Chapter Text
Jecka let out a sigh.
Not a long sigh, that would be quite unbecoming of her. Instead, she opted for the short sort of sigh. The kind one does when they want to express their annoyance or distaste, but do not actually want anyone else to comment on the matter. Simply that they be aware of its existence.
They in this case being Karen and Megan who both stood beside Jecka in uneasy anticipation. Karen did not seem to regard the sigh, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Jecka noted that Karen rarely regarded Jecka for much of anything, never mind a sigh. She supposed she deserved that.
Megan on the other hand, whose face was planted deep into a tome entitled ‘101 random facts’ quickly darted her eyes up to the blonde so as to confirm that, yes, the sigh had indeed occurred. Upon doing so, her eyes returned to the book, before she seemed to hesitate as if unsure what to do next, before she then closed the book, producing a soft thwump.
“You two ready? Megan asked, dropping the book on a nearby lectern.
“Ready as I’ll ever be!” nodded Karen.
Jecka nodded as well, but without a verbal answer to accompany it. She thought it would help show her general lack of enthusiasm, and judging by Megan’s deepening scowl, she had hit her mark.
“Jecka, you studied, right?”
“Megan, it’s a trivia game. Random trivia isn’t exactly something I can just study for.”
“Sure you can, there are tons of random trivia books you could read.” Megan flapped a hand to the book that lay abandoned nearby.
“In the endless amount of potential trivia questions, do you really think a single trivia book could actually prepare me for whatever the judges have prepared for us?”
“Well you never know,” said Karen, “they might have read from the same book.”
“And you think the chances of that are great enough to waste time on?”
“It’s not wasting time,” chided Megan. “It’s preparing for a club you chose to join.”
Jecka knew she could bring up the truth. That she had zero interest in the Lake Braddock trivia club, and that she was only here to avoid the threat of physical violence, but she figured that might be somewhat of a downer topic. So instead, she opted to let out one more short sigh, before raising her hands in surrender.
“Right, got it Miss Megan.”
“Stop calling me that.”
Jecka gave another lazy nod, which Megan seemed to take as the closest to an apology she was realistically going to get. Letting out a sigh of her own, (and a long one at that,) she turned around to the curtain separating them on the backstage, from the opposing team on the other end.
“So...” Karen began, “who are we up against anyway?”
“Some local team.” Jecka shrugged.
“Not just some local team, the final local team.” Megan raised a finger as if to emphasize the point. “This is what it’s all been leading up to. We can’t fumble now, Team Albatross!”
Jecka groaned, “you’re still trying to make that a thing?”
“Why shouldn’t I? Team names are a great way to build morale.”
“I think it’s cute!” Karen said with a smile.
“It’s not meant to be cute, it’s meant to be cool.”
Jecka raised an eyebrow, “you do know what Albatross means, right?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Then you are aware you picked a team name that implies we’re just some kind of burden then?”
“I- What?” Megan asked, her mouth hanging open as one brow raised far above the other. “Albatross is a good score in Golf, three below par! It means good luck!”
“Why not just call us team Birdie then, that’s the best golf score, isn’t it?”
“Because Team Birdie doesn’t sound cool.”
“And Team Albatross does?”
“Yes,” Megan nodded fervently, “it does. Besides, it definitely doesn’t mean to be a burden or anything, you’re just making that up.”
“Uh,” Karen raised a finger, “actually it does mean that as well as the uh... golf thing...”
Megan scowled at Karen, who just returned a sheepish smile in response.
“Well whatever, we’re Team Albatross and that’s final!” Megan crossed her arms signaling the conversation was over.
“Team Albatross?” a voice called out. “Dumb name.”
The voice was not Jecka or Karen’s, and certainly not Megan’s own as she whipped around to face the judgemental tone that Jecka recognizes as-
“Nicole?”
“Sup.” Nicole said, her arms deeply rooted in the pockets of her sky-blue hoodie as she walked up to join the three girls.
“What are you doing back here?” Jecka asked, her bug-eyed stare earning a smirk from Nicole.
“What, I can’t just check up on you three?”
“Uh, no?” Megan said, less with anger and more with confusion.
“Oh, by the way I got a look at the other team. You guys should be fine. It’s literally three Jefferies.”
“It’s-” Megan blinked, “what?”
“Three Jefferies.” Nicole shrugged as if this answer made perfect sense.
“Nicole,” Jecka asked, “what the fuck do you mean Three Jefferies?”
“I mean it is literally Jeffery, and then two other kids that look exactly identical to him just with differently colored hair or whatever.”
“Okay, but just- I-” Megan sighed, “knowing you Nicole, that's an insult, and a really rude one at that. Just because they're on the other team doesn't mean you need to compare them to literally the worst person you know.”
“Who says Jeffery is literally the worst person I know?”
“You!! To me!! Constantly!!”
“Oh... yeah I guess I do say that a lot. But no I mean it literally this time. Three Jefferies, same height, same glasses, everything.”
“What are the chances of that happening?” Karen asked, finally joining the conversation she’d been silently spectating.
“I dunno, probably not that low at this school if Kyle and Hunter or Trody and Braxton are anything to go by.”
“Do you just keep track of this stuff?” Jecka asked.
“I mean...” Nicole paused as if trying to get a read on the other three girl’s expressions. “Maybe?”
“Jesus Christ." Megan pressed a hand to her face. “Look, the match is about to start. We have to get ready.”
“Right, uh, break a leg?”
“Knowing you, you mean that literally.”
“I mean, it’d be entertaining so...”
“Go, Nicole. We’ll catch up after.” Megan pointed toward the exit.
Nicole continued snickering as she walked off. Jecka knew Nicole. She knew what she liked, and she knew what she hated, and extracurriculars like this were definitely the latter. Come to think of it, so was Megan. ‘Catch up later’? Whatever it was that Nicole was doing here was entirely beyond her.
Then Jecka glanced at Megan, her eyes still staring at the door Nicole had just left through for a moment too long. Long enough to be suspicious. But before Jecka had time to question that further, the curtain in front of the trio began to lift revealing the opponent team.
“You girls are going down!” Said Jeffery.
“Yeah!” Said the second, blonde Jeffery to the first one’s right.
“That’s right!” Parroted the third, ginger Jeffery to the middle one’s left.
“Oh...” Megan said through a pained grimace. “Three Jefferies.”
Jecka groaned. “This is going to suck.”
###
“What?! This SUCKS!!” Jeffery wailed out as the final buzzer buzzed its familiar buzz.
“And, that’s game.” Miss Lynn, who had served as the lead judge for the event, called out.
“B-but, they cheated!” Shouted out the blonde Jeffery whose name Jecka had never bothered to learn.
“No,” said Karen, “we just happened to know what the initials for Virginia were.”
“Well how should we have been expected to know that?” The ginger Jeffery piped up.
“Uh, because we fucking live in Virginia?” Megan shot back, incredulous.
“Well, that’s just what they want you to believe.” The main Jeffery harrumphed, crossing his arms.
Needless to say, the girls team had managed to wipe the floor with Jeffery and the Jefferies or whatever the hell their team name had been. Truth was Jecka had sort of tuned out every time they started talking. But that wasn’t what was important, what was important was-
“It’s finally over.” Jecka sighed, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Not the weight of stress, not exactly. It wasn’t as if she’d ever been all that worried about losing, well, at least the scary part was never the losing itself. No, this was the relief of finally having an excuse to do literally anything else with her after-school time than this stupid club.
“Congratulations girls.” Miss Lynn applauded politely as the three Jefferies stormed off of the stage and mercifully out of view.
“Thanks Miss Lynn.” Karen beamed, she looked as if she had just won a gold medal at the Olympics.
“So, what now?” asked Megan.
“Now?” Jecka let out a dry laugh. “Now we can finally relax. It’s over.”
“Uh,” Miss Lynn hesitated, “not quite Jecka.”
“What?”
“Well, you’ve completed everything locally, yes. But that just means you move on to the nationals.”
Jecka’s shoulders sank, as if the weight of a thousand dumbbells had been unceremoniously lobbed atop them.
“What...?”
“Yeah, you didn’t know that?” Megan raised an eyebrow. “It was told to you when you signed up.”
“Well- I- I don’t know,” Jecka flailed her hands, “I probably didn’t expect to even get this far!”
“So wait, nationals means traveling out of state, right?” Karen asked, practically bouncing on her heels.
“Correct, Karen. It’s being held down in Oklahoma, if my memory serves me.” Lynn nodded once. “That said, I do have some... bad news.”
Great. As if things couldn’t get worse.
“You see,” Lynn continued, “the school board doesn’t deem this to be a particularly notable enough club to fund so... you’ll have to sort out transport for yourselves.”
“WHAT?!” Megan exploded, erupting into full Megan mode in a second flat.
“Oh?” Jecka asked, a hint of relief easing the weight from her shoulders. This was her chance, surely she wouldn’t still be forced into this if the school wouldn’t even provide transportation. She finally had an out-
Suddenly, the chirping beeps of Jecka’s ringtone sliced through her quiet contemplation. It only took one glance at the nearby wall clock to know exactly who it was.
“Uh, shit, I gotta take this.” Jecka said, fumbling for her phone. As she did she noticed her hands were shaking. They always shook when he called.
She tried to stop the shaking as she walked away.
Each step she took echoed through the enormous, empty theater.
She tried to steady her arms as she pushed through the doors.
The soft creak as they opened exposed her to the chilled yet sunny fall afternoon.
She tried to calm her breathing as she brought the phone to her mouth.
The warmth of the sun was contrasted by the nip of the wind, a chilled artifact of a promised winter.
And she tried not to let her voice crack as she answered the call.
“Hey dad, what’s up?” Jecka’s voice drifted into the cold air of the school’s parking lot, the warmth of the sun fading behind the rolling gray clouds. Her voice wavered. If she was trying to sound confident, she failed.
“Jessica.” her dad answered. Just her name. Clipped, plain, yet somehow so very heavy. “So?”
She bit her lip before responding, “it went well.”
“Well?” he echoed. No warmth, no surprise, just a dead tone that made her almost wish she hadn’t picked up. As if that was even an option.
“Which is to say we, uh, won...”
“Good,” the line crackled, “I knew you could do it.”
“Yeah... so it’s uh... over now.”
“... Over?”
“Uh, yeah... we won, remember?”
He didn’t respond immediately. The silence pressed against her ears until every other sound, the wind, the birds, the distant chatter from inside, all of it fell away into a high, throbbing, ring.
“Uh, dad-?”
“What about nationals?” His tone was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that made the stomach tighten. The kind of calm that sent off alarm bells.
“Oh, uh...” Damn, of course even he knew about that. “The school said they can’t provide transport, so... I don’t think I can do it.”
“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that sweetheart,” his voice sharpened. “You will be doing it. Carpool with your little friends.”
“But-”
“No buts Jessica.” His words snapped like a twig, any sense of compassion evaporating in an instant. “This is important.”
“Pfft,” Jecka mumbled. “If it was so important then why don’t you ever take the time to so much as show up for it?”
“EXCUSE ME?!?!” His voice roared through the speaker, so loud she flinched, nearly dropping her phone. His voice wasn’t flat anymore, it was booming, distorted, the edges blending into the static as it seemed to surround her.
“Wait- what I meant was-”
“I know damn well what you fucking meant.”
“Wait, I-”
“For that attitude you can find your own way home,” he breathed harshly, “and when you get back, we’re going to have a little chat about your habit of talking back to me.”
She went to apologize, to plead, to beg, but the dead tone of the call cut her off before she could form a single word.
She lowered the phone, her fingers trembling around it, the plastic biting into her palm. The world came rushing back around her, the wind, the birds, the faint chatter. She wanted to scream. To throw her hands up. To punch the brick wall behind her until her knuckles split, anything to drown out his voice still beating down on her inside her head.
She didn’t do that.
Instead, she sagged back against the wall. The strength drained from her legs until they gave way and she slid down to the ground. Her arms folded tight around her knees as if to hold herself together. With trembling fingers, she pulled out her phone. Her thumb drifted through the contacts. Past A. Past B. Past C. Hovered on D. Finally reached E.
The phone buzzed silently in her hand. For a moment, she told herself the trembling was just from that. Then the other voice picked up, and she lifted the still shaking phone to her ear.
“Yo, Jecky-boo!” The ever energetic call of Emily garbled through the speakers.
Despite it all, a small smile tugged at Jecka’s lips. “Jecky-boo?”
“Yeah, trying out new pet names.”
She allowed herself to snicker, “well, Jecky-boo is absolutely not gonna fly.”
“Drat, well then Jecka it is, until I can think of something better.”
“Uhuh,” Jecka said, “Jecka is better, though?” She tilted her head, doing her best to sound smug in that playful way where it still came off as cute. She thought she did a decent job at it all things considered.
“Sure, sure. I’ll let you keep believing that. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Oh, uh, can you pick me up?”
Emily didn’t respond immediately. Jecka knew it wasn’t hesitation, just Emily slowly piecing together why it was that she was getting this call.
“Be right there. School entrance?”
“Yeah...”
“Sweet, yeah I’m nearby, so I shouldn’t be long.”
Over the sound of Emily’s voice, Jecka could make out the vague screeching of tires, signaling Emily was likely already in her car and making a no doubt very sudden U-turn.
“Right, just gotta cut off this- WATCH IT JACKASS! Jeez, it’s like everyone’s forgotten how to drive these days.” Emily’s voice crackled through horns and chaos.
Jecka knew she shouldn’t find that endearing. She kind of did. “Try to arrive in one piece, if you can.”
“Yeah, no promises- MOTHERFUCKER!!”
After about five more minutes punctuated by various honks, yells, and the occasional noise so loud she couldn’t even make it out over the muffled speakers, Emily finally skidded into the school parking lot. Her tires squealing far more than they should. Almost as soon as she came to a stop, the doors popped open, and Jecka climbed in.
Jecka sank into the passenger seat, gripping the edge of the door for a moment before letting her hands fall into her lap, lingering there as she gathered herself. Finally, and almost reluctantly, she pressed the end call button, which had begun to echo with Emily’s phone. From there, she clicked her seat belt into place and turned to give a small nod to the driver.
Emily eased the car forward, tires whining less now, as she slowed to a slightly more reasonable pace. “So,” she asked, glancing at Jecka with that shark-toothed spark of pure, unfiltered Emily energy. “How did it go?”
“Good.”
“Ah, well that’s good!”
“No, it’s bad.”
“So it went bad?”
“No, it went good.”
“Is it good or bad?”
“It’s bad that it went good.”
“And it’s good that it went bad?”
“What? No, that would be-... What I mean is-... we won.”
“Oh... and that’s...?”
“Good.”
“Right.”
“But also bad.”
Emily blinked. “Right... okay, wait, sorry, I’m confused.”
“We beat the local team but now there’s a national team, which is out of state, but the school is refusing to provide transport.”
“What? They can’t do that.”
“Try telling them that.”
“Okay, I will!”
Jecka glanced at Emily, only to find she was dead serious as she was already fishing her phone out of her pocket, midway through blowing a red light.
“I’m joking.” Jecka was quick to clarify.
“Oh, uh, I knew that,” Emily said, hastily stuffing her phone back into her pocket right as she blew through another red light.
“So yeah, now we have to figure out transport to get all the way to fucking Oklahoma and back.”
“Huh...” Emily said, soaking in the information.
From there, silence settled over the car. A contemplative white noise as Emily tried to think of a solution, and Jecka just let herself lean back, her hands again resting in her lap. Despite probably being in more physical danger now, in Emily’s car, than she had been moments prior, she noticed her hand wasn’t shaking as much anymore.
“OH!” Emily belted out, earning an alarmed turn from Jecka.
“Yes?!”
“I have an idea!”
“Oh god...”
“I could drive you!”
Jecka pursed her lips. “Hm?”
“Me. I could drive you guys down there.”
“Uh, I’m not sure...”
“It’d be fun! We could make a proper road trip out of it. I’ll even borrow my mom’s old van. It’s got eight seats so we could bring Nicole to balance out the other two nerds.”
“I just, I dunno.”
“What?”
‘It’s just...”
“Spit it out.”
“I don’t wanna drag you into this.”
A pause, and then suddenly Emily let out the type of sound one would typically expect to hear from a feral hyena. “Are you kidding? This sounds like it’d be a blast.”
“You and Megan, trapped in a car together for two days straight?”
“Exactly! Imagine how angry I could get her heehee...” Emily’s hyena laugh slowly transitioned into something that wouldn’t have sounded out of place coming from a scheming supervillain in one of those crappy spy movies Emily had been desperate to drag Jecka into watching with her.
Jecka, again, couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, Megan would probably be uptight and annoying, but that was a constant anyway. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was exactly left with many other options. She needed to be in Oklahoma for the nationals, whether she wanted to be or not. Might as well go with someone who actually made her life a little more worthwhile.
“Alright, fine.” Jecka agreed, trying to make herself sound more reluctant than she admittedly was. “You should probably drive somewhere within the vague ballpark of the speed limit though if it’s gonna be a packed van.”
“Booorriiiiing...” Emily groaned, but she did ease off a little, which Jecka noticed she always seemed to do when she was in the car.
Jecka wasn’t sure if Emily did that consciously or subconsciously, but even though Emily still drove like a maniac at the best of times, the thought of her at least trying to drive a little safer for Jecka’s sake made her feel a bit better.
“Thanks,” said Jecka, her smile fully claiming her face now.
“Aww, anything for you Jecky-boo!”
“Okay, I’m reclaiming my thanks now.”
Emily mimicked what sounded like a dog whining, earning another, involuntary laugh from her.
Despite it all, Jecka was feeling better.
#####
Despite it all, Nicole was stressed.
She shuffled herself about the narrow hallway, left, then right, then left again. Her thoughts looped as frantically as her steps. Would it really work?
Unsure.
Was it working now?
Unsure.
Hopefully.
But she didn’t do that. She didn’t do hopeful. Would it work out in the future?
She stopped pacing.
Unsure.
With a low groan, she dragged her hands through her hair and slumped against the wall near the window. Glancing out at the parking lot through it, she could see Jecka pacing about in much the same fashion, phone pressed to her ear. Her movements were sharp, restless, uneasy. Whatever that call was about it looked like a lot.
Relatable.
Whatever. Focus on the point at hand, not the blonde bimbo outside. Focus on... ugh... why did she always do this? Why did she always throw herself into these situations? She knew it was a mistake in the long run, so why didn’t it feel like a mistake yet?
Her mind kept spinning, relentless, until a low creak broke through her thoughts, the door to the theater. She barely had time to turn around before she knew who it was. That voice, authoritative yet frayed at the edges, cleaved through the otherwise silent air of the hall.
“Transport, ugh, of course they don’t offer transport-” She paced past Nicole to one end of the hall.
“Megan.” Nicole said, trying to catch her attention.
“And of course they have no faith in us even though we just steamrolled the local competition-” Megan spun around and started back the other way.
“Megan!”
“And that’s not even to mention the costs of traveling out of state when everyone’s on their winter breaks-” She turned again, but this time Nicole jumped forward, catching her by the shoulders.
“MEGAN!!”
Her shout finally broke through, snapping the girl in question out of her trance-like pacing.
“Uh- what?!” she jumped.
“For the love of Christ, slow down.”
“Oh, uh, sorry,” she took a breath. “Hey.”
Nicole followed suit. “Yeah, now what is this about transport?”
“So, we’ve beat the local team-”
“The three Jefferies.”
“Yes, the three Jefferies, thank you, but now we move up to the nationals, representing Lake Braddock.”
“Wait, this shit goes national?”
“Trivia is a very serious sport, Nicole.”
“Dunno if I’d call it a sport but okay.”
“So, point is, I’m going to be going out of town for that.”
She’s going to leave you.
“Oh, uh, okay, a bit sudden but, sure.”
“Just one issue...”
She’s slipping away.
“Oh?”
“The school is refusing to provide transport.
“Wait, so they expect you to drive yourself down to- to where even?”
“Oklahoma.”
“Jesus, and they just expect you to do that yourself? How is that legal?”
“Well it’s optional, that’s how. School clearly doesn’t actually expect us to bother, and doesn’t see it as worthwhile enough to assist with.”
“Oh, well then...”
“Well then what?”
Stop her.
“Why don’t you just... not go then?”
“Because it’s important to me, Nicole.”
Idiot.
Made her mad.
“It’s a stupid trivia game, it cannot be that important.”
“Well it is to me!”
Made it worse.
“I-”
Stop.
Breathe.
Remember last time.
Nicole drew in a slow breath. “Sorry.” Somehow, it was still hard to get that word out. Possible. But hard.
Megan’s face, quick to flush with anger, softened a little. “It’s alright.”
“So, you’re going out of town then?”
“Well, I want to but I don’t have a car. My parents are down to one right now so they can’t spare it, and they can’t just drop everything and take me.”
Nicole wanted to snicker, as if those lousy sacks of shit would ever actually lift a finger to help her. She deserved better.
Deserves better than you.
Nicole didn’t snicker.
“So, what’s your plan then?”
“Well, Karen’s kinda in the same boat, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Jecka is too. Me and Karen are gonna look at carpooling if we can. Probably with Jecka if she doesn’t have a ride.”
You aren’t invited.
“Huh.”
Suddenly, before Nicole’s mind could think of where to take the conversation next, Megan’s phone chirped from her pocket. Her hands snatched it out immediately as her eyes flicked down to the screen.
“Oh, huh...” Megan lulled.
“God huh or bad huh?”
Megan tapped her chin, “unsure huh.”
Unsure.
“Here,” Megan held out her phone.
Nicole took it gingerly. She found the phone open to a group chat between Megan, Karen, and Jecka. The groups’ title currently set to ‘Albatross’, earning a small nose exhale from Nicole as she looked down to read the message Jecka had just sent out.
Jecka Valentine [6:58 PM]: Emilys mom has an old 8 seater van thing. If you 2 still need transport wanna carpool?
And no sooner had she finished reading it then Megan’s phone buzzed again and a new message appeared below Jecka’s.
Karen Sawyer [6:59 PM]: That would be great! I’m in. If we’re making a trip out of it, mind if we bring plus ones?
“So,” Nicole said, handing Megan’s phone back to her. “Sounds like you’re going on a roadtri-”
“Come with me.”
Your chance.
“Uh...”
Answer.
Say yes.
“Megan, why in the hell would I do that?” She tried to sound casual. Unfortunately, she succeeded.
“Uh, to support me? Karen’s apparently bringing a plus one.”
“Do you... want me to come?”
Megan paused, “well, only if you want to-”
“Megan.” Nicole cut in, voice firmer now. “Do you want me to come?”
Megan’s eyes met hers. The silence stretched. Then she nodded. “It would mean a lot.”
Nicole sighed, but nodded her head as well. “Alright, but I’m only doing this cuz being on a road trip with Emily sounds vaguely entertaining.”
Then, before Nicole could stop it, a blur of Purple came at her as arms outstretched and wrapped the unsuspecting Nicole into a hug.
Hug her back.
She didn’t.
“Uh, sorry!” Megan chirped, pulling herself back.
“It’s fine.” Nicole grunted.
“Uh, thanks.”
“Yeah.”
A pause.
“Wait,” Megan blinked, her brain only just beginning to piece things together. “What do you mean Emily?”
“Well, it’s her mom’s car right? Plus she and Jecka have been inseparable, so she’s probably coming. Driving too if my past experiences of carpooling with her are anything to go by.”
The color drained from Megan’s face. Not in the panicked way that made Nicole worry, but in the way that told her the door to teasing her had just swung wide open.
“Wait, there’s not a chance in hell Jecka’s planning to let that psycho drive us halfway across the country!” Megan flipped out her phone as her fingers became a blur, thumbs flying, but before she could hit send Nicole piped up.
“I mean, beggars can't be choosers, right?”
“Nicole, you’ve seen how she drives!”
“Describing what she does as driving is... generous...”
“Exactly my point!” Megan’s eyes were fixated on Nicole as her thumbs kept tapping away at a text, both digits trained well to the activity even when unsupervised.
“You worry too much, she hasn’t crashed yet. I think...”
“You worry too little, that just means she’s overdue!”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“And just because she hasn’t yet doesn’t mean she won’t still manage it.” Megan finished whatever text she had sent, and it only took a moment before her phone vibrated again. Megan squinted her eyes reading the text out loud.
Jecka Valentine [7:00 PM]: Emily here its me or bust hermiunee🖕🖕
“So, which is it gonna be?” Nicole jeered.
Megan’s face produced a stony expression as she practically growled, tapping her response. Four taps, plus punctuation, (Megan always included punctuation,) then hit send.
Megan Hayes [7:00 PM]: Fine.
And then, for good measure.
Megan Hayes [7:00 PM]: Also, it’s “Hermione”
Another pause. Nicole’s mind started working again. She didn’t like that, but there wasn’t a whole lot she could really do to stop it right now.
They will find out.
“So Megan, how are we going to... y’know?”
“‘Y’know’? No, I don’t know.”
“Well if I’m coming along with you, they’ll probably get suspicious.” Nicole waded through the words as they left her mouth. She should have sounded more confident than she did.
“Oh, you mean... well, we could always just tell them that we’re a thing now.”
Nicole’s heart spiked. “I uh... I dunno if I’m... if that’s a good idea yet.”
Megan’s face fell slightly at that. Nicole felt her heart spike again, but a different kind of spike.
Ruining it.
“Well,” Megan hummed, “we’ll think of something.”
“Yeah.”
“But for now, I think things are finally starting to work out.”
#####
“This isn’t going to work out.” Megan’s voice announced her before she and Nicole even reached Jecka and Emily.
Orange clouds streaked through the cyan sky, painting it with morning. There was a calmness hanging over the school parking lot that everyone had agreed to meet at, that directly contrasted Megan’s sharp and irritated voice.
“What’s not going to work?” Asked Emily, already prickling at Megan’s tone.
“This!” Megan flapped her arms at the vehicle Emily had just finished parking. “This thing barely looks like it could last a mile, much less a road trip.”
“Eh, it’s survived worse.” Emily shrugged.
Megan stared at her. “Do I even want to know what that means?”
“You?” Emily pointed a finger to Megan, “almost certainly not. But you,” she swung her finger over to Nicole, “would probably get a kick out of it.”
“Bet.” Nicole smirked.
“Don’t encourage her!” Megan snapped, then turned back to Emily with a grumble. “Is this seriously the best form of transport we have?”
“Unless you’ve got something you’ve been holding out on us, then yes.” Jecka cut in, eyes drifting to Nicole. “So, you’re coming along too?”
“Uh,” Nicole shifted, “yeah, y’know, a road trip with Emily and you will get me out of the house for a week, so... can’t really complain.”
Jecka’s gaze narrowed slightly, flicking between Megan and Nicole. As always, Nicole’s face was nigh impossible to read, Megan’s however looked ever so slightly too worried at her gaze.
“Right,” Jecka eventually sighed, “then that just leaves-”
“JECKA!!” A bubbly voice called out, and before Jecka could clock who exactly it belonged to, she saw a quick flash of light followed by the snapping click of a camera shutter, as none other than Kelly came bounding up to her, camera in hand, and grinning from ear to ear.
“Kelly?” Jecka rubbed her eyes against the afterimage of the flash, more than a little stunned by the surprise Kelly ambush.
“Yup! And Karen!”
Kelly stepped aside to reveal Karen had also arrived with her. She gave a small, sheepish wave as she stepped up to join the other five girls.
“Kelly was your plus one?” Emily asked, not hiding her annoyance at the fake Blonde’s overflowing excitement at the proceedings.
“Uh, yeah, is that alright? She said she wanted to get some pictures of it for the school yearbook.”
“Yearbook?” Nicole asked, “since when the fuck were you the one doing photos for the yearbook?”
“Uh,” Kelly tapped a finger up to her chin, “since about... three days ago? But don’t worry, I’m taking it super seriously!”
“Yeah,” Nicole groaned, eyeing the camera. “That’s kind of the part that worries me.”
“Well whatever, let's get the luggage loaded and head out.” Emily clicked the key fob, popping the trunk open with a mechanical pop that echoed crisply through the morning air. She strode to the back of the car, while the others trailed behind her, each keeping hold of their respective suitcases.
Nicole was first, dropping her luggage into the trunk with a soft thunk, then stepping back to make room for Kelly. She fumbled slightly with her oversized camera bag before managing to roughly wedge it in. Karen’s suitcase was next, and it slid easily into place, the gentle clatter sounding as she then stepped back to allow Megan to carefully settle hers down, adjusting the strap on her backpack as she did.
When the last bag was in, Emily slammed the trunk closed with perhaps a little more force than should have been necessary. It thudded, (to put it lightly,) producing a hollow, unsatisfying click that made more than a few of them wince.
“Did you have to slam it so hard?” Karen asked, her voice cutting through the brief lull as the girls circled back around to the front of the vehicle.
“Yeah,” Emily said, dusting her hands as if she had just completed an impressive feat of strength. “Otherwise that thing’ll never lock. Believe me, there have been more than a few instances of that thing swinging open on the highway.”
“Comforting.” Nicole said.
“So, that makes six of us?” Megan asked, as they all came to a stop near the front of the vehicle, her eyes glancing at each of them in turn.
“Yeah, I mean unless you’re hiding Ari up your sleeve.” Jecka shrugged.
“Oh yeah,” Emily added, “I saw her giving me weird looks all day yesterday. Like those sad, pathetic, lesbian looks, y’know?”
“So, just Ari being Ari?” Nicole clarified.
“Yeah actually, pretty much.”
“I almost feel bad,” Karen kicked her shoe against the asphalt. “With the amount of us going, it almost feels like we’re leaving her out.”
“Well I for one don’t feel bad about that.” Nicole raised her hand.
“We know.” Everyone, including Kelly, responded. The collective eye-roll deafening.
“Well anyway, enough wasting time! Are we ready to set out?” Emily asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“So long as this bucket of bolts can actually make it...” Megan grunted, still more than hesitant to step any closer to the vehicle as though she worried it might bite a limb off.
“Oh relax, it’s perfectly safe!” Emily said, slapping a hand against the hood with confidence.
No sooner had her hand collided with the rusted gray metal than the car let out a strange clicking noise, almost as if it had locked itself.
“Did it just-? Jecka began, only to be silenced when Emily swung the front door open to inspect it herself, finding it unlocked.
“Huh... Well I’m sure that’s not gonna come back to haunt us later!” Emily beamed, sliding into the driver’s seat. “C’mon, we ain’t got all day! All aboard!”
With emotions ranging from reluctance to outright giddy, the other five girls all filed into the car. Jecka slid into the passenger seat beside Emily, shooting a sideways glance at her with a practiced blend of skepticism and amusement. Nicole and Megan claimed the middle row, both taking either end near a window, and finally Karen and Kelly made up the back, nearest the luggage. Karen fidgeting with her belt buckle as Kelly excitedly gripped her camera, somehow managing to bounce even from the limited space of her seat.
“Alright, onto the open road we go! Buckle up!” Emily yelled out, Jecka caught Megan in the rear view mirror, frantically double checking the integrity of her seatbelt at that.
No sooner had she finished tugging, than Emily erupted forward out of the school parking lot, the engine roaring as she went from zero to over twenty far quicker than she perhaps should have. Megan’s hand shot up instinctively, gripping the ceiling handle like her life depended on it.
“Emily, if you get us all killed, I’ll kill you!” She yelled out, earning a gleeful, hyena-like laugh from Emily.
“Relax, I know how to ease the mood!” Emily called back, her sharp eyes flicking to the rear view mirror as her driving steadied itself ever so slightly. “Cool bird facts!”
“Cool... bird facts?” Megan asked back, her voice swamped in disbelief.
“Yeah! Cool bird facts!”
“Since when do you give a rat's ass about birds?” Nicole asked, leaning back in her seat, far more accustomed to Emily’s brand of driving than Megan was.
“Uh, I dunno, tryin’ something new?” Emily added with a grin, “your group chat title was ‘albatross’ and I found that vaguely entertaining.
Nicole snickered at the reminder, earning a scowl from Megan.
“Ooh!” Kelly clapped, “that’s a good group chat name!”
“Thank you!” Megan shouted back.
“Of course, now everyone smile for the camera!” Kelly exclaimed, and before anyone could object, another bright flash filled the interior of the car, snapping everyone mid-reaction, just as Emily sped past a red blur that might’ve been a stop sign.
“So,” Emily continued, eyes glinting with excitement, “did you know that when a woodpecker pecks into a tree, it experiences a G-force equivalent to twenty times what would lead to a traumatic brain injury in a human?”
“Oh,” Megan groaned, leaning back in her seat (but never taking her hand off the safety grip), “so you’re just making these up, then?”
“Uh, actually,” Karen this time cut in, “that’s true. Their tongues can wrap around their skulls and act as effective shock absorbers that prevent them from getting brain damage when pecking.”
“What?” Megan spun around in her seat, eyes wide, searching Karen for confirmation.
She didn’t have to search long before finding it.
“Woah, you’re so smart Karen!” Kelly gushed, practically glowing as she turned to face her, Karen shrank slightly into her seat, her cheeks dusted pink.
“W-well, Emily said it first so-”
“Also-” Emily cut in, eyes still gleaming, “Vultures have the strongest stomach acid in the world, so much so that it’s stronger than battery acid.”
“Okay,” Megan flipped back around, frowning, “that’s definitely not true-”
“Uh, again, 100% true,” Karen confirmed, leaning casually forward against Megan’s seat now. “It’s how they can eat off of carcasses without dying from anthrax, botulism, or any other type of bacteria.”
“What?!” Megan yelled back, more in shock than anything else.
“Yup~!” Emily sang out, “that’s why I call it gizzard gravy!”
Jecka winced, but the joke seemed to land with Nicole who let out a quiet laugh.
Emily, egged on by the laughter, continued, “they can also propel their vomit out by up to ten feet as a defensive measure.”
This time, rather than immediately assuming it was false, Megan simply glanced back to Karen for confirmation, who only nodded matter-of-factly. Megan then flipped forward again in her seat.
“How do you know this stuff off the top of your head?” She asked.
Emily grinned, tapping her temple. “A whole lotta weird forum threads online.”
“Aw, you're just jealous you didn’t know these facts?” Nicole asked in a very strangely teasing tone to Megan.
“God, I’m half wishing I didn’t know them now.” Megan responded, an odd calm in her response that made Nicole’s jab hit without igniting the expected fireworks.
Jecka turned to look at Emily, only to find her gaze being met. Yeah, they were in agreement, Nicole and Megan definitely had something going on. However, before Jecka could make up her mind on whether it would be a worthwhile topic to pursue further, she was snapped out of her own mind when the car jolted violently.
Emily, at full speed, had gone flying over a speed bump, sending everyone upward in their seats before slamming them sharply back down. The impact reverberated through the car with a hollow thunk that earned a loud response from everyone in the vehicle.
“Ow- SHIT EMILY?!” Nicole blurted out, her hands clutching the edge of her seat.
“Oops, my bad,” Emily laughed way too casually.
Everyone else in the car was grumbling too, but over that Jecka heard one more voice that didn’t belong to anyone else in the vehicle.
“Ow- God!”
The car fell silent for a beat. Heads turned in unison to the back. Jecka realized she wasn’t the only one to have heard that.
“Uh,” Kelly hesitated, peering around as if expecting the source to make itself known, “did the speedbump just swear?”
“I don’t think that was the speedbump...” Karen muttered.
“Did we hit something?” Megan asked slowly.
“Emily?” Jecka asked.
“Ugh, fiiiiine, there’s a rest stop up here we can pull over at.”
The girls exchanged glances as Emily stayed true to her word. She diverted their course off a nearby turn and into the parking lot of the rest stop in question. The engine cut with a low rumble as the vehicle came to a rolling stop. No sooner had they stopped than Nicole flung open her door and stepped out, Jecka quickly following suit along with the others.
“Nicole, wait up!”
“No, cause I think I recognized that voice.” Nicole grunted, reaching the trunk of the car and before Jecka could retort, harshly yanking it open.
Jecka froze, blinking in disbelief.
What should have just been their suitcases and luggage, was now sharing space with one other suspect. Nestled among the bags, staring up at them with wide, almost guilty eyes, was someone clad in a messy mop of red dyed hair, staring back up at them like a dog who had just been caught taking a dump in the house.
For a moment, no one spoke. Just the hum of the car’s cooling engine and the faint rustle of a breeze blowing through the parking lot.
Finally, Nicole broke the silence, her voice a perfect blend of disbelief and amusement. “We, uh... got a stowaway.”
“Oh, uh,” the stowaway in question laughed nervously, “hi...?” The stowaway, now identified as Ari, awkwardly waved her hand.
Artwork by the amazing @DerkDrew124