Grow Up!

Let's Drift Away

Morgan's knuckles were beginning to turn white as he held onto the steering wheel ever so tightly. It was no doubt that he was nervous and having second thoughts about his whole plan to take a visit back home. Where would he even stay? His parent's house? God, no. After what he did then, no. They would never want to see a face like his again so he had to think of something else. Maybe that motel near the freeway in his town. But, that place sucks and the only good thing they had was the heated hot tub that's better for the winter times. 

Morgan released his fingers, feeling that tightness in his hand slowly go away before clamping them back down on the wheel. The motel would have to do for now. 

Beep, beep, beep!

"Hurry it up!" Jamie hit the car horn over and over with the palm of his hand as Morgan jogged down to his car. Today they got to hangout because it was summer vacation and Jamie recently got his driver's license after all his training. And, just like they had planned months prior, they were going to abuse this achievement. "Stop honking at me!" Morgan yelled, climbing into the car and tossing his backpack into the backseat where a Tyler held up his hands to avoid getting hit in the face. "Back here!" 

"Seatbelt."

"Yeah, yeah, hold on." Morgan waved his hand as he clicked on his seatbelt, even giving it a tug to make sure it was secured. It was. And with that, they were able to head off. 

With their freedom of school, the boys decided to take a drive into the nearby woods. It was not an unusual thing to do for them, or anyone. Most kids their age came out here to play in the creek or just a place to hang without any adult supervision. Do they know? Morgan wondered as he held his head up with the palm of his hand and his elbow propped up against the door. The adults had to have some kind of idea, after all, they were here before them. Then again, most parents here didn't care much about what their kids were doing. Morgan knew many kids from school who would runaway for days and return home like nothing had happened. No punishment. 

When Jamie turned to a new path, he could see a couple of students from school. They were just chatting, kicking around glass bottles, and well, some were smoking. At sixteen, you can find many others holding cigarettes and such between their fingers. Of course not in the view of an elder, but did they reek of it? Yes, yes they did. Odd how nobody said anything in class after a student leaves to the bathroom then comes back smelling unpleasant. 

Vrrt, vrrt!

"Ugh, hold on." Morgan fumbled with his pocket. Wrong side. Slipping his hand into the left pocket, he pulled out his phone. Pressing the power button with his thumb, he could see a notification for a group chat. This group chat was made so they could inform each other when they were online for a game they all had. The message was from someone, someone Morgan now could not remember. "Who is it?" Tyler asked. 

Beep, beep, beep!

Morgan snapped out of his thought when a car had honked at him then entered the lane beside him whilst speeding up to get around him. He needs to stay focused, worry about then later when he can get lost in thought. After all, he wanted to survive making it home, didn't he? He had to see what has changed since he left. Who is still living there? Who left? What places still exist? He had to know. 

A few hours in and Morgan could feel his stomach rumbling. Now he was beginning to regret not packing any snacks. Great, now that he is hungry, his head would begin to hurt. But, if he pulled over now to get a bite somewhere, it could be dark when he arrives tonight. And, with the lack of a motel room, it could be booked. 

Rumble.  

Dammit. To Hell with the motel room, he will sleep in his car if he really has to. 

Morgan was able to find a restaurant down the road he was on. The outside looked a little beat but the inside? Well, he felt like he had time traveled a bit to the past. So much neon and checkered floors. Surprisingly, it appeared to be a little packed for a place like this. Then again, pizza was good. 

At the register was young woman, probably no older than twenty-five. She smiled with her finger up ready to input his order. "What can I get you?" She asked. Morgan looked up at the menu, he was unsure if he wanted pepperoni pizza or something different. "Uh..." He started. "Just a small pepperoni and olive pizza."

"For here?" 

"Yep." Morgan got his wallet out and paid the amount he owed then she gave him his receipt with his order number. Thirty. 

He took it over to an empty booth, it had not been wiped down yet so there were crumbs scattered across the table. Morgan just used his sleeve to brush it off onto the floor and sat down. From where he was sitting, he could easily see the kids running around the little play area. One kid fell, got up, and fell again. All Morgan could do was chuckle and look at the rest of the restaurant. Above his booth, on the wall, was a neon sign; "Mr.K's Pizza". Morgan swore they had one in his town except it closed. And, it looked drastically different from this place. This place looked so much newer. 

"Order number thirty!" A guy called out, plopping the pizza box onto the counter. Time to eat. 

When Morgan picked up his box and brought it over to his booth, he could see that even the box has changed. There used to be a man on here, or some kind of creature. Animal? Monster? He couldn't remember. All he knew was that the box has changed to only display the restaurant's name. No other special details added. 

The pizza even tasted different. Not to say it was horrible, it just tasted like any other pizza. I guess when you get older, things just aren't as good as you remember. Morgan thought, taking another bite out of his slice. He nearly ate the whole pizza on his own but became full after the fourth slice. The small pizzas seemed to have gotten bigger as well. Whatever, Morgan is just happy that he ate at all. He used napkins to wipe his hands and face then tossed out the box before heading back out.