College Fund

//4 Minutes of Spring//

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Margaux's mom greeted me in the morning, passing me a cup of coffee as I stumbled into her kitchen.

I sleepily rubbed my eyes. "Thanks," I mumbled.

"Any time. The other girls just walked down to the library. I'm not really sure what's going on, but apparently it's important business."

I nodded, not fully listening to what she was saying. I had been the last one to wake up this morning, or should I say, afternoon, because it was definitely no longer the morning. Most of my night had been spent tossing and turning, thinking of my dad and mom.

"Got a lot on your mind?"

Margaux's mom's voice distracted me from my thoughts. I looked up at her as she took a seat beside me at their kitchen table. I realized how stupid I must have looked, staring distantly into my coffee as if it held all the answers to the universe. "Yeah, you could say that," I replied absently.

She nodded, and took a long sip of her coffee. "I think Margaux wanted to run to the library to get a book for some essay she has to write. " When I didn't reply, she continued, probably trying to drum up some conversation. "What are you studying, Cassidy?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm taking a gap year."

"Oh." The amount of disapproval that was put into the pronunciation of that one word was mind-blowing, really.

I was willing to let the subject drop, but Margaux's mom kept pushing. I could see how Margaux would get frustrated by this after a while. "And whatever would convince you to make that decision?" She pushed.

"To do this." I gestured around me. "Travel, see the world for a little while. Distract myself."

She nodded slowly. "Well, Cassidy, we can only distract ourselves for so long. At some point, sooner or later, you are going to have to face your problems head on. You can't hide forever."

Was this that 'motherly advice' people were always talking about? I wasn't sure I liked it. I liked to make my own decisions. I didn't need anyone else's approval to make my own choices.

"Right, but I'm not ready for school. I don't want to work hard, I don't want to put in effort, I want a break! I need a break," I protested.

Margaux's mom sighed and grabbed my hand. "Cassidy, sometimes in life, we have to make a choice. When I look at you, I see a girl who has been through hell and back, and who has had to deal with a whole lot of crap in her life, pardon my French. The thing is, Cassidy, I can tell you are a very strong, independent woman. But you need to realize that it's okay to rely on other people every now and then."

I shook my head. Trusting other people was a very difficult thing for me to do. I trusted two people with my everything, and what good had it done them, or me? They were dead. "That's easier said than done."

She smiled at me, and released my hand. "What isn't? I'm not expecting you to change overnight, Cassidy. Just... think about what I said, okay?"

"I will." I wasn't sure if I entirely meant it. Thinking hurt too much.

"Great." She stood up and grabbed the laundry bin sitting on the counter. "Maybe give your friends a call and figure out where they are. You and Sage could meet up with them somewhere." I nodded to her suggestion as she left the room.

Thankful for my international cellphone plan, I tapped Bria's goofy contact picture and waited for her to answer.

"Bonjour," She picked up on the first ring.

"Salut Bria," I greeted. "Where are you guys? What are you doing?"

"We're somewhere... doing something," she replied suspiciously.

"Um... okay..." I decided not to question Bria's strange logic. It was a lot easier that way. "Well, can you tell me where you are so Sage and I can meet up with you guys? Because I'm kind of just sitting in Margaux's kitchen right now having life chats with her mom."

"Oh, right... sure..." Bria went silent on the other end for second, and I could only imagine that she was whispering some sort of secret plan to Margaux. "Yeah, come meet us at the...the... where did Margaux's mom say we were?"

"The library..?"

"Right. Right! The library! Yup, that's where we are. Come meet us here."

"Okay..." I agreed and hung up. How suspicious. Bria was not good at keeping secrets, and I could have probably got it out of her over the phone, but I figured I would have plenty of time to interrogate her later in person.

"Sage!" I yelled down the hallway, in what I thought was the general direction of her room. "Want to come with me to the library?"

I heard a door open, and then Sage appeared in the hallway, sporting leggings and a sweater with that band she told me about before... 4 Minutes of Spring or something like that? Anyways, she was ready to go.

"Did you figure out where those trouble makers are?" Sage's mom appeared in the doorway.

I nodded as I grabbed my sweater. "Yup, they're over at the library, just like you thought. They were pretty suspicious about it though..."

"I'm sure they were. Anyways, you got your licence, Cassidy?"

"Yes..."

"And you're a trustworthy driver? You know the laws of the road?"

"Yes..."

She sighed deeply, as though this was something she was going to regret, and slowly handed me over a keychain. "You can drive my car, then. A lot faster than trying to catch the bus."

"Really? Are you sure?" I gasped in disbelief, surprised that she was putting so much trust in me.

"Yes. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course."

"Sage will help you with directions. Have fun, my filles!"

My hand closed around the keys, and my fingertips tingled in excitement. I hadn't driven since I went to the movies with Bria and Margaux, before I found out the news about my dad. To be honest, I missed it. I loved the feeling of freedom I felt while driving, and finally I would be getting that feeling back. And it was all thanks to Margaux's mom. And Margaux and Bria, for mysteriously disappearing.

"Alright, let's go." I followed Sage out the front door towards the car in the driveway. Thankfully, the cars drove on the right side of the road here, unlike England, where everything was backwards.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly as Sage buckled up and I began to slowly back out of the driveway. It was a weird sensation, being in an unfamiliar car, backing onto an unfamiliar road. It was slightly frightening and exhilarating at the same time.

"Okay, so just take a right at that stop sign," Sage directed, and I paused briefly at the sign ordering me to 'arret' before turning right.

We were heading closer to the downtown, more densely populated, area of the city. I suppose that would be a good place for a library. I continued to drive along the fairly straight-forward path with the occasional change of direction from Sage.

When we reached a main intersection, time seemed to slow down. My heart beat sped up. I started gasping for air, and the walls of the car seemed to close in on me. But most of all, I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of fear. I couldn't do this. I couldn't drive.

"Cassidy? Cassidy? Are you alright?"

Sage's voice was a mere whisper in the back of my mind. An image of a truck at the other side of the intersection caused my heart to beat even faster. Hardly any air was getting into my lungs. My hands were frozen, I couldn't turn the wheel, couldn't do anything.

And suddenly, it was like I was there, the day my dad died. Sage and her mom's car and everything else around me faded away. I was driving the taxi, the taxi my dad had spent his last moments in. He was behind me in the backseat. I heard him scream. I felt the impact as the truck barreled into the car. I twisted my body to look behind me, and I saw my dad's disfigured body, the passenger seat shoved into his chest. His face was pale and motionless.

I screamed, and then my vision went black.