An Awfully Big Adventure

Hour Nine: A Frozen Heart

9. Your character meets someone who doesn't like Disney. What do they do?

Wendy finds herself in a predicament. She is awake and Dale is hovering over her. That, in and of itself is not a bad thing, knowing how close he is in proximity to her. If she inhales heavily, she can trick herself into thinking she can catch a whiff of his musky cologne.

Things take a worse turn, because she really needs the restroom. And also, she doesn’t want for the two boys to wake up and catch her with knotted hair and morning breath. That would be a disaster.

No, she must relieve herself and fix herself up, but as of now, it is easier said than done. There is almost no way to leave the car what with the front seats blocking any easy exit to the doors. She doesn’t want to wake them up, since her phone informs her that it is still only five o’clock in the morning. Also, the whole issue of looking like something from The Walking Dead leaves her hesitant to shake them awake.

With Dale’s seat inches above her face, there isn’t much room to asses her current position, and she needs to get out of the car as soon as possible, or else face a very humiliating and wet end.

She manages to wriggle her way out from under the seat. It takes considerably more effort, since she has to flop as silently as possible on her side. There isn’t enough legroom for her to bend her legs and maneuver her way out. If she lies on her side, her flailing can move her closer to the center of the seat.

The motions are still quite strenuous, and she even works up a thin sheen of sweat. God knows she doesn’t get enough exercise, but she didn’t think that her semiannual workout would be from trying to escape from Dale’s car.

Finally, Wendy makes it to a sitting position and pants, trying to catch her breath. She fans herself with her hands and rolls up the sleeves of her hoodie. Right now, she is only at the halfway point. Wendy frowns slightly in anticipation before turning to reenter the crevice.

If she worms her way through on her stomach, and stretches out her hand, she can just barely grab hold of the door handle. With a final thrust from her shoulder’s socket, her finger make a firm connection with the key to her escapade. She pushes the door open with all the force she can muster from her current position.

The door doesn’t open all the way, but it leaves a wide enough gap for her to slither through. Of course, she ends up having to shuffle along with her stomach on the parking lot for a while, in order to free her legs from the cramped space created by the sandwiching car seats.

Now that she has managed to escape, she dusts herself off before crouching back down beside the car. Luckily, there is enough room to pull out her stuffed backpack out from the back seat. It jostles noisily, and Wendy winces, afraid that despite all her effort, the two of them will rise from their slumber anyways. However, they are both so far gone, that there is no way of telling if they noticed the noise at all.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she shuts the car door as gently as she possibly can before making her way into the Walmart.

Wendy pities the cashiers working shifts at five. They appear tired and grumpy, and she is slightly afraid that they will yell at her for the car that has been loitering around in the parking lot, but it seems that they lack the energy to even do that.

Still, she can feel their minds peek out of hibernation temporarily as they judge her for taking her backpack into the bathroom. If there is ever a time that she should appear on the People of Walmart webpage, today would be the day. Wendy can’t help but wonder if they think she is homeless, dragging around her belongings and freshening up in a Walmart bathroom of all places.