I don’t believe in love at first sight. Wow, I know. Big surprise. Me not believing in something. But, if something as arbitrary as that could exist, it would be Gerald and I. Gerald was the only thing in this world that really gets me. He keeps me warm, he doesn’t mind when I blow off steam in him, he’s reliable, and I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without him.
I guess I should mention that Gerald is a car.
Some people thinks it’s weird to assign a name and gender to a car. If you’re one of those people, first of all: screw you. I can do whatever the fuck I damn want with my car. I bought it, not you, you self-righteous shits. Also, Gerald is an inanimate object; I don’t think he minds that much.
I started Gerald up, listening to him hum. It cost all 400 dollars of my life’s savings to get Gerald a new engine. It was my grandfather’s car, stored in the garage for who knows how long until I fixed it up. Gerald is one of those cars from when people wanted as much wood as possible on a car for no reason whatsoever. The radio was broken and your only option was to listen to side A of my grandfather’s tape, which played “So Happy Together” by The Turtles. It’s a great song, until you’ve listened to it for the 107th time on repeat and your head starts pounding and you question your sanity.
Xena popped up beside me, her sea green eyes sparkling brightly. “Badar couldn’t go. You know her parents, no socializing with people outside of school ever. Sometimes they can be such a stick in the mud.” I kind of zoned out for a second, staring at her eyes. I wonder how she got them to be that color. From what I knew, she never wore colored contacts, but it seemed so unnatural she got such a beautiful shade. At least, compared to my dull brown ones, which often looked somewhere between diarrhea to the watery mud slush that you get after a mudslide.
Xena waved a hand in front of my face, giggling a bit. “Hello, Earth to Casey?” My face flushed, snapping out of my envious daze. If you were some random person on the internet that has a ship for almost every work of fiction ever, sometimes even non-fiction for the extreme weirdos out there, you probably shipped us together. Or, if you’re anything like Badar, you’ve been shipping it since day one. Congratulations to you, OG shipper.
“Uh, yeah. I sort of wish my parents cared that much about me.” I looked off into the distance. It wouldn't seem like too much of a surprise, but my parents are religious freaks. They don’t give two flying shits about me. Or even one, for that matter. The only person they truly love is Jesus Christ, and he’s been dead for a little more than 20 centuries. I guess if you were truly trying to figure out why I’m an atheist, you would factor it in as some sort of resentment for my parents. While I do resent them, my atheism has nothing to do with them.
Okay, maybe just a little. But they’re only a tiny, sliver of the reason why.
I checked my mirrors before backing out of my parking spot. I took off on the road, being entirely more cautious than any driver in Florida. If you’re curious, that means like a reasonable, sensible human being. Seriously, it’s a wonder how the entire state seems to forget what to do at a stoplight and to stop when there’s a pedestrian on the street.
I turned to look at Xena for a brief moment, before turning back to face the road. “So, you have any clue where this place is?” I hoped that Xena would finally answer this question with a ‘yes.’
“Not a single one.”
“Great.”
Xena probably looked genuinely offended. I couldn’t look at her. Judging by the tone of her voice however, she didn’t appreciate my sarcasm. “Well, it was my plan to get us out and about! Now you want me to know where we’re going? I’m putting way too much effort into this friendship, Casey.” Xena had a way where her sarcasm wasn’t that obvious. I could never definitely tell if what she was saying was serious or not.
I focused on trying to pull over the car instead of responding to Xena. I refused to waste gas if we were going to the edge of the Earth for all I knew. I typed “Sabbath” into my GPS, with no avail. I tried again with “Sabbath club.” No luck, again.
I turned to Xena, who had been occupying herself with her DMs on Instagram. Unlike me, she couldn’t put her phone down for one minute without getting a notification. I think in some way or another, I admired that. “So, how did you actually hear about Sabbath?”
“I dunno. A friend told me.” Xena smacked her lips, posing a little. “Do you think I look good from this angle? Maybe a bit too much forehead, maybe too much nostril?” Now, I’m completely aware that you can’t see Xena, but you’ll have to take my word one this one that she looked absolutely fine.
I raised my shoulders, then let them fall pimply to my side. “You look as good as you usually do Xena. If anything, I’m the ugly one. You’ve got to help me find this club. You’re the one that wanted us to go.”
Xena raised an eyebrow. “Last time I checked, you agreed and backed up my decision. This is all on you, Case.” She turned her attention to the rearview mirror, adjusting her make-up.
I slammed my head against the steering wheel, making the car honk loudly. I am not sure why I ever try and argue with Xena. It’s similar to talking to a brick wall.
You know, sometimes life throws us unexpected curveball when you’re not even up to bat. For example, who knew the honk of my car would startle someone and throw them off the road and into the back of our car? Certainly not me, and certainly not you, unless you have some weird foresight or you simply read ahead in my life.
YOU ARE READING
Fuck.
Teen Fiction"God fucking bless you." ~ Casey is an atheist, if that wasn't clear enough. Also, she is an asshole, if that wasn't clear enough. After turning 17 and finally escaping her religious household, she has to explore the outside world, and realizes that...