$526.41

     “Don’t forget your paycheck!” Will’s manager called from the back room as Will clocked out of the hardware store he worked at. He went behind the desk and picked up the legal envelope that contained his current life savings. As he stepped onto the sidewalk of late-night Rocky Springs, Wyoming- the small city he resided in- he ripped open the envelope and did a double take of the amount. 

     $526.41?! he thought, sighing slightly. 

     Will was 18, fresh out of college- one semester, that is - and fresh out of money. He was living paycheck-to-paycheck; not exactly how he’d planned his early adult life to go. He’d moved out a few months ago to live in a college dorm while he studied Business Management at Western Wyoming Community College. He was going strong until he wrecked his car. He had to buy a new one and that, along with all the costs that came with an accident, threw a wrench in his savings. He’d already been just squeezing by. He ended up having to pause (Not drop out, just pause- He told himself) Business school and work enough to pay for more schooling.

     So now he had a janky sunburnt-red (his roommates called it pink) Prius, a low-paying full-time job, and $526.41 to last him until next month.

     He had no money, no degree, no phone (the car wreck totaled more than just his car) and- come Saturday- no place to live. 

     He got in his car (The Janky Prius) and started west towards his dorm. It wasn’t much to go back to. All his stuff- no more than a suitcase full- was in his back seat for when he moved. 

     A light turned red and he waited. His gaze lifted to the sky, an apathetic feeling overcoming him. The feeling was getting familiar. He’d felt somehow… empty since he’d started school and it had only gotten worse since he’d stopped school.

     The light turned green and he continued west. 

     What if I just go?

     The thought, the idea, the urge, came into his mind suddenly. He dismissed it, laughing at himself. He couldn’t just leave. He had responsibilities. He had school. Work. Janky Prius. Just over $500. No friends. No reason for living.

     He shook his head and refocused on the road. Negativity wouldn’t get him anywhere. But the idea was in his brain now- and had taken root. He approached the turn he had taken every night for months. It seemed to glower at him like a beast waiting to slay him. The apathy suddenly parted and was replaced by- fear? 

     He was scared to turn. Scared to go back to his dorm, back to the life he was living. Not just scared. Terrified. 

     He didn’t know what he was thinking. Maybe he wasn’t thinking at all. But Will Greyson did not turn. He kept going straight past his dorm. 

     When he had left work, he’d been ready to collapse in exhaustion. Now, he felt wide awake. More awake than he’d been in a long time. His heart was racing.

     “Oh my gosh.” he gasped at his own spontaneity. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh-” 

     He just kept going west.

     “Honestly, Janky Prius?” Will whispered to his car. $38.87 to fill the gas tank. That left him with $487.54. No- $482.54 because they had taken $5 as a fee when he had cashed his paycheck at the store across the street. He was hungry. And tired. He’d driven through the night, only stopping at a truck stop at 5 a.m. when he caught himself nodding off. He searched Janky Prius for food. He found fruit snacks in the footwell and a bag of trail mix in the pocket on the back of his seat. He had a case of water bottles in his trunk, so that wasn’t a problem- but he could not live on snack food. He ended up buying a salad, some hot-n-ready chicken nuggets and a bag of chips for dinner and a bag of jerky to get him to the next stop. Being a college student taught him to be stingy, so it only cost him $12.17. 

     $470.37 left.

He grabbed a free (thank heavens) map on the way out and spread it out on Janky Prius’s roof. As he ate his salad, he traced the road to his location. He was on I-80, the Highway that spanned from coast to coast. “How exciting!” Said the voice in his head, the one that had made him keep driving. It startled him. He’d never been particularly adventurous- certainly not impulsive. Now here he was, halfway through Utah! He shook his head and got into the car. He tossed the map on the passenger seat and pulled out of the truck stop. He signaled left, ready to get back on the highway and go home. Maybe he could go to his parents’ house. Or his sister’s house. Or back to the dorm. Back to his life. He glanced at the map. I-80 goes all the way to the west coast. To California. He could go home now… or he could keep going. He had to decide then and there. So, in the pull-out of a truck stop in the middle of nowhere, he had an argument with himself that would define the rest of his life. 

“I don’t want to go to California, it’s too big a city.” he said to himself.

“You can take I-84W to Oregon.” replied the voice in his head.

“Why Oregon?”

“Why not Oregon?”

“It will cost more than I have.”

“You’ll find a way.”

“I didn’t put in my 2 weeks at work. That’s rude.”

“It’s a college town. They’ll find your replacement before they even start looking.”

“I don’t even have a phone.”

“Never stopped Columbus. Or Lewis and Clark. Or Amelia Earhart.”

“It’s crazy. Absolutely insane.”

     He put his head in his hands. The car behind him honked impatiently. He glanced back at the map. 

“I’ve never seen the ocean…”

     He sighed and flicked his turn signal, pulling out to the right. He got on I-15. Will Greyson was on his way to Oregon. 

     Will sat on a park bench, smiling wider than he had since he was a boy. First of all, he was eating a massive subway sandwich. Second, said subway sandwich was free. Third, he was looking at a giant waterfall. And it was breathtaking. He got the sandwich because the employee at Subway had asked him where he was headed (Oregon Beach) which led to where he was from (Wyoming) which led to why he was going from Wyoming to Oregon (“Adventure, I suppose?”) which led to a free sandwich. The waterfall was Shoshone Falls in Idaho. It had been only a small detour- and very much worth it. The sound of the tons of water crashing into the river below was almost hypnotizing and if Will stood in the wind, he could feel the mist coming off the falls. “I told you so.” said the voice in his head. He ignored it and kept smiling. 

     The next moment, his sandwich was gone. 

     “Hey!” he exclaimed, jumping up. A dog had run up and, while Will was zoned out, stole the sub right out of his hands. “Hey, ugh-” he groaned. 

“GRAB THAT DOG!” somebody behind him shouted. Will turned to see an animal control officer running after the canine thief. “GRAB HIM!” She yelled again. Will looked down at the Labrador and was jolted into reality. He bent down and grabbed the dog, lifting him into his arms. He held him while the animal control caught up. 

“Thank you.” She said, breathing heavily, “I’ve been trying to get this one all week.”

The Labrador licked Will’s face.

“Her owners abandoned her.” The officer explained. 

“I’ll take her.” the voice in his head said out loud.

What? Will Greyson exclaimed in his head.

“What?” Asked the surprised officer.

“I’ll take her. I want a dog.”

“There’s paperwork.” She informed him.

“I’ll do it.”

“It’s $250” 

“I’ll pay it.”

The officer looked Will up and down skeptically. “You just met this dog and you want to adopt her? Just like that?”

Will sighed. “Believe it or not, this isn’t the craziest thing I’ve done this week. Not even close.”

     Three hours later, Will was sitting in his car with a light brown Labrador staring at him from the passenger seat. 

$220.37 left.

     “What are you looking at?” He asked her, “What’s so funny?”

The dog blinked.

Will sighed and reached into Janky Prius’s glove box. He pulled out a Johnny Cash cassette tape and shoved it into the tape player, praying this would be one of the few times it decided to work. An old country song started playing from the low quality speakers and Will pumped his fist in victory.

“Are you ready to go to Oregon,-”

He realized he never asked the officer for the dog’s name. He thought for a second. He thought of where he was headed: Bandon Beach. He chose it because it looked the nicest on the map and was free admission. 

“Are you ready to go to Oregon, Bandon?” 

The dog licked his face.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

     That night, he and Bandon slept on top of Janky Prius. They had entered Oregon and were in a place right off the freeway called Harney. He had parked on an old farm road facing the sunset.

     One tank of gas and a meal for him and the dog later, Will had $165.50. That was a bit scary to him. He knew he was running out of money and had no idea how he was going to get home. But he wasn’t thinking about that at the moment. He was staring up at the stars. 

“Tomorrow I will see the ocean.” He whispered to himself. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

     Will woke up with the sun and felt like a million bucks. Yesterday he’d gotten a bit saddle sore from being in the car for so long and had a headache because his ears refused to pop, but the fresh air had seemed to rejuvenate him from the inside out. He hopped in the car and began driving. They ate breakfast at a local grocery store (Will a slice of pizza and an apple, Bandon a can of wet dog food. $157.43 left) and made their way along OR-138, listening to the same Johnny Cash cassette over and over. 

     Six hours later, Will’s breath was taken from his lungs. He could see the ocean. It was right there in front of him!

“Bandon, look at that!” he gasped. “The Pacific Ocean! It’s beautiful!” He drove into Bandon City, looking around at the unfamiliar place. A lighthouse was visible in the distance. He drove to it, every mile making his heart race faster. He parked at the beach between a sleek black Tesla and a brand new model Ford. Janky Prius stood out like a sore thumb here. But then again, Will mused, so did he. 

     The pair made their way to the part of the beach that allowed dogs and Will took his shoes off. The beach was nice: soft light-colored sand, birds on the shoreline, not too many people. But Will’s eyes were glued to the ocean. It was a beautiful soft green, calm and serene, with rock formations reaching out of the water like stone buildings. Back in Wyoming, there were 360° mountains, which he had never minded, but here the horizon was where the water met the sky as far out as Will could see. It excited him. The sound of the waves as they met the shore, the birds, the smell of the ocean, the sand beneath his feet- it was all beautiful. Will felt tears come to his eyes that he pretended were only a result of the salt in the air. 

“I told you so.” taunted the voice in his head. Will smiled.

     Bandon left his side and ran to the waves, chasing birds away with a look of glee in his eyes. Will followed, feeling happier and more free than ever.

16 hours and 15 minutes of driving.

1,037 miles. 

Will Greyson, a college dropout.

A Janky- but reliable- Prius.

A Labrador named after the destination.

A voice in his head that convinced him life had more in store for him if only he’d go after it.

$526.41.