Driving through this town is strange, I am so used to big cities that being in such a small town is a tad claustrophobic. Despite spending only summers here as a child this place always felt like home, seems I have been away too long as the feeling now being here feels me with uncertainties. I have a feeling I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb here. I practically stink of the city compared to these guys. I wonder if they can see the smog rolling out of my ears. This town has changed quite a bit since I was here as a child. We used to stay summers up this way with my mom's mom, Nana. She was a fiery lady with a taste for anything that burned going down. According to the stories, before my mom died, she wouldn't touch a drink. Although I can't remember any of that. I can't remember much of my mom at all, but I can remember her love for adventure. I inherited that, which is part of what got me in this mess. I just can't seem to turn down a bad idea, for the chance of an adventure. I'm a full blood adrenalin Junky, with a slight fear of heights so no sky diving for me.
I turn off the main strip a half-mile down this ghost town road. I cringe as the sound of gravel splatters my car. I've spent way too much money restoring this 1970 Chevelle, or Shelly as I have so affectionately named her, to listen to the flat black paint chipping away. Living here will be one hell of a punishment. My dad always had a cruel sense of humor. "Since you can't stay out of trouble in L.A. I'm sending you back with your brother and Nana Lou. See how much trouble you can find in backwoods Indiana." probably didn't help when I replied with "Challenge accepted." I seriously need to learn to tame my tongue. What I didnt tell dad was I was slightly looking forward to the change. Too much had happened in the city, I desperately needed a fresh start. Shaking the past out of my head I round the final curve to home sweet home and must tap the breaks to avoid hitting the ugliest dog I've ever seen. Maybe I should hit him, put that nasty thing out of its misery. The dog stands to its full height and I quickly shake the thought out of my mind. Its the biggest dog I have ever seen. Its hips would be level with mine no, way am I hitting that thing, it would total my car. I tap the horn hoping to get that gruesome looking thing out of my way, but no, he's just as mouthy as I am. I roll down the window, "Move Cujo!" I yell, to the beast that truly belongs in a Ripleys believe it or not museum.
"YOU'RE EVAN!?" I jump high enough to crack my head on the roof startled by the unexpected voice in my ear. A small giggle escapes the blond curly-haired child at my window. She is barely tall enough to see her round chin from my angle. A large smile overpowers her petit face revealing a large gap in her front teeth. "Dont worry that's just Sampson, he's not actually Cujo. I'm Serina. Nana Lou's been talkin' bout you all week. The car had me confused though; I was expecting something ugly when she called it a "piece of sh-ap" what is a sh-ap anyhow?" She asks. For such a tiny little thing she sure has lung capacity. She pulls herself up a tad higher on my car, brown eyes bright and big as they look at me, still recovering from the heart arrhythmia she had rudely and slightly adorably forced on me. So much for my macho reputation I was hoping for. Not going to lie I may have screamed a little. "Yah know what Evan I was just fixing to head down to Nana's anyway Ill just ride on with yah." She speaks with authority as she bounces away from my window.
"Umm no, "I speak trying to stop the rambunctious bundle of energy before she climbs in my car. She pays no mind to me at all, as she flings my back door open.
"Sampson Hup!" The dog comes running toward the door.
"NO! Absolutely no way! I don't want that dog in my" The dog growls at my almost protest. "Sh..." I see her big brown eyes staring at me "ap" now I get it. My Nana is just as bad with her language as me. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to give you a ride, your parents won't like a stranger giving you a ride," I say trying hard to get this kid and Cujo out of my car.
"Sampson will get mad," she proclaims as if on cue the dog lets out a deep growl.
"Any preference on radio?" I ask as she's already climbing in beside the dog. I've just been hustled by a real-life walking talking china doll. I really don't like dogs. Never have. They all seem to hate me just as much, but this one takes the cake as his giant nose is pressed between my seat and the window for what seems to be the next two hours of the worst sitcom in history. Anytime I hit a bump or breath Cujo growls a deep warning of my imminent doom, while Little Serina sits cool as can be with her feet propped up on my dash jamming out to Taylor Swift on my radio. My car has never heard Tylor Swift before. I'm quite disappointed that it has at all.
YOU ARE READING
Phoenix Rising (re-writing)
Teen Fiction"Once upon a time there was a dragon that only knew one love, a phoenix." She laughs at me again. "The phoenix was kind, full of compassion. She could see the corruption in the world knowing that eventually the dark would consume the light. The drag...
