Thrasher's King of the Road

Chapter 2

After the ceremony, my family and I are seated at a nice restaurant, enjoying our overpriced (but insanely delicious) desserts. I can tell that my mom has been keeping a comment in since we sat down, and I'm dreading the conversation that we're inevitably going to have.

Eventually, she breaks.

"Winnie, are you sure that you're going to be able to drive out there? You know that California highways aren't like the ones we have here. The lanes, the drivers, the traffic! I'm just not sure that you're going to do well with the change."

While I appreciate her concern, I'm still trying to avoid giving away how annoyed I am with my response.

"Mom, I promise that everything will be fine. I'm confident that between me and Mara we'll have it covered. Thank you for being worried, but we're already packed and ready to go tomorrow morning for our flight," I respond extra calmly.

My mom resigns her efforts and gives in with a sigh.

"Okay, okay fine. I know that you'll do great out there but I can't help but be nervous. I'm actually really excited that you're finally taking the chance to travel."

Mom's right about that, I never take the time to go and see new places outside of bum fuck Pennsylvania. When Mara mentioned going away to San Francisco for a couple weeks, I thought it was a great idea. Mara and I met sophomore year of college when she transferred in from an outside university. We bonded over our love for punk rock and music festivals, and the rest just followed from there. Junior year we got an apartment together to help save some money, and ever since, we've spent nearly every day with each other. Mara knows that I have a weird love for skateboarding, but it's not something that she finds as interesting as I do. Sometimes she'll pick up one of my copies of Thrasher and point out her "hottest skaters of the month." As she puts it, "Lizzie and Axel are a bisexual's dream couple," and I can't say that she's wrong. Other than that, Mara couldn't care less about skateboarding.

Unknown to Mara, I was mostly excited for San Francisco because all of the best skate spots are out there. I'm looking forward to nice picnics in the park with a book, watching the local skaters practice their tricks. I really need this vacation after my insanely busy 2 years of work and school, so tomorrow can't come soon enough.