China Grove Rockwell

I: Exit 68

It was around 10:15 at night when a notification buzzed and lit up Hailey's phone, startling her. It was dark, so Hailey knew she shouldn't take her eyes off the road, but she was on the way to her best friend Ashlynn's anniversary party, so she felt the need to check. Hailey reached over the passenger seat for her phone and picked it up. With on-and-off glances Hailey read a message from another friend, Katie , "Where are you? The party started like 20 minutes ago?!".

"Shit!", Hailey exclaimed to herself. What is Ashlynn going to think now? I don't have time to do things with her anymore? Hailey thought to herself nervously.

In a rush, she puts her phone down and pushes harder on the gas pedal. As she starts to drive faster she takes an exit impulsively. An exit one too early that is.

"You have got to be kidding me!!" Hailey shouts. So apparently I don't know where my own best friend lives now? Fantastic. Hailey grunted.

Hailey began to drive a little slower, feeling around on her phone to open GPS so she can find a new way around. Her phone said that she drove onto Exit 68, towards China Grove and Rockwell. I don't think I've ever driven down here. Hailey said to herself looking out the window. But as she was looking out the window, she noticed the darkness from the sky becoming light again. Which was weird. It wasn't like it was raining, just purely nighttime. After just about 30 seconds, the sky was completely light and blue. In the process unveiling the most oddly colored houses she'd seen in her lifetime. Rows of blue, yellow, purple, red, green, the whole damn rainbow for that matter. Each house also had a shockingly contrasting colored door compared to the rest of the house. At the end of the neighborhood there was a sign. The sign read, "Welcome to China Grove Rockwell! The tackiest city in the U.S. of A.". Hailey laughed confusingly. What had she gotten herself into?

Hailey had never heard of a city, calling itself "the tackiest city". After reaching the edge of the neighborhood, she opened her GPS one last time. The last time she would ever for the next few days. Her phone began to glitch and exited out of the app, it didn't recognize this new city.

"What the hell?" Hailey smacked her phone repeatedly in an attempt to get the GPS to work. It didn't work. She looked back behind her and a wall mimicking the grass and sky hid the exit she came from. She was stuck.

Concerned, she turned off her car and opened the door to get out of the car. As her first foot touched the slick asphalt road of the China Grove Rockwell neighborhood, she felt a cool rush up her spine. This town was about to become one with her.

Hailey picked up her other foot and stepped fully out of her car. But already the town had consumed her life. When she began to close her car, she noticed that the color of her car had completely changed. Originally a plain silver sedan, it was now a bright lime green, matching with the freshly cut grass in the front yards of the surrounding houses. At this point Hailey was freaking out. Things were changing right before her eyes. With literally just a blink of an eye, her entire car became green. Was she hallucinating? Was she dreaming? Or was it the end? Did she actually crash the car?... In that moment Hailey saw a vision where when she took the exit she swerved and crashed into the neighboring woods and had a violent collision into a tree. Her face was covered in broken glass shards, her neck completely snapped, just a faint struggling sound coming out of her bloody mouth. None of this was real of course, but she wanted to think of something that could've happened, so she didn't sound crazy when she left. If she could find a way out.

Not wanting to put too much thought into the idea and scare herself out of her mind, Hailey walked over to the nearest house to find a way to get back on the road. She walked across the perfectly smooth asphalt road to a light purple house with a door of a darker purple shade. She stepped up the concrete stairs that led to the door, looking over at the potted plants along the way. When she arrived at the front door, she rang the doorbell. The doorbell played the classic jingle. After only a few seconds of waiting, someone answered the door. Now standing in the doorframe was a tall woman with fake slivers she called eyebrows and a jaggedly cut blue hairdo. She was wearing a hot pink dress with lime green tights underneath. Hailey looked the woman up and down and thought, No wonder this is called the tackiest city in America.

The woman began to speak. "Hello. Hmm, I don't recognize you. You new to the area?" The woman asked in a punkish voice.

"Oh, I mean, I don't live here if that's what you mean. I took a wrong turn and just ended up here by accident." Hailey explained.

"Ahh, I see. Well, what's up?"

"I just need to know how to get back on the highway from here. My phone is acting all messed up."

"Oh, I wouldn't know. I've never tried leaving. There's a lot to see here. I kinda got all I need."

"What do you mean you've never tried to leave?" Hailey asked. She was shocked by such a statement.

"There's a lot to do in this city. More than what any other place has to offer." The woman added.

"Alright then...I'm just in a rush to get somewhere. I don't have the time to...stay." Hailey hesitated.

"Then you'll have to ask someone else. But I bet it's going to be a struggle finding someone who knows a way. Like I said, we kinda have got all we need here."

Hailey threw her hand up in confusion. She couldn't waste her time talking to some crazy maniac. She turned away and walked back to her now green car. When she got to the door, she heard the woman's voice one last time in a shout.

"Hey! You never said your name!" The woman shouted from her door.

Hailey rolled her eyes, but decided to give her name out anyway. "It's Hailey. My name's Hailey!"

"Really? My name is Kayleigh!"

Hailey widened her eyes and gave a nod. The kind of response you give to someone that you don't give two shits as to what they're saying.

And just as Hailey was getting into her car, Kayleigh yelled one last thing. "Oh! And I love your hair by the way!!"

"Thanks."

She watched Kayleigh walk back into her house and shut the dark purple door. Hailey did the same and turned her car back on. As the engine began to run, she pulled down the sun visor and opened the little mirror inside. When she looked into the mirror, she noticed that her hair was a deep red shade. Hailey grabbed her hair and pulled. She moved it around to look at her scalp. This wasn't a wig or some dumb joke. This was coming from her actual scalp. Her natural blonde was gone and from the looks of it, it was going to be a while before she got to see it again. She shut the sun visor and put her head down on the steering wheel.

"I am literally going insane." Hailey said out loud.

With one last shot to see if this was all fake. Hailey slapped herself with all her force across her face. It gave her actual pain. So it didn't seem to be a dream.

Now, being even more crazed, Hailey slammed on the gas pedal. Just going to drive where the road took her. The vibrant neighborhood faded behind her as the trees began to lessen. She was entering the city.