Across the Street

2.

    On the way to the dealership Tom leaned on the door window, letting his curly hair blow back in the wind. He always had this look of wonder, or curiosity, I could never really put my finger on it. Sometimes I would think about begging him to tell me what he's thinking about, but most of the time I just didn't give a crap.
    "So, you're in P.E.?"
    "Mhm," he mumbled.
    "Is P.E. even a class you can take in college?"
    "Uh, yeah. Duh."
    I chuckled, "Alright buddy calm down, I just didn't know. Remember I went to Mechanics Tech school, and even that was a long time ago."
    Tom rolled up the window and fiddled with the ends of his sleeves, "It wasn't that long ago, your only a few years older than me."
    "To be exact, six years. I was already in the double digits by the time you were four."
    "Six years doesn't matter any more though. We're both in our twenties."
    "Yeah, and I'm four years away from being in my thirties. You're still a little ways off kid." Tom rolled his eyes and turned the radio up. The idea of age always seemed to irritate him in some way.
    When we rolled up to the dealership I took a quick pace inside, eager to never have to drive this piece of garbage ever again. Walking in I could smell the money. New and used cars, but all of amazing quality. The guy who owned this place definitely had taste, and he definitely knew that he had what people like me wanted. Banners were hung across the rails of the second floor reading "Fall Sale!" Next to the windows were his new arrivals, cars that your wallets wished they could afford. Then in the middle of the floor, his classics. The cars that people who dreamed of wheels like me salivated over. Seeing cars like that were like a blast to the past, bringing back memories I didn't have of a time when soda was cheaper than a dollar and music meant more than twerking and whipping.
    "Is that it?"
    "That's her. My dream car."
    "How much is it?"
    "Thirty grand."
    Tom choked, "You're kidding, right?"
    "Nope, I haven't been saving up for this long just for nothing."
    After a few minutes, a salesman came up and asked if he could help us. I told him what I was interested in and they took us to go sign paperwork after a few minutes. While I signed everything, Tom sat in the back of the room, looking around, or occasionally checking his phone. Once all the paperwork was done and all the money was paid, the owner came out to say hi and shake my hand. He congratulated me on finally being able to purchase the car, which he told me he had secretly been holding since he knew I had my eye on it, and gave me his condolences for my parents.
    "Drive safely miss Kelly!"
    "Will do, thanks Richard!" With my heart beating at a million times a minute in excitement to drive my new car Tom and I waited in the front for the it to be pulled up. Tom poked my shoulder though and took me out of my daydream.
    "What?"
    "What are you going to do with the beetle?"
    "I don't know, maybe sell it."
    His eyebrows furrowed and he turned his whole body to face me, "Really?"
    "Yeah. That car is damn old, and I don't really want it anymore."
    "But, but, that was your first car," he squeaked, his voice faltering slightly.
    "Tom, not everyone keeps their first car. I don't know what it's like for British people, but personally, I haven't met anyone who still owns, let alone drives, their first car after like five or six years."
    When the car pulled up and the employee handed me the keys, Tom grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, eyes locked on me, "Give me your bug."