The Road Trip

2

The whole car was asleep. Lisa was sprawled out in the third seat. China was leaning against the window, her feet on Zendaya, who was just sleeping upright. Normani had the passenger seat leaned back as far as it would go, since China was right behind her. Lauren was driving fast, a smirk permanently on her face.

"This is gonna be so much fun." She said to herself for the hundredth time. Lauren was the strong, excited type. She was kind of odd in ways, as most people are. She spoke to herself all the time, like she would have  literal conversations, answering herself and everything. She had a past of being in mental hospitals and taking medicine, but she won't talk about it much with her friends. She swears she isn't schizophrenic or anything like that.

"Everyone talks to themselves. Maybe I have an imaginary friend." Lauren always said.

"Lauren? Lauren you've been driving for eight hours. You need to rest." Normani said, shifting in her seat.

"Ouch! Dammit China!" Zendaya said, turning toward the window. China had kicked her in the chin trying to maneuver to a more comfortable position.

"No Mani. I'm okay. Go back to sleep. We'll be in Pennsylvania in about two hours." She said, still smirking.

"Okay Lauren." Normani said. Lauren was her friend, had been since ninth grade. But she always scared her in a way. Lauren continued talking to herself as Mani drifted back off to sleep.
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When the rest of the women woke up, Lauren wasn't in the car, and they were parked in what looked like a alley way.

"What the whole hell...?" Lisa said, holding her nose, needing to spit.

"Where are we? Where's Jauregui?" Zendaya asked, stretching.

"Stop moving Z, damn." China said. Zendaya smacked her arm and China jumped awake, glaring at the taller woman.

"Let's get out and see-" Normani started but Lauren was already getting back in the car, holding a blue duffel bag that didn't look familiar.

"Morning ladies! Breakfast?" Lauren said, backing out of the alley way, and pulling onto a main road.

"I really need a shower. I need a shower. Can we please get a room? Just for the day?" China said, scratching at her arms. She was, to say the least, kind of scared of being dirty. She needed three showers a day, washed her bedding every day, used a different towel for her face and to dry off every day and even went as far as to bleach the entire bathroom before taking a bath.

"Yeah okay, you agoraphobe." Lisa snickered. China looked back at Lisa like she was stupid. Well, she kind of was. Lisa never really had to learn anything. Her family was rich and she used to have a bunch of rich snobbery friends before high school ended. Her father and mother never pushed education on their children for them to learn, they just wanted them out of their hair for eight hours a day. Her older and younger sisters, Lauren and Katherine, were actually quite smart. They graduated with honors. Lisa... barely graduated. The only thing the air head was actually good at, was singing and playing the piano. Put a piano and microphone in front of her and she was like a angel. Any other time...

"An agoraphobe has an  irrational fear of going places in public. Idiot." China said, glaring at Lisa who just scratched her head and shrugged.

"We can get a room China, don't worry." Normani said, smiling at the younger girl. China calmed down and leaned back, holding herself like she was gonna break apart if she didn't.

"We can get a thousand rooms if we want. Check out the duffle Mani." Lauren said excitedly.

"Uhm, Jauregui, what the fuck? Where'd you get this money from?" Normani said, her eyes big as she shifted through the bag of hundreds.

"A bet. A bet that went perfectly."

"A bet? All you had to do was ask me. I got the money for the trip." Lisa said, holding up her purse.

"We don't need your trust fund money Lisa. Well, I don't. I pay in good vibes and a cleansed aura." Zendaya said, smiling. Zendaya was sort of weird. Like a hippy without the weed, and she actually showered regularly. She was always meditating and talking about negative and positive energy. She carried sage with her everywhere and made it her duty to cleanse any negative energy from wherever she was. She claimed she would eventually achieve nirvana, and turn into light after attaining total peace. She was sort of a Buddhist, but didn't claim the religion.

"Z, that's a beautiful concept, but you need actual uhm, money in the real world honey." Normani said. Normani was the glue that held the women together, not to say she didn't have her own problems. She was the fast thinker, the problem solver. Only Lord knows how many times she had to bail her friends out of tough situations.

"I got the green stuff, enough of it anyway." Zendaya said, putting on deodorant.

"Zendaya, oh my god, you didn't take a shower first!" China exclaimed.

"I'm clean already little mama, chill out. You do know that bacteria live on your body, right?" Zendaya said, smiling.

"Not on this body!" China yelled.

"Guys, I have like, a huge headache. I need some of that pink stuff." Lisa said.

"Pepto bismol..?" Lauren asked her.

"Yeah! That stuff. Let's stop and get some." Lisa said.

"Honey... that's not... never mind." Normani sighed. This was going to be a long ass trip.
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