Filling The Gaps

Chapter Three

“Yeah fuck you, dickhead!” Marissa yelled for what seemed like the hundredth time in twenty minutes as she forced our unattractive, seven-seater to take a sharp right at the junction we’d been waiting at, aggressively sounding her horn at an old guy on a Chopper who I should probably add had the righter way.

“Told you we should’ve put the car in my name” Porter said with a sigh,

“Yes, our bad. From now on, you’re driving” Dylan replied from the other side of Porter, grabbing on to the chair in front in failing attempt to not slam into the window as we zoomed around yet another bend. 

It was definitely fair to say that other than Marissa who clearly either had a death wish or was deluded into thinking she was Lewis Hamilton and Jace who’d fallen asleep at the very back seat as soon as we’d got into the car, the rest of us were fearing for our lives. 

So far we’d nearly hit three other cars, an innocent woman attempting to cross a road, a seagull and now what resembled Santa Clause on a motorbike could be added to the list.

“I also warned you all about how grouchy she gets after long journey’s” Porter shrugged sounding slightly pleased by the fact that we were all paying the price for not listening to him, “Oh shut up, none of you have died yet” Marissa said, ironically turning up the volume on the radio so that ‘Serial Killer’ by Lana Del Rey drained out the sound of our gasps and fearful squeals.

Other than the fact that my life was being put on the line twice every second, the reckless journey gave me the chance to film my first glimpses of Orlando through the lens of my best friend.

Everything we passed was so perfect, the huge stretches of green along the roadside with glistening ponds occupying the centre of them, the frequent billboards advertising all the Disney parks showing pictures of child actors pulling captivated faces, it almost felt like we’d arrived in a dreamland. A land we would have loved to escape to during the days that we were stuck between four, brick walls somewhere in London.

Driving through Florida was the closest thing we’d probably ever find to the magic that our childhood years lacked.

“Have you got us lost?” Caitlin asked from the front of the car as we rolled down a narrow road that was literally isolated by towering trees.

Marissa threw her hands off of the steering wheel in disbelief for a few seconds causing us all to share a moment of panic,

“Do you all take me for a total idiot or something? No, we’re not lost” she replied, her hands thankfully returning back to the where they originally were.

I could see where Caitlin was coming from though; it was like we’d been abducted from the spacious and exciting landscapes and sucked into the opening titles of a horror movie. The plot being a breakdown of a car belonging to a group of friends who eventually get killed off one by one, although the sun penetrating through the window practically frying us took away from the scare-factor completely.

“I hate to say it but we are actually heading in the right direction” Porter said not even bothering to look up from his mobile and check. God, how many times had the two of them actually been here?

“Thank you, Brother” Marissa replied giving Caitlin a sneer that scoffed ‘I told you so’.  

Gradually as the trees became less frequent and the road finally widened out, I caught sight of a grand fountain placed underneath a concrete plaque reading ‘WATERSONG’ in huge gold, block capitals.

Wherever the hell we were, it definitely looked too upmarket for a bunch of eighteen year olds to be staying. Back when we were planning the trip we’d agreed to take on different responsibilities, Porter and Marissa opting to find a good accommodation and now that I thought about it, none of us had questioned them since.