You haven't booked the tickets yet, have you? I winced hastily turning down the volume on my computer as Lee flynn, frantic and frowning, popped up on facetime. I looked from him to the Google chrome window on my computer screen. Two seats to JFK, baggage included, one for Mr Lee Flynn, one for Miss Rochelle Evans.
Dude you don't have to yell. I'm literally doing it right now. I'm just picking our seats. You're getting aisle seat. I know you said you like the window, but you'll be getting up to pee, like, all the time, and I just can't deal. You know it's costing about twenty dollars extra each to add - 'Abort mission shelly my best friend since forever shouted at me. Lee leaned closer to his phone until I could just see his top half of his face, his forehead creased and his eyebrows knitted together. His dark brown hair was struck up at odd angles and his blue eyes pierced right through the screen Do not boom Flights? What? But
My mind rattled. Why didn't he want me to book the flights? We'd been planning this trip for weeks. Spring break was coming up and we'd decided to mark the occasion with a trip across the country. It was our senior year of high school, we had been working our butt's off to get good grades for college, and wd deserved the break.
Plus, noah, my boyfriend and Lee's older brother, was currently in his first year of college in Boston on the other side of the country, which I had to admit was a big factor in me wanting to visit the East Coast. I wasn't entirely selfish, though: Lees girlfriend of about a year Rachel had just been accepted to brown, which was only a hour's drive from harvard. Rachel and her parents were going out to take a look around the campus. While I spent time with noah, Lee would head down to Rhode Island to meet up with Rachel.
The plan had been to fly into JFK in Newyork and to drive to Boston from there, but not before spending a day in New York to visit a few of the tourist traps. I was so excited to see the statue of liberty. I'd never been to New York before. Actually, I hadn't really left california much before. We had it all planned : an epic trip to celebrate our senior year. And suddenly Lee was yelling at me to 'abort mission' ?.
' Did you and noah have a fight?' I demanded, scowling at him. Lee and his brother had an unshakable bond - but they didn't always see eye to eye. I should know. I'd watched them grow up together, and I know both of them well. Lee and I were the same age (to the day) and we'd been best friends our entire lives. Our moms had been good friends, too, until my mom passed away in a car accident when I was younger. Lee and noah never had big fights, though. The only time I'd really seen them properly fight was last summer, when Lee found out that Noah and I had been secretly dating. (I still felt guilty about not telling Lee, even though he'd forgiven me. It was the only time I'd ever lied to him. ). 'no we didn't Lee hesitated. Did you and Rachel have a fight? Lee, what the hell is -'.
'I screwed up,' he blurted holding his phone further away so I could see his whole face. I was hit with the full force of his puppy-dog expression - which didn't always work on me. '' you know how I was gonna sort out the car rental?
'Yeah?'
So it turns out nobody will rent to us because we're not eighteen. '
I groaned and leaned over my desk, pressing my hands to my face. The news shouldn't have surprised me. I was usually the more organised of the two of us (something I attributed to having looked after my little brother, Brad, a lot). Lee Could be much more spur of the moment. Of course he hadn't noticed the age restriction until the very last second.
Exasperated, I cried ' Lee! You said you checked it all out!'
'Well, yeah, I thought I did! You know, I googled and it said there was extra fees if you're under twenty-five sometimes, but that's fine. But... then I thought maybe I could rent it in noah' s name - '.
Lee!'
But my mom over heard me asking him about it on the phone - '
Oh my god', I huffed I loved my best friend more than anything, but sometimes he could get a little too carried away. 'please tell me you weren't actually planning on doing that. I'm pretty sure it's like, a crime.'
Spare me the lecture. My mom already yelled at me over it. I told her I was joking, but... It's not like noah was even going to go along with it, as it turns out. I mean, seriously. He was the resident bad boy at school, always getting into fights and skipping class. He used to smoke. A few months at harvard and suddenly he's Mr goody two shoes? '. I rolled my eyes. Annoyed as I was that Lee had actually been considering that as our high school' s resident bad boy, as Lee had put it, Noah had changed a lot since going to college. Everyone else used to find him totally intimidating, but Lee and I had known him better. I'd harbored a helpless crush on noah since I was like, twelve. It turned out to be not so helpless when we ended up dating last year, after making out a charity kissing booth Lee anfi had run at our schools spring carnival.
College might have tempered some of noah's bad boy attitude, but he was still our noah. Still my noah, I thought, my stomach was fizzing and warmth spreading through me. As soon as it crossed my mind, the worry started to seep in. I hadn't seen noah since Christmas break, and, well, he hadn't changed a lot since going to college... I hoped he was still my noah... I shook the thought away quickly. Everything would just as it always was between us. It had to be.
Any way, 'Lee said suddenly, tearing me away from thinking about my boyfriend. He had a right smile on his face that I hadn't been expecting. Don't book the flights. We'll just drive the whole way instead!'
What? '
Well, it was hardly a road trip, was it shelly? ' he wheedled, raising his eyebrows at me. Just
New York to Boston?'
It was five hours later, Lee. '
' It was exactly. You couldn't get out of texas in five hours. '
Just how long is the drive from here to Boston?' I asked, opening a new tab to look it up. I hadn't even been driving for a year and I definitely hadn't done a long drive - let alone cross - country.
Like two days, ' lee told me so quickly I almost missed it. ' And if we take turns driving and nap on the road, we'll be there in no time. Plus school's shut for an extra week because they have to fix those busted pipes, remember, and get all the electrics fixed and stuff? We'd have plenty of time to drive there and back
