Road Trip [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 14

I was now dialing my mom's phone number just to hear again the words grandpa George had just said to me. He was sitting across me staring at me with those same eyes he has been the whole time because his word hadn't been crushed by his real grandfather telling him that he felt guilty so he kept in contact with his mother this entire time.

My mom answered almost immediately which led me to believe that she had her hands-free headphone in her head and was expecting a call from work.

"Hello." She was using her business voice.

"Mom, it's me." I said. My voice sounded more upset than I intended.

"Oh, hi sweetie! Is it an emergency cause I'm kind of swa-"

"Yes it is! Can you just talk to me for once?" I know this was unfair of me, to go off on her when she had to work, but it's not like I was hiding her grandfather from her.

"Sure, what is it?" She said with a sight. She obviously just wanted to get over with this.

"I just met my granddad mom. My granddad! How could you hide this from me?"

"Oh my god Tom." She was now worried. "Damn it I told him not to tell you anything!"

"What's that supposed to mean? Why wouldn't he tell me anything? Since when have you been talking to him?"

"Well since you were about thirteen." My mother had given up, she was finally ready to explain. Thirteen, that was when my father tried to get in contact with me. "After you refused to talk to your dad he called and asked me things about you like, what are your hobbies your interests and stuff. And when I told him you like to write he just wanted to see what you write. So after that I've just been sending him a copy of the essays you wrote for school or some of your short stories, but that's it."

"But, how did he know I'd be here?" It all made sense up to this point, the reason she always made photocopies of what I wrote in her office.

"Well he lived close to that hotel you wanted to go so I just told him to get a room and keep an eye on you for me."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Yeah, like I'd leave my seventeen year old kid alone at a strange city for two days!" What?

"But mom you've done much worst than that."

"Excuse me?" I didn't mean to offend her, I was just stating a fact.

"What about the time I took the train all alone to go to my other grandpa's house?"

"You we not all alone there! Bob was there to!" Bob, the train driver and also my mom's ex. I can't believe I hadn't noticed him.

"Okay, well what about the time I got drunk at that college party?"

"Your cousin was keeping an eye on you. He promised he wouldn't let you drink and he didn't. You just had one shot and then freaked out and thought you were drunk." She said that last one with a laugh. Wow, my moment of glory. The infamous night of how I crashed a college party and got drunk at fourteen was fake? Wow, that was way too much to take in on one day.

"The 'I don't like Mondays' tattoo?" I was just waiting for her to tell me she was dating that tattoo artist and told him to give me fake one, or something.

"Oh, please! That thing was sweating off you thigh by the moment you showed it to me." I was not sure how to respond to that. I was a little ashamed of the things I thought of her. And my father, I never knew he was sixteen when my mom got pregnant. That' still not an excuse but he's not as big of a jerk as I thought he was. He was just a kid.

"Thanks mom." I said before hanging up. She didn't know how much I mean it.

"Everything okay there kid?" Grandpa George asked as soon as I put my phone back in my pocket and was ready to look at him again.

"I still have questions." I stated. I was not letting him off that easy.

"Go." He said and I sat back down in front of him.

"If you were just supposed to keep an eye on me, why did you come with us in the car."

"Well that was just me being curious. I wanted to meet you in person. And lastly, I was debating on whether to ask you this or not." He cleared his throat. Apparently he had decided to ask me.

"See, I am the co-owner of this magazine. Sunday Paranoia, ever heard of it?"

"Of course." One of my favorites, it had a column were psychiatrists were reporting about all those kind of people with mental problems (the story with that man and the lamp was also posted there) and there were also just people commenting on the society like what was wrong with it, what was good and the things that were bugging them personally. It was very much focused on humans and their way of thinking which I found very interesting.

"Well we're adding a new column to it. Which is about teenagers commenting on how they see things. So we have to find like a group of three to four kids to deal with it. But we need smart kids, opinionated who also know how to write. And from your essays I know you're all three of those so are you interested?"

"What? I mean yes! Of course I am!"

"Great! So when do you want to move in?"

"Move in?"

"Well yeah. The team's gotta be together. Plus you'll have to do a lot of traveling and.."

"Traveling?" I ask. Why would there be traveling?

"Oh, um, I didn't mention that did I? The teenage team will be splitting up into teams of two. Two of the kids are going to be reporting about their school and stuff like that and the rest are going to be reporting about the teenage community all around the world." That was genius.

"Like interviews and stuff?" I asked.

"Yes that too. But, of course, if you don't wanna move in you could be one of the kids that report from their own school and email me your essays." He said. That sounded convenient. But who was I to pick convenience over adventure? Who was I to turn down my dream job because of freaking convenience?

"How much time do I have to think about it?"

"All the four kids will have to be chosen before school starts after spring break. You have to think about it until then."

I thanked Grandpa George and left the room. It seemed funny how I went through more emotions that day alone than I think I have in my whole life. I started walking towards my room, ready to apologize to Maia and Jackson for everything and on the way I thought about Grandpa's offer. Traveling, reporting, exploring people, that was what I always wanted to do so what was stopping me?