The Troubles of Growing Up

Chapter 4

The next day I talked to Haylee all day. I even walked home with her. Well she now knows where I live... great. Not only do I awkwardly have a girl in my life now, but she knows where I live. I think she likes me. I don't really know, and I don't want to take the chance of her awkward around me so I can't ask her to date me. I was still preparing for the trip when my mom came in. "Who was that girl you came home with?"
"Just a girl." I hated when she tried to get into my business. Her and Paige practically monitored my every move.
"Preston decided to stay home for work."
"Ok? I don't know how that affects me."
"It means we have extra space to bring someone else." I could tell she was hinting at something.
"Like who?"
"Maybe that girl that you came home with?" She looked very hopeful.
"I'm not sure if she would go somewhere not knowing where she's going or who's taking her."
She looked frustrated. "Will you just try for me? I don't want you to experience it on your own. I want you to have someone to have fun with while we do boring stuff." I was irritated at this point. "Fine I'll ask her now go."
"Bring her here. I want to make sure you ask." She left the room with a smile on her face. I really didn't want to ask Haylee to come with. But I had to so... the next day I saw her. "Hey can you... well, can you come over to my house after school today for a bit?"
"Um... I can text my dad to see if it's okay." She sounded skeptical. She started typing on her phone. She looked at me and smiled. Her phone beeped.
"For like an hour." She said
"Ok cool."
"What are we going to do?"
"Nothing my mom just wanted to talk to you."
"Why exactly?"
"She wants you to go on a trip with us."
"Oh ok. For how long?"
"Like a week." She looked back at her phone and started typing again. "Would I be paid for or do I have to pay for all of my fees?"
"I'm not sure."
"Ok I'll go with I'm paying."
She continued to type on her phone. "If it's within the next month I should be able to." She looked at me smiling. Her smile was so beautiful. That brightened my day. We talked about other things and I found out her favorite animal was a dolphin, just like me. She was also a huge Nascar fan. I was falling further in love by the minute. Her favorite driver was Chase Elliott. Mine was Dale Earnhardt Jr. She, like me had always wanted to see a live race and meet Chase. Neither of us realized that the Daytona 500 was scheduled that weekend. My family was leaving that Thursday. Tomorrow. School got out and we walked home. She came to my house as planned. We came to the door. I opened it. Let Haylee inside and turned around. "So Josh, want to introduce me to your friend?" She scared the crap out of me. It was my mom. Standing. Like she had been waiting for hours. "HI mom... this is Haylee"
"I'm Laura. Josh's Mom. We wanted to ask you something."
"My father said I could go but I'm only available in the next month."
"Perfect. We leave tomorrow." My mom was beaming.
"Oh well I better get home and start packing." Now Haylee was smiling. Crap. I was about to sit next to an amazing girl for who knows how long. "Before I go, I need to ask. Where exactly are we going?" Haylee asked.
"Florida." My mom said. Oh great. I was going to be sitting next to that girl for about 4 and a half hours.
"How are we getting there?"
"Drive. It'll be a while."
Scratch that. 23 hours.