Elle Jones

Chapter 6: Parks and Recreation

Josè González- Heartbeats

Minutes after she says those endearing, yet frightening words, Kristy slammed her left feet against the gas pedal then drove like Tony Stewart, conquering a tiring lap.

Screeeeech! the tires screamed.

The accelerating car steered away from dangerous obstacles: massive potholes, oncoming pedestrians, and lazy drivers fidgeting with their phones.

While Kristy swerved her car around New York's hostile streets, Austin and I were tossed around in our seats, like caramel seeds somersaulting in a heated popcorn bag.

Although our seatbelts were buckled, it was difficult to keep our beating hearts from exploding out of our frigid chests. As a terrified Austin dug his fingers against his soft, black fabric seat, I decided to calm myself down.

Take a deep breath, my brain advises. Just relax, think positive thoughts.

I tried to follow its instructions, but with the wind angrily smacking my hair every five minutes, I immediately stopped concentrating, then asked Kristy if she could slow down.

Gyrating her car around another pothole, Kristy gives me an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Jack!" she shouted through the gusts of vicious wind. "But, if I don't drive faster, we will be late to the funeral!"

Soon after she said those words, Kristy had resumed driving over the speed limit. Bright shades of red, yellow, and bright orange clouded my vision, causing my head to sway a little.

Later on, as the car begins to shake, my head continued to beat the tune of several energetic butterflies, performing endless loops inside my clammy stomach.

What's worse is that the I can already smell the stench of cigarettes and warm sweat in the atmosphere, which is causing my once beautiful hair to wilt like a dying flower.

Trying hard not to puke, I reached out my sweaty left hand, crept up to Austin's, rubbed my fingers against his skin, then squeezed his hand very tightly.

Much to my surprise, Austin's hand was rather warm and soft, compared to mine. In an odd, yet comforting way, at first, I didn't know how Austin had stayed so calm.

Squeezing my eyes, I bite the tip of my tongue hard, until the bitter taste of cold metal rushed over my taste buds.

Disgusted, my free right hand flew inside the contents of my purse when a sudden thrust forced my eyes to awaken.

"We're here!" Kristy exclaimed in relief. "And we have twelve minutes to spare!"

Although I was delighted to hear the news, the joy drained from my dark brown eyes when I saw noticed that Kristy is taking us to a park.

In front of the crimson SUV, is a wiry, gray fence which separates the parking lot from the park itself. Behind the gate, I can see a vast field of green grass ascending from the chocolate-colored floor.

Sleek wooden benches and warning signs scattered across the park like chicken pox, as birds and small critters swarm around luscious dark green trees, which stood rather close to the gates than multiplying on the green empty canvas.

Above me was the sky-now becoming the color of inked words on a page. Several constellations-such as Virgo, Bootes, and the Little Dipper-all had started to appear in front of the invisible clouds; however, I was disappointed that I didn't see my favorite constellation, Sagittarius the Centaur, sitting in stars, pulling back his trusty arrow with a bow.