Nowhere Kids

Sneaking out

It was getting dark so we all agreed it was time to head home. I don't know about the others, but I was tired after such a long day. We walked back up the trail together as a group. I was having a good time laughing with Barry as we walked. Brent kept looking back at us every once in a while as he walked slight ahead with Zach and Eric.

We still had a bit to go before we got to our cars. I was starting to get tired. My legs felt fine, I just had no energy after crying earlier. Brent saw me slow down and stopped walking.
"Come here" he said. I walked over to him and he turned away from me. "Jump up" he said while patting his shoulder.
"You don't have to carry me Brent" I said, trying not to yawn.
"You're clearly tired. Come on" I sighed and jumped onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He grabbed a hold of my legs and kept walking. The others just smiled at us, making me feel embarrassed. I placed my head on Brent's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Alright, we're here. You need a ride home?" Brent asked. I jumped off his back and brushed myself off.
"No thanks, drove myself" I pointed out my car next to Barry's.
"See you guys later" Zach said as he follow Barry to the car. Barry nodded towards us as they got in and drove off.
"Jamie, can I have your phone number? I don't know what the plan for tomorrow is yet, so I want to let you know" Eric said. I agreed and put my number in his phone. He said goodbye to Brent and I before getting in his car and taking off.
"So, things good between us again?" Brent asked now that it was just the two of us.
"Depends. Will Courtney lie about me again?"
"Probably, but I won't believe her again. I know better now" he said with a smile.
"Then we are good" I smiled back at him, blushing slightly.
"Well, have a good night" he said. I watched him get into his car and put the windows down.
"You too B. See you later" Brent waved goodbye as he took off. I got into my own car and started towards home. Hopefully I don't fall asleep behind the wheel.

Luckily I made it safely home. I felt less tired when I saw mom and dad were home. They were going to kill me for being out late. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I walked up to my front door and slowly opened it.
"Look who's finally home" I heard dad say. I sighed and walked in, petting Beau as he greeted me.
"Where were you?" Mom asked once she saw me.
"With my friends. They showed me this cool place by the river" I admitted.
"Are these the same friends that got you in trouble the other day?" Dad asked.
"Dad I-"
"I don't want you hanging out with them. They are nothing but trouble"
"Dad you don't even know them"
"Don't argue with your father" mom chimes in. I growled and stormed to my room. Beau followed me in before I slammed my door shut. They just didn't understand.

Beau laid with me in my bed. He kept my from crying just by being there. I was gently petting him while trying to figure out what to do. If only I could convince mom and dad that they were good kids. I ended up falling asleep, lost in thought.

I was woken up the next morning to my phone ringing.
"Hello?" I answered, trying to sound fully awake.
"Hey Jamie it's Eric."
"Oh hey Eric, what's up" I sat up, waking Beau up.
"We were all planning on going to the record shop to look around. Wanna join us?" He asked.
"Of course, I'll be there in a few" I hung up and jumped out of bed to get ready.

I put on a pair of ripped jeans and my Black Sabbath shirt before rushing downstairs.
"Where are you going on such a hurry?" Mom asked from the kitchen.
"Going out" I said as I reached for the door handle.
"No your not" dad said as he appeared from around the corner. "Not after last night"
"But dad it's Saturday. I can't spend all day inside" I whined.
"Play with Beau outside" he suggested. I sighed and went back to my room.  Beau pusher by me as I opened the door and headed downstairs. I sat on the edge of my bed and started thinking. How was I getting out of the house?

I walked over to my window and had an idea. There was some lattice up against the house, so I could use it to climb down from the window. I opened my window and carefully stepped out. I carefully made my way down until I reached the living room window. Dad could possible see me. I took a quick look around. My best option was to jump into the bushes. I braced myself as I jumped. My landing wasn't great, but the bushes did break the fall. After a few moments of silence, I felt sure dad didn't see me. I stood up and brushed myself off before walking towards the shop.

Luckily it was another nice day, as I couldn't take the car without the keys. It wasn't a long walk to the shop. By the time I got there, everyone else was inside.
"Hey Jamie" Eric greeted me as I walked in.
"Hey man. Sorry I took longer than I thought"
"No problem. We are all just chilling, looking at different records and such"
"Cool. I'll take a look around"
The record shop was pretty cozy. There was such a big variety of cds and vinyls.
I found Barry browsing some of the rock cds.
"Hey man" I greeted as I approached him.
"Oh hey. Nice to see you" he said with a smile. Barry had such a friendly smile, I just had to smile back.
"Nice seeing you too" I watched him search for a few moments before going back to looking myself.

"Hey Jamie. I think you'll like this" Zach came walking over with a cd in hand. He handed it to me. "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. He must have noticed my shirt.
"Thanks Zach, but I already own this one" I said.
"Should've known" he said with a laugh. I smiled as he left to go put it back.

I started browsing the Queen albums. I picked up "Innuendo" and checked to see what songs were on it.
"Hey" I turned around to see Brent standing behind me.
"Oh hey" I noticed he had a vinyl record in his hands. "Who's that"
"Otis Redding. My dad got me into his music" he explained.
"That's awesome" I smiled and put the cd back.
"You buying anything?" He asked. I shook my head.
"I left in such a rush I forgot my wallet"
"I can get you something" he offered.
"Don't worry about it. I'm fine" I said. I knew this was a place I'd want to visit again.

Brent left to go to to the counter and check out. Barry followed him while I waited outside with Zach and Eric.
"What next?" Zach asked.
"I think Brent said his parent weren't home" Eric said.
"Cool. I like Brent's house" Zach turned towards . "You coming with us?"
"Yeah, of course" not only did I want to go with them, but I was afraid to go home. I wonder if they even knew I was gone.

Barry and Brent came out of the shop talking.
"Ready to go?" Eric asked.
"Yup. My place, right?" Brent asked as he put his bag in his truck. Eric nodded and followed Zach and Barry to his car.
"They all came together. You need a ride?" Brent asked me.
"If you don't mind" I said shyly.
"Not at all. Come on" I followed Brent into the car and we headed out. Despite the drama that came from Courtney, being with him was really nice. I just hope it's worth the trouble I'll be in at home.