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Spring break was one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon mortals from the gods. Spring break, which also aligned perfectly with the off days in the work schedule, was one of those things that only happened once in a blue moon. Adrian couldn’t agree fast enough when Jayden called to ask if he wanted to go to the beach. He had slightly faltered at being asked if it was alright if Tamonte and Deondre came as well, but recovered quickly enough. He knew Tamonte was cool, so his brother was probably also alright. Come Saturday morning, he was standing outside in his swim trunkc an a t-shirt when Jayden pulled up.
“Adrian!” Jayden cheered as he climbed into the backseat.
“Hey, man.” Tamonte greeted from the passenger seat.
“Hey, thanks for picking me up.”
“Of course, we’re like going to the beach!”
Adrian glanced at Deondre as the car pulled back onto the road. They hadn’t said anything when Adrian had gotten in; he didn’t even look up.
“Oh, don’t mind him,” Tamonte soothed quickly, “he’s still defrosting. He’ll be with us in about an hour.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Alright, quick game plan,” Jayden announced, “we’re going to stop to get like gas and ice for the cooler, and then it’ll be like a straight shot to the beach. Everybody with me?” Adrian and Tamonte both agreed. Deondre flashed a peace sign when prompted. “Excellent, let’s go!”
They made small talk on the way to the gas station. Deondre seemed to follow the conversation but didn’t speak up once. Everyone got out at the station; Jayden stayed at the pump. The boys walked into the store together with Arian in the middle.
“We’re really gonna let our friend pump her own gas?” Tamonte raised his eyebrows at his brother.
Deondre yawned, “Trust me, it's better this way.” He ran his hands over his face and waved them a little as he spoke, “If we offered, she’d refuse and then mock us for being chivalrous.”
Adrian nodded, “Jayden’s rule is that the driver pumps the gas, and anyone who gets in the way of that will face her wrath.”
“Exactly, so we’re gonna get ice and snacks and leave her be.” There was a blast of cold air as the automatic doors opened at their arrival.
“What other snacks could you need? We’ve got literally every kind of snack in the big bag.”
Deondre went through the aisles, peering down each one until he found what he was looking for and beelined toward it.
“Not these we don’t.” He grabbed a bag off the shelf and proudly showed it to the other two.
“Bugles? Really?”
“Yes, Bugles, really. Trust me, they’re an epic beach snack.” Tamonte rolled his eyes.
“He’s right,” Adrian blurted out, “they’re sturdier than most chips and a fun shape to eat.”
“This guy knows what’s up.” Deondre waved his brother away, “You go get ice, we,” he pulled Adrian in closer, “will load up on the most epic beach snack.” Tamonte rolled his eyes again but left the two to their work. Without the buffer of a third person, Adrian was at an immediate loss, thankfully Deondre led the interaction.
“Okay, so it’s two for four, which means it's four for eight. Is four too many?”
“No, the bag is mostly air, so four bags are really only two. Six bags, however, would be too many.”
“Good, good, excellent.” They grabbed two bags and handed them off before grabbing two more. “Tamonte thinks he’s so much better than us, like he didn’t spend ten minutes making sure we had the Cheeto puffs before we could leave.”
Adrian laughed as they headed for the checkout counter. There were only two people ahead of them in line. It didn’t take long, and soon they were back outside. The car had been moved from the pump to a regular parking lot. Jayden and Tamonte were standing by the open trunk, Jayden kneeling on the ground by the cooler.
“Think that’s enough?” Tamonte asked, still holding the partial bag of ice.
“Like it’s gonna have to be. Truly, this thing was bigger in my mind.”
“Think we can salvage the rest of the ice?”
“Nahh, like, it’ll just be cold water when we get there. Just dump it and let’s go.” They crammed the top onto the cooler and hefted it back into the trunk.
Tamonte went to trash the leftover ice, and Deondre secured the newly acquired snacks with the rest of the food. Still standing, Adrian felt a slight pressure in his abdomen but ignored it. He had gone that morning; his bladder wasn’t that small; it was probably just anxiety. Besides, he would have to go back into the station, look for a restroom, and cause everyone to wait on him. Worse, he could need a key to get in, which meant he would need to speak to the cashier, which could take even longer and-
“Beach beach beach!” Jayden chanted as she revved up the car.
“Beach beach beach!” Tamonte and Deondre chanted back.
Adrian scrambled into the car and quickly buckled himself in. No, he didn’t have to go; he was just being paranoid.
“Okay,” Deondre started suddenly as the car pulled onto the highway, “how would you describe your music taste?” He readjusted to be facing Adrian as much as possible.
Adrian blinked, “I dunno, chill I guess. I mostly listen to synthwave. It provides the right amount of noise without running the risk of getting distracted by the words.” There was a pause. “And yourself?”
“It’s eclectic-”
“It’s weird!” Tamonte butted in.
“It’s eclectic.” Deondre re-stated and then glared at his brother, “You be up there with Jayden. Where was I?’
“Eclectic,” Adrian supplemented, “which sounds like a cool guy way of saying a little of everything.”
“It is an incredibly cool way of saying a little of everything, as is my right. And since it is a little of everything, I can infiltrate any community.”
“But can you actually interact with anyone?”
Deondre made an in-between gesture, “There comes a point where it becomes clear I’m not as into it as everyone, but by then it’s too late. I’m already in and having a great time.”
“Like the wasps that invade the hive to eat bees.”
Deondre laughed, “Yeah, kinda.” Being far more awake, Deondre roped Adrian into a very active conversation. Adrian, who generally enjoyed having opinions, was wholly enraptured. He barely noticed the car speeding along the highway or the gradually progressing weight of his bladder. At least not until it was pointed out to him.
“You cannot be serious.”
“No, I do fully believe sometimes the DJs online aren’t actually doing anything, they’re just flicking switches and pretending.”
“Oh my god, I can’t believe this.”
“The transitions are just so aggressive, there’s no way they’re actually doing anything. They’re just turning off one song and turning another one on really fast.” Adrian laughed and repositioned himself in his seat.
Deondre looked him over, “Hey, are you alright?”
“Yeah, fine, why?” He pulled the seatbelt away from himself slightly.
“You look…” Deondre dropped his voice, “Do you have to go potty?”
Adrian froze, “What? I, no! I-” Embarrassment settled deep in his stomach, and his bladder pulsed. “Oh.”
“Sorry, you looked restless, so I figured I’d ask.”
“Yeah, no, you’re right. Is there a rest stop coming up?” Adrian turned to look out the window just in time to watch the exit for the rest stop go flying by two lanes away. “Shit.”
“Yeah, shit. Can you hold it?”
Adrian pressed his thighs together, “I don’t know, I didn’t even know I had to go.” His bladder was bothering him more by the second now that he was thinking about it; it trembled heavily in his abdomen. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed deeply. His hands grasped uselessly at the seat as he resisted the urge to hold himself, and he began squirming his hips in small circles. In his distraction, Adrian didn’t notice Deondre digging through their bag.
“Here, use this.” Adrian opened his eyes to see an offered towel.
“Mmph. I- I can’t use that.”
“Sure, you can, you’re already wearing swim trunks, and there’s more towels in the basket. Not entirely sure why we brought so many, honestly, but that’s besides the point.”
Adrian tried in vain to resist but gave in as a short leak burst forth at the idea of release. He rose from his seat slightly and stuffed the folded towel under him as flatly as possible. The second he was seated, he closed his eyes again in an attempt to focus on not overflowing the fabric. Despite his best efforts, Adrian’s pee drained from him in a desperate rush. It pooled under him, creating a slight puddle before the towel began soaking it in.
“You two alright?” Tamonte asked.
“We’re fine.” Deondre snapped. “Turn around.”
Adrian’s stream came to an end. He opened his eyes, sniffled, and quickly blinked back a few tears. He slid the towel out from under him gingerly.
“Sorry,” he said, avoiding Deondre’s eyes.
Deondre shrugged, “Happens to the best of us.” They took the towel carefully and stuffed it beneath the still-dry ones left in the basket.
Jayden glanced in the rearview mirror, “What like happens to the best of us?”
“I had an accident.”
“What?! Like, why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t realize I had to go until we were passing the rest stop,”
“We had it under control,” Deondre interjected.
Tamonte rolled his eyes, “Relax, De, we’re not gonna be mean to your friend.”
“Better not,” Deondre mumbled. “Are you alright though?”
“Yeah, much better now. Thanks.”
“No problem, as I said, happens to the best of us.”
Adrian smiled gratefully and quickly racked his brain for a new conversation topic.
“Coconut Mall should be a stage in Smash bros.”
“Oh my god, you just enjoy saying bullshit to rile people up.”
Adrian shrugged, “Maybe you’re just easy to rile.”
Tamonte laughed, “That’s definitely true.”
“Oh my god, shut up, the both of you!”