Time to Twice

[2]

It was a miracle that I fell asleep during the car ride. The girls were being so loud, that I half expected the passengers of other cars could hear them. Somehow I had ended up asleep with my head bent forward, a position that was made uncomfortable by the seat belt. Half-asleep, I was able to recognize some snickering and the sound of people taking pictures.

    "Do you think she's as uncomfortable as she looks?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. As more camera shutters went off, the girls all agreed at the same time, mumbling different versions of a positive answer. I heard someone scold the girls and tell them to leave me alone as I slept.

    "That girl," the same voice who had stopped the girls from pestering me began, "is going to have some major neck and back pain." Laughter sounded around the car. Tzuyu had an idea but hesitated. She tried to get Mina's attention as quietly as she could, as to try and not to wake me. Little did she know, all the commotion had woken me up. I remained in the uncomfortable position, too tired to move, and tried to fall back asleep.

    "Mina, let her rest her head on your shoulder," Tzuyu whispered to the blonde girl who had looked up from her Nintendo Switch when the girls started taking pictures. Gaming device in hand, Mina glanced in my direction and quickly returned the Switch to her bag. Tzuyu leaned me back gently so that I was sitting upright. Dahyun, who was sitting behind me, overheard the conversation and reached forwards to gently move my head onto Mina's shoulder. Seeing this, Tzuyu looked back at the two girls in the last row, only to see them already back in their own little world.

    I woke up not long after that, to the girls shaking me and yelling. I almost fell out of my seat, but my seatbelt was still fastened. The girls laughed harder seeing this. While figuring out where I was and what was going on, I heard Jeongyeon and Nayeon bickering.

    "Nayeon, stop hitting me!" Jeongyeon said. In response, Nayeon laughed at her before calming down enough to actually respond. "I can't, it's too funny!" She choked out before laughing again. I looked out the window and realized we were stopped. Were we already there? I turned to Mina, who was grinning widely at the cackling Nayeon and the sulking Jeongyeon. I tapped her shoulder and she turned to look at me.

    "Minari, how long have I been asleep?" I asked sheepishly, scratching the back of my neck. She lifted herself slightly from her seat to peek over the girl in front of her to see the time on the dashboard, before sitting back down. "Not too long, we're just taking a gas station stop." She responded. I heard Dahyun yell from the back row, "Yeah, because someone ate all the snacks!" At this, Momo's head snapped around and they began bickering. I heard Tzuyu stifle a laugh, and turned to look at her, with a smile on my face.

    Just before pulling into the nearly empty gas station lot, Jeongyeon convinced Nayeon to stop hitting her, with much help from Jihyo after the ostrich pointed out how unsafe it was for Nayeon to be hitting her while she was driving. The girls were fighting their way out of the van, desperate to stretch their legs. After I watched the girls stampede into the poor, unsuspecting gas station, I turned my attention to Jeongyeon, who was currently occupied with the gas pump. I quickly shuffled around in my bag, before pulling my wallet out and offering my credit card to Jeongyeon.

    "No, that's ok. I'll handle it." She said, shaking her head and waving her hands in front of her, dismissing my offer to pay. I shrugged and returned my card and wallet to my bag. "Are you not going in to get anything?" She asked while she inserted the nozzle into the gas tank. "No, I'm alright. I'll just steal some of Chaeyoung's food." She chuckled at my response. We stood in comfortable silence, leaning against the car while waiting for the gas to finish pumping. I slowly zoned out, taking in the unfamiliar view in front of me.

    The girls flooded out of the gas station doors just as the vehicle was fully fueled. Jeongyeon couldn't help but sigh as she watched the girls skip towards us, singing a song I didn't recognize. When they reached the car, Momo grabbed Jeongyeon's hands and began to sway with her. The girls were all dancing around, and eventually, Jeongyeon gave in and began to mess around with them. I hid a smile behind my hand before Jihyo grabbed my hands and I joined in.

    After we had all loaded back into the rented car, the girls began to hand out various snacks and drinks. Jihyo reminded them of the time and told them not to eat too much because we were going to stop for lunch in an hour or two. They all agreed, and Nayeon resumed her music. While the girls were all singing boisterously, I turned to my left to see Mina with her headphones in, looking out the window at the various fields we passed. She looked so peaceful, despite the chaos surrounding her. I smiled softly and turned to my right to see Tzuyu slightly bobbing her head to the music that MC Nayeon had put on. I nudged her with my elbow, and she turned to face me. Her eyebrows were knit in confusion, and I began to copy her movements. She laughed at me before returning to her previous actions.