Road Trip

Chapter 2

Going out with Christy and Jo :)
The sticky note I left on the fridge read. My mom probably wouldn't care if I hadn't left the note but I did it anyway. She still hadn't woken up when I left the house, which was ten thirty a.m. Then again, she's never really up that early; she drinks every night and is hungover every morning. It's been the same routine for the past two weeks. I wake up early, leave the house, come back to find my mother drunk, force her into bed, go to sleep, and so on.

Honestly, I don't mind leaving before my mom wakes up; the woman irritates me. She's just so careless, and lazy. She doesn't even have a job. I have to work a full time job on the weekdays for our food and my own necessities. Today is Sunday, so I finally have an opportunity to go out with friends, until tomorrow. My extremely generous grandmother pays the most of our bills, like rent and electricity, even though she doesn't live with us. Thank goodness for that. I will admit though, my mom did have a job while I was in school. Oh, how I miss the good ol' days. I didn't have to work five days a week. I dread summer break.

I wonder if I'll ever be blessed enough to go on a real summer vacation..

"Livie!"

My thinking is interrupted by Christy's gleeful calling. I spot her at the wheel of her white Mini Cooper, smiling. With my mood instantly brightened, I quickly stand from my sitting spot on the stairs outside my apartment and jog over to her car. Sliding into the front seat I feel a rush of cool air, relieving me from the hot Arizona weather. I am forever grateful to whoever invented air conditioning.

"Hey Olivia." Johanna says from the backseat, phone in her face.

"What's up Jo? So, where are we off to? Anywhere but here is fine with me."

"Well, what do you guys wanna do?" Christy asks.

"We could start by going out for some food; I'm starving." Johanna raises her eyebrows and puts her hand on her stomach for emphasis.

"Johanna you're always down for food. Here," Christy reaches into her purse and pulls out a granola bar, handing it back to Jo. "I knew this would happen."

Staring at the granola bar for a few seconds, Johanna finally snatches it, unwrapping it in seconds. She takes one bite and goes, "Chris. You. Are. A. Lifesaver." Then, she continues to gobble the granola bar up like an animal. But hey, that's Johanna Jensen for ya.

Christy just rolls her eyes sarcastically. "Anyways, I was thinking we could go to the mall. You know, a little shopping?" That was always Christy's suggestion. So I've got a shopaholic and a food junkie- or as I like to call them, my best friends.

"I'm cool with that." I say, even though I know I only have twenty bucks to spend, which is next to nothing nowadays.

Christy looks into the rear view mirror. "Jo?"

"Sure." Says Johanna, with her mouth still full.

"Yay!" Christy gleefully exclaims. "This is going to be fun."

Fun for you maybe.
      *********

We pull into the parking lot of the Goldvale Park Mall. There were two malls in Goldvale; one bigger than the other. We went with the larger one because you know Christy, bigger is better. In this case it was kind of true, but still.

Christy Ronson is my best friend, but I'm not going to lie, sometimes I envy her. Although, don't we all envy our best friends at some point? Even if it's just a little bit? Christy has great parents; you know, the responsible kind. They're really nice and have stable jobs with good pay. Her little sister, Carter, is an angel. Seriously, the kid was born with a halo. Even Christy admits that the five year old has never been a brat. I always thought younger siblings were all super annoying and a pain in everyone's asses, but Carter Ronson has proved me otherwise.