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𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟱 𝖭𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖺'𝗌 𝖯𝖮𝖵
𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐓, I leaned back and let the music from my headphones wash over me. With my phone in hand, I scrolled through my emails from Stanford, crafting concise responses to the administration about my absence and uncertain return date. I avoided revealing too many details, as even I was unsure myself. Taking a moment to respond to a few emails from friends and college acquaintances who were missing me, I glanced out the window and noticed the scenery gradually slowing down. Sitting up, I realized that Dean was pulling into a gas station named 'SureGas'. Removing my headphones and placing them around my neck, I draped my arm around Sam's shoulder as I observed him engrossed in his emails.
"All right, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight," Dean announced, parking the car and turning off the ignition. Sam and I remained silent, our attention still fixed on his PalmPilot phone screen. He was reading emails from some of our college friends, most of whom I didn't recognize except for the most recent one. "Sam wears women's underwear."
Without even looking at Dean, I playfully smacked his arm, urging him to be quiet while continuing to peer over Sam's shoulder. Among the unfamiliar names, one email caught my eye. It had the subject line 'Bad News' and had been sent a couple of days ago.
