb, you go first.”

Kaleb grinned. “I’d lose my memory. New memories can always be made. Besides, most people can’t even remember all of them.”

Kat strongly disagreed. “Actually, a lot of people can remember memories; they only choose to remember the most important ones. I’d lose my eyesight. Memories are precious things, and although I love being able to see, I’d want to remember as much as I could about the people I care about.”

Wil smiled. Great to know she’s having fun, Kat thought, shaking her head.

“You guys are taking this too seriously. Let’s do one about food.” She took a second to flip through the pages, searching for a decent question.

“Okay. Would you guys rather swim in a pool of Nutella or a pool of maple syrup? Kat, you first.”

“Nutella. Syrup is disgusting and sticky. Nutella is delicious and sticky. There’s a difference.”

Kaleb made a weird face. “They’re both bad. I’m allergic to nuts, and syrup is too sticky. If anything, put me in a pool of pee or something.”

“You’re disgusting,” Kat remarked.

“And you’re rude, but you already knew that, didn’t you?” he retorted back.

That’s it, she was done. She wasn’t going to take this any longer. Kat closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you thought I’d say after you confessed your undying love to me. I don’t know why you’d say that on the last day of school and expect me to have an answer. And I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about it because I really don’t want to spend the rest of the summer trying to find a decent answer.”

Kaleb blinked. He pushed his hair out of his face, and instead of facing Kat, he looked out the window.

“I wasn’t talking about that,” he mumbled.

Kat felt stupid. There was no other way to describe how she felt. Wil gave her the pity look; the one that told her ‘I feel secondhand embarrassment for you.’ She hadn’t thought any of this through.

“I’m sorry,” she faltered. “It’s just that…”

Kat felt J staring at her again. She bit her lip. “I don’t know how I feel.”

Kaleb nodded, eyes still avoiding her own. “Okay.”

Kat let out the breath she had been holding. Even though she didn’t outwardly answer yes or no, the weight off her chest was lifted. Wil continued the would you rather game until the rest of the way, and Kat appreciated it. There would be no awkward conversations the rest of the trip; she could feel it.

And she was right. As soon as they arrived at the motel they were staying in, she collapsed on the bed. She and Wil shared a room, and the boys were in the room next to theirs. She pulled herself under the covers. Kat was exhausted. Car rides were exhausting. Wil pouted after seeing Kat laying in bed.

“It’s only 4pm, Kat.”

She didn’t reply. In response to the silence, Wil began jumping on the bed.

Kat threw a pillow at her.

“Oh, you’re looking to fight?” Wil challenged.

“For the right to sleep? Bet."

THE END.