I lean on the car, filling it with gas, as Aria’s in the 7-11 in Lancaster, Ohio. We’ve been driving since 8 am, and now it’s almost 5pm, and we’ll probably be driving straight through till tomorrow afternoon. Unless we spring for a hotel, which we just might, considering Aria’s aversion to being in a car. She SAYS she gets car sick, but I think she just gets bored and antsy. Plus she refuses to drive in the middle of the night. Again, her way of forcing me into a motel. Oh well. I’M not complaining! Aria walks up with some hot dogs and a large soda, and two straws. “For the rode.” She smiles, while putting them on the hand rest in the front seat. “I know we brought granola bars and chips and water and stuff for snacks but I figured if we were stopping for gas, we might as well get SOME food rather than take the time to stop and eat.”
“Don‘t tell me you‘re rushing to get to a farm in Goodland Kansas..” I say, mocking her.
“No,” she says. “I’m rushing to not be on the rode.”
“Ah.” I nod. I look at the price from the gas. “You know,” I start. “We drove to save money, but I think with all these gas stops, we would’ve been better off flying.”
Aria and I get into the car.
“I agree. So we’ll fly back.” She says, buckling her seat belt, kicking her flip flops off, and getting comfortable back in her seat.
“And do what with my car?”
“You need a new car anyway.” She says. “this one obviously doesn’t have very good gas mileage.”
I laugh and pull back onto the rode.
“But we both know the truth.” She sighs. “We couldn’t fly because my parents would be buying a ticket to Texas.” She says looking over at me.
I shrug. “Well, rode trips are more fun anyway. Just the two of us. We get to see beautiful…..”
“Beautiful gas stations?” she says. We both laugh.
“Well I was going for like, landscaping and stuff. But I guess we haven’t done any sight seeing have we?”
She shakes her head.
“But really.” I say. “It’s ok. I like driving.”
She laughs. “I don’t! We CAN stay in a motel, right?” she leans over in her seat and rests her head on my shoulder, looking up at me with her beautiful eyes. I sigh. “I guess we can. With one condition.”
“And that is?”
“We share a bed.”
She laughs. “Deal.” Then he pulls out the map, glances over it and says “then we’ll stop in Springfield, Illinois. It’ll be like, eleven.”
“Mhm..”
She sighs happily. “Freedom…” She says in a dreamy voice. “It’s only a few states away…”
By: Anna
