Feel the Sun

6. Car Trouble

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rain threw her hands up in the air once again. No matter how many times she turned the key the engine just wouldn't start.

I was lounging in the passenger seat, browsing through the house listings in the local paper. We had been trying to get the car to start for about half an hour now.

"It looks like it's ready to fall apart," I told her truthfully. "This car is a piece of junk. No offense. But there's only so long it can hold up."

"Your lecture doesn't help!" She said in frustration. "I have no idea whats wrong with it so I'm afraid we're going to have to take it in."

"In? What do you mean by that?"

"Into a mechanic. We need to search around for something affordable because we'll have to pay them to tow it as well as fix it."

It had been a very stressful morning so far and the fact that it was raining didn't make it any better for us. Rain handed me her spare jacket and we cleaned up our breakfast and headed out on our way.

We left the parking garage and pulled our hoods up so that we wouldn't get soaked. Rain grabbed my hand and begin to walk at a quick speed through the city, dragging me with her. I had no idea where we were going and my legs were quite tired from our walk last night.

But complaining wouldn't help me a bit. Besides, her hand was pretty warm. It distracted me from my aching legs.

We sloshed through the cold and wet for ten long minutes before Rain pulled us across another street, towards a small white shop that had a wide garage connected to it's side.

"Please be open..." Rain mumbled. She seemed to talk to herself a lot. She yanked the door open with a relieved sigh and pulled us inside the shop.

The front lobby was quite small but warm. There were several brown leather chairs opposite of a register desk. It was just as empty as it seemed on the outside.

There was a sign on the desk that said We will be back shortly! Thank you for your visit. Please sit tight. We each took a seat in one of the chairs and waited...

"I don't know what we're going to do if that thing won't start!" Rain sighed. "We cannot be stranded in this city for more than a couple weeks. We have people on our asses!"

I wasn't in the mood to dwell on the possible negatives. I shrugged. "Hopefully it works then."

"Why are you being so passive? It's as though you don't care! As though you have somewhere to go!"

I glared in her direction. "Chill out, Rain. It's going to be fine. We'll find some way. I thought you liked to live a spontaneous life."

"I don't like stress though."

"Don't take it out on me! I'm just-"

"Excuse me?" A third voice asked.

I turned around surprised, having not heard the woman enter. But surely, a couple of feet away from me, was a very pale woman with platinum blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in a fringed brown jacket and floral bell-bottoms.

I opened my mouth to speak but the woman continued.

"What are your zodiac signs?"

Not the question I was expecting.

"Um... I'm a Gemini."

"And you?" Her eyes shifted to Rain.

"A Scorpio, if you must know." I sensed her getting impatient. "Who are you again?"