Strolson Twins

Chapter XXV (Oakes and Booze)

Asher's POV

As I drove down Highway 11, Ashley was absorbed in some chocolate cake. She pulled a small...a really, strangely small...spork out of her jacket along with a black knife. I looked on with an eyebrow raised as she sliced into the cake. Ashley paid me or anything else no mind as she continued to slowly eat at the chocolate cake.

Twenty minutes later, I passed a sign that read, Welcome to Oakes. I glanced over at Ashley. She was halfway done eating her cake, still numb to the outside world. With a quiet sigh, I cruised around 'Oakes' and looked around the place.

When Ashley finally looked up, I was just getting back in the Camaro after getting the tank filled.

"Where the fuck are we?" she asked, looking around with her eyes narrowed.

"I think Oakes," I replied, pulling away from the pump.

"Oakes?!"

I winced at her volume. "Yeah..."

She ran her hand through her hair. "Oh no."

"What?" I see no problem in this.

"We won the Cowbell this year."

"Cowbell?" Now I'm confused.

Ashley gave me a look of exasperation. "Oakes and Ellendale compete for the Cowbell every year, and last year, Ellendale won it. Oakes kind of hates Ellendale right now."

"Oh," I breathed. "But is the Cowbell an actual Cowbell?"

Ashley nodded.

"So... How do we get out of here? I've been driving around for twenty minutes," I said.

After a minute of silence that followed my question, she said, "We need to look... Less Ellendale."

"How so?" I asked.

"We need black and orange."

I looked down at myself. All black. I looked at Ashley. Black and red. Ah.

"So no red?" I asked.

"Nope. Do you have any black stuff with you?" she asked.

"Maybe I have a black T-shirt back behind the seats somewhere."

Without a word, she unbuckled and climbed between the seats to get to the back.

"Ah ha," she grumbled, sitting back down with a black T-shirt in her hands.

When she unfolded it, I glimpsed the logo of a brand I used to get snowboarding gear from. Ashley shed her jacket.

"Hold on. You aren't changing in here, are you?" I asked.

"No, just putting it on over," she said as if I were insane, rolling her eyes.

She did as she said, and the fabric was baggy around her smaller frame.

"Pull over," Ashley demanded.

"Why?" I asked.

"I want to check if you have any Ellendale stuff on your car."

I pulled over, but kept the doors locked. "First," I said, turning to Ashley. "This is a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS 396, not a car."

Ashley frowned at me. "Whatever. Unlock the door."

Unlocking them, I also got out. Ashley went directly to the back bumper and pulled off a bumper sticker.

"Since when was that there?" I asked.

"Since Yuliet put it there," Ashley replied, sticking the sticker into her pocket.

Five minutes later, Ashley looked around once more. I had been driving around the block with the gas station while we were talking.