Finding Arizona

Chapter 3

"And well, honestly Shell, I think I want to go." I finished my last spoonful of chocolate almond ice cream at the same time I finished relaying my most recent possibly-life-changing events to Shelly.

"Arizona, now hear me out okay, but you cannot be serious right now. You are joking, right?" She replied laying down her filled spoon back into the bowl.

"I have never been more serious." My heart skipped a beat. Shelley almost never keeps me from doing something I truly want to do unless it is a danger to my life, or just generally a big mistake. My palms grew sweaty as i clenched them harder. "Why?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe because the only thing you know about this guy is what kind of sunglasses he wears!"

"Well, not exactly..."

"You don't even know what kind of sunglasses he wears, yet you call him Mr. Sunglasses! Do you see the flaw in this plan yet? A strange man whom you have never met and know nothing about just asked you to join him on this excursion of "life discovery" in his coincidental two person car. Do you not feel any sense of creepy from this? What if this man is a serial kidnapper, rapist, killer? This could be his scheming device! Targeting future confused teens who just yearn for life discovery. Bam! Offer them a ride, company, an incredible journey, and a happy go lucky but still dark and mysterious attitude towards you and life, and he earns himself another victim to claim in two weeks time. You need to think about these kinds of things, Arizona."

Shelly has always been the reasonable figure in life. She tries to keep people, especially myself, from making rash decisions. Even though sometimes her tactics fail, she has good intentions. But Shelly lives a very different life from me. There is a very big difference between carefree and happy-go-lucky. While she does not let stress get to her and is not one to worry about her grades as much as me, she is not as open to taking risks. I, however, want to take risks. I want to see more of the world and more of myself. I never have taken any risks other than a risky procrastination attempt with studying or a prank here or there. I wish I could honestly call myself a badass, but the closest I can get is the attitude of one. I want to take these life risks but I have never had the means, or support, to do so. Shelly is my only support, and not everything I want to do is necessarily supported by her.

"Shelly, I need you to understand-"

"I understand very well already, Arizona. The thrill and adrenaline that comes with the thought of these adventures is great. But the danger that lurks in the shadows of every flaw in the plan will hurt more than the fun can cancel out. I know that living here is not the life you want. Staying at home with your parents is not what you want right now, and you just want to figure your life out. But doing so by putting all of your trust and your life in the hands of some creepy stranger you just met? Don't be mad at me, but that is pretty dumb of you." Her words touched deep, even though they are for the best. That is all she wants for me. She wants me to have the best that I can, and be the best that I can. But I believe that this is how I am going to find it.

"And you aren't doing the exact same thing, Shell?"

"Oh please, do tell me how my plans are even remotely on the same plane of existence as your stupidity." Shelly blurted, the level of aggravation with me rising.

"Wow, ok Shell, let's start with how in one hour you were persuaded to move your entire life across the country? You don't know where you are going to live, you honestly don't know how you are going to make a living, because don't get me wrong, Shell, you have a solid chance, but how many people who want to make it in the acting world actually make it in the acting world? The statistic is a lot lower than I think you think it is. Especially for someone like you who doesn't actually have as much experience as you think you do. Let's not forget that you will be by yourself in Los Angeles, which is not exactly the most welcoming and safe place. And this time around your parents aren't a simple phone call away. And neither am I. What happens if you get into trouble? What happens if things don't work out and you end up penniless and far from home? It's not like you have a private jet to whisk you away back home. And there is still college. I'm sorry Shell, but handling a movie and still making top-notch grades to keep you in the program you are going to be in is not an easy thing to do. Are you going to live on campus? Because that's pretty far from where you will be filming. Are you going to live on set for the time being, because that's pretty far from campus. I'm not the only one that needs to think about things, Shelly. Because you seem to be living in a fantasy world right now, Shell, and I say this as your best-friend, that needs to stop. Things will most likely not go completely as planned, and you need to be mentally prepared for that. You can't go into this with the sole fantasy scenario of everything being perfect like it has been so far. Because that out there," I said pointing out the parlor window, "that's the real world. And it won't wait around for you. So you are going to need to prepare for it. And I don't think you have."