Treehouse

eleven; road trip and ponies

We began to pack for our trip. Well to be more specific, just Hudson and I. Mackenzie on the other hand was not convinced. I gave her a full on speech about why we needed to go without going off about a different topic, which was a huge achievement for me. Yet even after that, she still refused to come along. Hudson and I were never great organizers and we couldn't do a road trip without a plan. Therefore, we kidnapped Mackenzie.

I had to sneak back into my house through the window leading to my room to retrieve my belongings. I threw on a black hoodie and black tights with my combat boots. Right before leaving, I shoved the wooden box, map and some money I managed to gather into my backpack. I didn't bother locking my bedroom door or setting up a clichè recording of my voice. My mother wouldn't even notice my whereabouts.

I ran to Hudson's house, passing a few late night walkers, and climbed up the huge oak tree near his window. I tapped on the glass in a rhythmic pattern three times and waited. Hudson cautiously opened his window, letting me in. First thing I noticed was his all black attire and his dark green beanie. He had a duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered. "Careful as you step in-"

"SHIT." I stepped on a sharp object. It was a Barbie doll. I gave him a questioning look.

"My sister."

"Who's up there? I heard a girl," Mr. Clark said.

"Uh..." he searched my face for something to say, "it's just September," Hudson responded. He winced, knowing that he screwed up.

"Get lit but remember you homies got education stuff tomorrow, ugh. I'm gonna get some shut eye," Mr. Clark laughed.

I let out a long breath that I did not know I was holding in. The tension in the room went away. "That was close," Hudson sighed. We listened closely for Hudson's parents to shut their bedroom door. Once we heard the door close, he beckoned me to follow him out of the room. I followed close behind him into the kitchen, where he attentively opened a drawer to take his car keys. Just as we were about to open the screen doors that led to the backyard, a little someone interrupted.

"Where are you two going?"

"Ocean! Hey! Go to bed," Hudson said happily with annoyance in his tone of voice.

"Where are you going?" she said again. She crossed her arms and gave a devilish smile. The pink pigtails really masked her true self.

"None of your business. Isn't it passed your bedtime?"

"Tell me before I scream. 5, 4, 3, 2..."

"Okay, okay!" Hudson placed his hand on Ocean's mouth. "Me and September are going to go to Target. To go to Target. And we are taking the van."

"Mom and Dad are going to kill you!"

"Not if they don't find out. Say hello to Abe Lincoln," I bribed. I smugly handed the five dollar bill to Ocean.

"Do you think I'm dumb?"

"You're like seven. Bribery is the best form of getting what I want from children," I responded.

"What do you want?" Hudson pleaded.

"Well," she answered slowly. "Buy me ponies."

"Deal," Hudson said quickly without hesitation.

~

Though Hudson's driving was nauseating, it was not unsafe. He would jolt the van and pay too much attention to the 10 and 2 hand position rather than the road itself. Letting Hudson take the wheel (without a license) may be a suicidal decision.

He parked the van two houses away from Mackenzie's house just in case her parents were home from their business trip. We got out of the van and made a run for her window. Her room is on the first floor, which made the job easier. Hudson carefully opened Mackenzie's window and we climbed in. This time I did it gracefully.

Since Mackenzie was a light sleeper, she woke up from hearing just a slight creak from her floorboards. She began to stir in her sleep, indicating that she was about to wake up. Shit. She turned on the lamp on her nightstand. Once her vision cleared up and she saw what was happening, she screamed in terror.

"This is not what it looks like," Hudson explained. I took a look at us. We were dressed in all black, Hudson was holding a rope and duct tape, and I was holding a flashlight. "Okay this is exactly what it looks like."

Mackenzie squinted before putting on her glasses to see the two home invaders. "GUYS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Well, we were going to kidnap you but you're currently conscious so get changed. We are going to New York. We'll be waiting in the car," I stated.

"You guys are literally on some substance that I do not want to be near. From New Jersey to New York is approximately an hour and fifty minutes. Since we barely know the way, it will take about-," Mackenzie stopped midsentence because we were already out the window making our way back into the van.

~

Mackenzie opened the sliding doors and took a seat in the back.

"Alright so- what the fuck are you wearing?" Hudson spoke to her by looking at the rear mirror. "Are you kidding me right now?"

She was wearing an orange jacket and orange jeans. Where does one get orange jeans? "I don't know what the plan is or how it is going to be executed. I am in utter shock that I am actually following through on this. This orange clothing will make me visible if I get lost, or if someone can't see me in the dark, they won't run me over."

"The objective is to blend in. Get a load of this woman over here," Hudson sighed. He tossed her a spare grey hoodie and she threw it on.

"You looked like a traffic cone," I laughed.

"Or a cheese puff," Hudson added.

"Or an Irish settler's hair," Mackenzie joined in. "Wait, why am I making fun of myself? This is what happens to me at late hours. I am mad at you guys."

"We are so sorry but we need you and calculations," I said. Her face lit up at the math term. "We need to calculate the um, Hudson take it away." I swallowed two Adderalls to keep me focused.

"Alright so our goal is to make it back in time for school. I need you to find out how fast we need to be going in order to reach that goal. Plus bathroom stops. Minus gas time because my dad keeps gallons of it in the trunk," Hudson exclaimed and he handed her a paper and pen.

"How much money do we have?" she asked. Hudson and I go through our bags. I pulled out seven bucks and he pulled five. She added in ten dollars. She nodded and began to jot down numbers onto the paper.

After about two minutes, Mackenzie sprung up. "It depends on what speed limit the roads we take are but our best bet is to drive 8 miles per hour above the limit. It speeds up our arrival time and it is not too fast to get us pulled over. AND WE BETTER NOT GET PULLED OVER. Our pit stops need to be quick. Three minutes at most if we want to get back to New Jersey before school."

"This is why you're the genius," I smiled.

"Shit," Hudson rubbed his hand over his face, "We need ponies."

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