Evil Is Pink (bxb)

Chapter 2

The drive was long—or perhaps it only felt long because Sticks stayed awake for the entirety of the trip, unlike his dad who passed out after delivering an hour-long thesis on why he was no smarter than a half-squashed ant by the windowsill. In the silence that ensued after his verbal beatdown, Sticks found his wet gaze wandering towards the ever changing scenery from the little barred window at the back of the van. It was a simple taste of luxury Sticks seldom got. Usually when he traveled with his father, he would be blindfolded and stuffed in the back of whatever crazy contraption his dad built for the day. Seeing green was a blessing.

The air that drifted inside was warm and humid, as was expected for the summer month. The trees whistled and, when they did, Sticks could catch a whiff of coconut and grass tickling his nose. The wide expanse of the road was barren, save for the tall billboard towers featuring Cricko-Burger advertisements amongst others. Tiny pockets of dilapidated homes made out of corrugated steel sheets, broken bark and logs peppered the rustic lands, and seemed jarringly misplaced next to the metropolitan, corporate billboards.

He sniffed, taking refuge from his misery in the sights set before him. He hated to admit it, but there was a tiny part of him that was somewhat happy to be captured (don't tell his father though). He never would have been able to take in this scenery otherwise. This was the first time he ever left Seaweed City, not that he got to see very much of it while he was there. And the first time of anything was always exciting. Also, from what he remembered from the maps he studied, the grand metropolis of Atlanticana was only an hour or two away from the Central Prison by car. He couldn't even imagine it! To be this close to the 'Greatest City in the World'—how exciting was that?!

Maybe if I did better...we wouldn't be caught. And maybe I could've visited the city for real...Wouldn't that have been amazing? To be able to stroll down Nejiji Street, renowned for their delectable street food that could satisfy the most insatiable of appetites, or visit the glass entertainment center that was Wakubi Springs...It all seemed like a dream to him.

The thought of what could've been, coupled with his indisputable failure made his heart pang against his ribcage.

He blew it.

Like he really blew it this time.

If there was ever a screw up that made Sticks feel smaller than dirt, it would be this one. Because this time, he and his father were actually going to prison. And it was all his fault. Of course it was – his father was never wrong. If he had just followed his instincts and warned him about the missing sidekick, things would have turned out so, so differently. The guilt and despair of this realization made him physically cringe. He felt sick. The shame squished his shoulders and made him curl underneath the barred window. He didn't deserve to enjoy the sights. If only he was better. He felt so useless—so much so that being alive next to his father felt like sin.

Despite all of his father's antics and shenanigans and schemes, they had never actually been arrested or caught before. They've come close, but his father always had some sort of trick or ace up his sleeve. The fact that he hadn't made a move yet after his lecture, meant that there was no secret, tricky escape coming. And that scared him.

But what scared him even more than that, was the certainty that he could be spending the rest of his life in prison. Well...maybe 'scared' wasn't exactly the right word per se. He was...confused? Anxious? To be frank, he had no idea what to expect. His father had taught him that there was no worse place a person could be, but at the same time Sticks had read in books and online that prison was a place for rehabilitation—a special place where people can get better and learn the errors of their ways...and that didn't sound so bad. So, which was it?