polaroids | awsten knight

polaroid five

The fifth polaroid was taken on a road trip we all took. By we all I mean Geoff, Otto, Jawn, you and I.

The night of this road trip, I had no idea where we were going, or it was even happening. I was home with my parents, babysitting my neighbour's kid, playing Mario Party. He was Wario and I chose Toad, and since I'm such a good babysitter, I put us on the same team.

During the middle of a minigame, there was a knock on the door. As anyone would do, I ignored it so I could finish this small minigame. While playing, my mom went to open the door.

"Caroline! Otto and friends are here!" My mom announced as I heard your footsteps enter the house. We won the minigame and I put down the controller. He rushed to see you guys. He always loved Otto.

I got to the entrance and saw all four of you, Otto, Geoff, Jawn, and you standing before me. Being best friends with Otto all of these years, I got to know that he always wore gloves when driving. Whether it be a bike or his parents' pickup, he had gloves strapped around his wrist; and right now, he was idly cracking his leather-covered fingers.

"Otto, I can't. I have to take care of James, you knew that." My excuses didn't get passed Otto. Knowing each other since childhood comes with cons, like him being able to spot my lies. He told me that when I lied my eyes would shoot down and my hands couldn't stay still.

Instead, my mom jumped in. "Oh, stop it. Get out of your pyjamas and go with your friends. I'll play video games with James." Of course, that didn't go well for James, as we still had eleven rounds of Mario Party left and my skills at the game were far more superior to my mother's.

I told James that if he fell asleep early tonight then we could continue tomorrow morning. As any child would, he agreed and hugged me before I went to my room to get changed.

Otto was always seen as my brother to my parents, so I wasn't too scared about him being left alone with them. The rest of you, on the other hand, it should be illegal to be that awkward. Geoff was trustable, I could see him striking a conversation with my mom and dad, though you and Jawn were two halves of one whole idiot.

I put on a black skirt that reached just above my knees, a white shirt tucked in, and a hoodie. Before I ran back downstairs, I pulled my hair up into a ponytail.

"Okay, ready!" I called, bounding down the steps. I brought James into one last hug for the night, reminding him to sleep early. I punched Otto's shoulder as I walked out of the house. "Bye mum!"

Everyone said goodbye to my parents, while you did a shy wave and followed behind the rest. It is Otto's pickup, he would drive us. I'm Otto's best friend, I'd take the shotgun. The remaining three of you sat behind us, squished together.

The aux cord that was plugged into Otto's phone was now plugged into mine as I forced all of you to listen to what I listen to daily. I expected everyone to hate it, but you seemed to be having fun bouncing along to the beat.

We drove through backroads, ones I've never seen before. In the dark, the streetlights beautifully lit up the houses in the dark. The way my music fit the mood was amazing and I wished that night would never end, though that night hadn't even started yet.

It felt as if we were stuck in a teenage coming-of-age film, driving to discover ourselves. The whole time we sat in silence, listening to my playlist. Not everyone in the backseat was quiet, though. I could hear Jawn complaining that your leg was too close to his, threatening you if you got any closer to him.

The city lights disappeared, the only thing lighting up the road now was the car's headlights. I turned down the music, focusing more on the scenery.