Plain Until Proven Beautiful

Chapter Four

 
Christopher 

The second I get Nicole’s call I throw my stuff in the back of the old family   

truck and drive over to her house. Her instructions were to wait on the side of the house and to stay in the car. After a few minutes, I see her slip out the back door. She’s wearing a black top and jeans. Her bag is slung over her shoulder and it bounces as she walks towards the truck. I notice my hair in the rearview mirror and start to freak out. It’s hot pink. “Think of anything but Nicole. Something else! Not Nicole!” I think about my dog and my dad. My house and my yard. The things I’ll miss. To my relief, my hair changes to hazel just before Nicole hops into the passenger seat. She breathes in and out until she suddenly turns to me and smiles nervously.   

“Are you ready for this?” She asks me. Although she’s nervous, I can tell she’s never been this excited.   

“Definitely,” I respond with confidence, ready for what we’re about to do.  

I put the truck into drive and head out. By the time we reach the highway, Nicole’s asleep. She looks peaceful and calm. I turn on the radio quietly as the reality of what I’m doing sets in. I start to panic. I’m leaving my home. My father is going to freak out. Of course, I left a note so that he would know where I am, but I’ve never driven for more than an hour. This trip is almost nine hours. Hopefully, Nicole can drive because I’m not going to make it.   

After about three hours, we stop at an Ontario gas station and I grab some food. I drive to a hotel nearby and check-in. I’m lucky I remembered to grab my wallet. I carry Nicole and my bags up to our room and set her in one of the beds. I slip her shoes off and head to the bathroom to clean myself up. I look in the mirror to see my yellow and hazel hair. It’s a hideous mix hopefully It’ll change by the morning. When I come into the room after taking a shower, Nicole has changed into sweats and a t-shirt. She’s back asleep under her blankets.    

As I head to the bed on the opposite side of the room, I notice a little slip of paper on the bedside table.   

Christopher,  

I’m sorry I fell asleep on the car. I didn’t mean to, but I’m exhausted as you can probably tell. I wanted to thank you. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. Even if we had to go back tomorrow, this experience will keep me going for years. I’ve never gotten to feel anything like this. I’ve never left the state or even been away from my parents for more than ten hours. It’s all because of you that I get to have the thrill of a lifetime. Thank you. I hope you sleep well, Chris.  

Nicki  

I smile and my hair turns several different shades of pink. ‘Nicki,’ I think. I’ve never heard her refer to herself like that before. I glance over at her. Her long brown hair swirls around her. I’ve never really liked a girl before. If this is what it feels like then I think I might pass out whenever she looks at me. The heart in my chest beats quick and hard. I can’t let her know about this. If she finds out I like her and she doesn’t feel the same, she’ll never talk to me again.  

As I yawn, I realize that it’s almost three in the morning. I need to sleep or I think I might pass out. I lie down and fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.   

I wake up to the sweet smell of cinnamon. I open my eyes as I start to remember where I am and what happened the night before. I slowly sit up and rub my eyes when I see the cinnamon rolls.  

“Where did you get those?” I ask.  

Nicole smiles a little. “The gas station across the street. Want one?”  

“Sure,” My groggy voice slips out disgustingly. My hair quickly turns copper. Nicole tries to hide her smile and hands me a cinnamon roll on a plate.   

“So, I don’t know where we’re going, but I packed my stuff and I’m ready to leave whenever you are. I mean, there’s no rush but I just wanted to let you know. And I can drive so, if you want, I could drive part of the way,” Nicole’s face turns a shade of red and I can tell she’s getting embarrassed.   

“I think I’ll be like twenty minutes and then we can go. You can drive a little while for us if you want. I was getting a little drowsy yesterday and that was only three hours. This drive is going to be six so we can split it if you want.”  

Nicole smiles, “Yeah, that would be nice.”   

After changing, packing, and cleaning up everything, we carry our bags down to the lobby and take our things to the car. Nicole drives first and for a few hours, we drive with just the music as the conversation between us.   

Nicole’s voice cuts over the music. “Have you been there before?”  

“What?” Being half asleep, her question doesn’t make sense to me.   

“Sorry. I- um- your mom. Have you been to the place she stays?”  

I see my hair change to a hazel color in the mirror. I’m not sure why though. I shouldn’t be nervous.  

“Yeah. Once. My dad took me and my sister to see it and we saw my mom there. She visits every once and a while but not very often.”  

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Nicole’s eyes flicker towards me for a second before focusing on the road again.  

“For what?” I ask, my hair turning bright orange but keeping the hazel underlay.  

“I’m sorry you don’t get to see her very often,” She lays out her words cautiously as if she’s trying not to break me.  

I nod my head and look back out the window. I close my eyes for a second and before I know it, I’m asleep.   

I wake up to Nicole shaking me gently. I rub my eyes and look around. We’re in the truck on the side of a back road. Trees and shrubs spill over the edges of the road.   

Nicole looks slightly concerned. “I don’t know where we’re supposed to go from here. The map to get to your mom’s place ends here. What do we do?”  

I grin and step out of the car, gesturing for Nicole to do the same. I grab our bags from the bed of the truck and walk towards a particular knotty tree. I walk straight until we find a little stream running down a hill. With Nicole by my side, we follow it until I see them. What we’ve been looking for. The Uncoloreds.  

I turn to see Nicole’s awestruck face as I say, “We’re here.”