Time Of His Lives

3

" What took you so long ? Are you crying ? " Sean's irritated look turned to one of confusion . Isaac wiped his face with his sleeve and frowned to himself , " Were you pranking me ? " His disoriented mind latched onto the idea and accepted it fully as the only almost logical idea . " What are you talking about ? " Sean frowned back at Isaac , " I think you should lay off the weed . " He waved dismissively at Isaac and ignited the car . " What happened to you , little man ? " Chris leaned forward to ask and the smell of cigarette smoke on his breath wafted into Isaac's nose . " Never mind . You all think I'm high , anyway . " He turned to stare outside the window , his frown deepening into a scowl and many thoughts ripping through his mind just as the bullets in his 'reverie' whizzed past him .

The more he thought about it , the more confused he got and he hated confusion more than anything in his life . It gave him a sense of inferiority and irrelevance .

" Okay . " Chris leaned back , giving Isaac a skeptical look then exchanging looks with Stella . " Did someone try to attack you or something ? " Sean asked . It was in his place to care about his little brother . He was in charge , after all . " No . " Isaac huffed and reached under him to grab a can of Pepsi in his bag . " Are you going to tell us or just sulk there like a little kid ? " Sean pried . " I don't want to talk about it . " He took a generous gulp of soda and wiped his mouth . " Teenagers . " Sean scoffed and pulled out of the gas station to continue the trip . Stella took out her phone and started to play Candy Crush to distract herself from the ongoing conversation , leaning her head on Chris' shoulder . " Did you buy more snacks ? " Sean asked Chris . " Yeah . I even stole a couple of candy bars . " Chris laughed and removed the stolen treats from his pockets . Sean smiled and reached behind for a candy bar . Isaac finished the soda and crushed the can then looked around for something . " Where's the trash bag ? "

Stella let out a curse on failing to achieve the next level and bent to pick the trash bag , handing it to Isaac . " I need the stuff . " Chris understood what Sean wanted . " Where'd you put it ? " He followed the direction Sean pointed at and took out ' the stuff ' which was weed rolled up in a paper . " I don't know , man . Shouldn't you be sober when driving ? " Stella piped up , eyes glued to her phone . Sean grunted in disagreement and took it from Chris' open palm . Isaac gave a side glance and for a second was tempted to reach out and grab some .

He needed to try and work out what happened back there . Or , he could ignore it as hard as he can and assume nothing happened . What happened ? Nothing , right ? He muttered under his breath . He had and was going to forget , heaven help him . The radio presenter yapped about the next song and the artist , stuff they didn't really care about , then an upbeat song was being played .

" Good stuff . " Sean sighed in bliss and let out a cloud of smoke . Isaac deeply exhaled and sighed too . He reclined his seat a bit and relaxed , working on erasing his traumatic encounter on the battlefield . Sean could have been pranking him , he wanted to make him look dumb . Somehow he managed to do something as spectacular , they were rich enough to pull off such a prank . Or Sean was right , he needed to lay off the weed . He heard Stella giggle in the backseat when Chris whispered into her ear and restrained an eyeroll . Maybe they should have all brought some girls along on this trip . It wasn't part of the plan , but still neither was Chris' and Stella's presence .

The car slowed and he sat up to look outside . They were driving into the highway and a traffic was starting to pick up . A car drove beside them and Isaac stared at the closed windows . The windows rolled down and a group of girls called out to him and waved . He grinned and waved at them . They blew kisses back at him and laughed , rolling the windows up . He leaned back on the seat and relaxed again , the grin still on his face .

At some point , he fell asleep and the battlefield sprang into his mind with the mean general and the poor sap with his legs blown off . In his dream he actually got to the tower and set the explosives . He somehow managed to survive the kamikaze mission and he was welcomed back into his homeland with celebrations and praise . In his dream , he was brave . The car suddenly swerved and Isaac was jolted awake by the sudden movement . " Dang it , Sean ! I told you not to smoke that stuff . " Stella shrieked and rained weak slaps on Sean's arm . " Sorry , it was the car . It came out of no where . "

" What car ? The road is freaking clearer now . " Chris checked behind for any car . " Fine , I'm just tired . I don't feel like driving anymore . " Sean sighed and reached behind him , " Is there anything to eat ? I'm starving . " " You ate like an hour ago . It's the weed . Quit smoking it . " Stella sighed in annoyance . She was the only one in the car who wasn't a user . " Or let me drive the car . You can eat as we continue the journey . " She suggested . " Not a bad idea . " Chris smiled to himself . Sean frowned . He did not want anyone else but him driving his new car but his hunger drove him to pull over at the side of the road . " Don't mess up my baby . " He scowled at her and got out of the car . The switch was made and the journey continued . " Hey . " Isaac found himself greeting Stella . She responded with a friendly smile and a nod of her head . " So , uh , how's university like ? " He inquired .

He was just doing this to take the dream off his mind .

" Hasn't Sean already told you about life in university ? " Stella gave a chuckle . " I have . " Sean agreed in the backseat and bit into a queen cake . " I'm just curious about how it's like from a chick's perspective . " He shrugged and set his seat upright . " It's okay , I guess . Just the same experience as a dude's . Except for the many douches who try to make moves on you . I guess it's fun yet stressful . "

" Because of guys ? "

" No , you can ignore some . It's the work the lecturers give us and the projects . Then there is also the tests . Speaking of which , did you remember to pack my stuff for the project ? " She turned to Chris . " What stuff ? " Chris stared at her blankly . " Seriously ? " Stella tightened her hold on the steering wheel stressfully . " Chill out . I reminded him to pack them . " Sean chuckled . She sighed in relief . " Where are we making our stop for the day ? " She looked at Sean through the rear view mirror . " Wherever our fatigue finds us . " Sean sighed .

The rest of the trip was uneventful and it wasn't until they found a good spot to park and turn in for the night . Isaac was to sleep in the back seat and Stella and Chris would share a sleeping bag . Sean was going to recline the driver's seat and sleep there . Isaac couldn't be more relieved to stop the journey for the night , he had to pee .

He opened the door and stretched his leg out before halting . Was he going to undergo the warzone incident again ? He brushed it off and set his foot on the ground , heaving himself off the seat with his eyes closed in case he started tripping again . A sigh of relief escaped his mouth and he headed for the boot to take out his blanket and neck pillow .

Tomorrow was going to be a long day . Hopefully exciting too seeing as they'd get to Idaho , as per Sean's plans .

SONG ; Your Mind Is A Picture - Sean Koch