"WATCH OUT LA," Tate hollered, scrambling into the van.
"HERE WE COME!!" Rouge finished.
Lil sat in the drivers seat of our VW van. As soon as we were all physically in the car, she shifted into reverse and hit the pedal.
"Lil!" I stumbled towards the front of the vehicle, narrowly avoiding Rouge, who took shotgun.
"Sorry guys," Lil laughed. "I'm just a little excited, so don't be surprised if I accidentally crash."
"How do you have so much energy?" I yawned. "It's 3 am!"
"C'mon Lil let's gooooo," Rouge propped her feet up on the dashboard.
"Ok ok we're going."
"Rouge. Seatbelt." I kicked the back of her chair.
"Hell no. Waste of time."
"Hell yeah. Saves lives."
"Shut up."
"Never."
Eventually, we managed to get out on the highway. I relaxed, kicking back on the soft pillows and blankets we had previously strategically placed about the van.
"Let's go faster," Rouge pestered Lil for the thousandth time.
"Rouge we've been over this," Lil signed. "VW vans can hardly match the speed limit, much less go over."
"This is so disappointing," Rouge muttered.
"We should have gotten a truck. Then we could have run over people who got in our way," Tate laughed.
"Extra points if they land in the hood!"
"How about we listen to music?" Lil suggested, cutting off their conversation. "We still have that playlist I put together."
"Is Water on it?" Tate's asked hopefully.
"Dear god please no."
"Of course it is."
"YEAHHHH BUDDY." Tate punched the air. Rouge was already reaching for the cd.
"I hate you all," I laughed, clamping my hands over my ears.
"WATER. <drip> WATER. <splash> WATER."
Several hours later, our energy had toned down slightly. The scenery passed by without too much variation, and the playlist had ended long ago.
"Are we almost there?" Tate flailed her arms, sighing dramatically.
"To the next state? Yes. To LA? Not even close."
"Next state?" I perked up.
"We're not taking another picture by the sign Ren," Rouge interjected.
"But we have to get a bumper sticker," Lil argued.
"NOT ANOTHER BUMPER STICKER."
"We should stop though. I'm starving," Tate added.
Everyone agreed, noting that we had run out of smuggled bagels from the hotel.
Half an hour later, we had accomplished absolutely nothing.
"Ok, but where should we eat?" Lil asked for the 73rd time.
"If we don't find anything soon, Tate and I will kill you both." Rouge muttered. "You connect the dots,"
"Step on it Lil," I laughed, glancing at Tate, who grinned wickedly at me.
Minutes later, a Culver's appeared in the distant horizon.
"BEHOLD!" I proclaimed, nearly stumbling over in my excitement. "THE BLESSED BLUE ROOF OF OUR SAVIOR."
"Jesus fuck Ren sit down." Rouge said.
"Never."
What was probably 20 minutes - but seemed like an eternity - later, we were on the road again, but this time with food.
"Pass me the french fries."
"Where is my grilled cheese?"
"Put the ice cream somewhere else. It'll melt there."
"Screw it. I'm eating my ice cream now."
"I swear Lil if you stop this van everything is going to spill everywhere."
"Oh my god this is the best hamburger I have ever eaten."
Uneventful hours came and went. I had taken over driving after playing a round of "how many times can we get Rouge to swear to kill us". The landscape had changed dramatically, from open plains to a quaint city. The sky was streaked with clouds of gold and pink, backdropped by shy violets.
Tate was half asleep on a mound of pillows in the back. Rouge sat by her, snapping pictures of the dream just beyond the windows. Lil took shotgun, casually holding a droning Siri in one hand, a can of soda in the other.
In 5 miles, take a left onto -
"You know what, we're going off-road," I said, shutting Siri off.
"Off-road?" Rouge sat up, startling Tate in the process.
"Not literally off-road," I explained. "Just a little detour."
"Shoot."
I let my heart take the wheel. About half an hour later, the little town had faded away, and we drove along the coast. The sky now boasted shades of deep purples and blue, mixed with swirls of black. The stars shone brilliantly along with a full moon, lights reflecting off of the water and crashing softly with the waves.
"Here," I whispered, pulling the van off to the side of the road. I gently opened my door and hopped out, Lil following my example. I pried open the back door, which faced the shimmering ocean and glittering stars above.
"It's beautiful."
Rouge set her camera down, eyes shining. Tate grinned, kicking her feet over the ledge and letting them dangle just above the ground.
"It's safe here," I whispered. It seemed almost sinful to talk loudly. "No one will see us."
One by one, my friends let their wings catch the light breeze that blew in from the ocean. I did the same, allowing myself to enjoy the sensation of the wind whistling through my feathers.
Lil disappeared into the van, and reappeared moments later with two colorful ukuleles. She handed Tate one, and kept the other from herself. They had learned to play together over the years.
We sang tune after tune under those stars, Rouge often interrupting us to point out how off pitch we were.
•••
At this moment, this very moment, all was right in the world.
We were free. We were together. We were on an adventure.
And I wouldn't have traded it for the world.
