Dear: Who Now?!

Chapter 5

An hour or so later we're in the busiest part of Cali - Los Angeles. I take a deep breath and wait for the inevitable - people crossing everywhere, crazy drivers, panhandlers coming up and knocking at your window for money and refuse to go away no matter what. Thankfully it isn't as bad as I originally thought it was going to be and we're soon on our way out of the state. I see the big green sign about how you're leaving the state. "Say goodbye O. It's gonna be awhile until we're back from our adventure!" My mother takes her own advice and rolls down the window, letting the hot Cali weather in and our nice cold air out! "GOOODBYEEE CALIFORNIA!!!! SEE YA SOON, BUT NOT TOO SOON! YOU WON'T BE MISSED!" She screams out the window while waving and - laughing? As soon as we pass the big dumb sign she rolls the window up and looks over to me realizing I'm still here - What is wrong with her? Did she really forget? She looks at me like a little kid caught stealing a chocolate chip cookie out of the cookie jar with the evidence all over their face. "Oops." Is all she says with a smile on her face proving how not sorry she really is. I roll my eyes as she once again puts all her attention on driving. The music plays but I don't really hear it. My thoughts are in the forefront of my mind and questions bounce around my head, distracting me. 

Quickly getting annoyed, I once again shake my head slightly to get rid of them and look at my mother. She's so focused! I haven't seen her this focused in.. well- forever. The smile that was on her face is long gone. Her eyes flick from lane to lane as she drives and I SWEAR every once in a while she squeezes the steering wheel tighter than normal before realizing it and loosening her grip. I might stay to myself and not talk but I'm pretty observant. I wonder what's going on in her head. Thoughts of thoughts start attacking me and I quickly stop them. "Where are we going?" I ask. I cringe. I sound like I've been dead for five hundred years and this is my first time talking since then. I wonder if she thinks the same thing. Her eyes glance at me for the briefest of seconds before snapping back to the road. " I told you O. " She starts, using her little nickname for me. "We're going on a road trip for the summer." She pauses a minute before continuing. "I feel like you and I never spend any time together anymore and I thought this would be a good time to get some quality bonding time in - don't you think so?" She finally asks me. I shrug my shoulders in response. For a second I think I hear her sigh. I look over to confirm my guess but I can't tell. If she did, she recovered from it quickly. Maybe she didn't and I'm already going crazy from this big, dumb trip of hers. Suddenly she starts talking again and I mentally facepalm myself. Doesn't she ever shut up?! 

"Is there any sights you'd like to see specifically?" She asks. I shake my head and look out to the land in front of us. Just boring. And she starts again. "Hmm.. Well I'm not very good at geography but I mean everybody knows about the -" She stops and suddenly our car is going in an alternate direction. She doesn't bother to finish what she was in the middle of saying and proceeds to mutter quietly to herself. I look at her for a few more beats of silence before once again looking out the window and wonder what the hell is this crazy mother of mine up to...