Monster Trip

                                              3. The Road Trip

A buzzer went off. It was an irritating sound that haunted me throughout my high school career. A sound that woke me up each morning to get up and ready for school.

Today that buzzer went off to wake me up for the best trip of my life. The best summer of my life.

As I opened my eyes, they were scorched by the bright light of the sun streaming through my window and onto my bed.

I yawned, groaned and sat up against the pillows.

That’s what you get for thinking you could go to bed late and wake up early the next morning without feeling different.

A hangover.

I jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom to take a cold shower. The water was freezing but I welcomed it as it woke me up completely.

I dressed myself in a pair of blue jean shorts and a blue shoulder less vest. My silver necklace hung down my shirt and into the space between my breasts—a necklace that I never removed since I was a kid.

I let my wet hair hang down my back and grabbed my duffel bag. The doorbell rang just as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

My father walked out of the kitchen and smiled.

‘’Morning Rils,’’ he said and opened the front door.

‘’Hi Mr J,’’ Logan greeted my father and walked in with Austen following behind.

Austen’s greeting was casual and friendly. ‘’Good morning Mr Jennings.’’

‘’Hey Rils,’’ Logan hugged me and stood next to me while Austen smiled to me.

‘’Hey guys.’’ I breathed.

My dad threw the Land Rover’s keys to Logan as the rest of the group arrived all together.

Rebecca and Devin came together.

Devin Baker, a slightly muscled guy with blue eyes, blond wavy hair and one hell of an ego, seemed slightly out of place next to Logan and Rebecca. The history between the two of us was a horror story for any two best friends.

I didn’t like Devin and neither did he like me but we tried to be civil with one another for Rebecca’s sake.

Adrianna came second.

Adrianna Pratt was a nerdy girl with short brown hair, blue-green eyes angular features and a thin set of lips. She was valedictorian, had the best grades, and got into Stanford University with the dream of becoming a microbiologist for some science thing.

Basically said, she was a real nerd who was quiet and shy.

Oliver Caldwell, just about any type of guy you would want on a road trip—he had short black hair, green eyes, covered with black rimmed glasses, and strong facial features—paled in comparison next to Austen. He arrived with one duffel bag and one black bag carrying his laptop.

Phoebe Gibson, a conspicuous girl, wasn’t really a friend of me or anyone else on this trip. She had small pixie like features with long red hair and green eyes. She was friendly but very up tight.

Ella’s father dropped her off lastly.

‘’Sorry I’m late. I had a ton of things to pack.’’ She breathed as she carried in three suitcases and one small case.

I laughed.

Ella Osborne was the rich girl of our group. She was tanned, toned and bitchy. She had shoulder-length blond hair, sparkling green eyes, small features and a very elegant atmosphere.

 ‘’Uh Ella,’’ I took her elbow.

‘’Yeah what?’’ She looked at me with sparkling eyes.

I touched my forehead. ‘’You can’t take that many things. Two duffel bags is the limit.’’

She laughed. ‘’Don’t be silly. Of course I can take that many things.’’

‘’No honey. You can’t.’’ I shook my head.

‘’Unless you want to sit on my lap the whole time,’’ Logan laughed as Ella shriveled.

‘’Two duffel bags?’’ She eyed me and I nodded.

‘’I’ll make it fit!’’ She marched, determined, towards her bags in the middle of the living room as I went to my room to get her two duffel bags.

She made it fit alright.

It was ridiculous to see the many unnecessary things she took, but eventually we persuaded her to leave her make up and take four sets of bikinis instead.

‘’We’re way behind schedule.’’ Logan grabbed two nearby bags and marched out of the house.

‘’Hey Riley,’’ Austen grabbed my wrist as the others helped Logan load up the Land Rover.

‘’Yeah? What’s up?’’ I looked up at him.

He was head and shoulders above me and about twice as broad as I was. Very muscled and athletic.

‘’I got you a gift.’’ He clipped a black charm bracelet around my wrist.

I looked at it for a moment too long. The charms were beautiful and silver.

‘’Austen you didn’t have to,’’ I smiled up at him.

My stomach churned as he smiled back. Something fuzzy and welcoming wormed through my head, making me insanely dizzy.

‘’It’s a graduation gift. Every charm has a meaning.’’ He touched a silver charm and it sparkled in the sunlight.

‘’This one,’’ he held the angel between his two fingers. ‘’Means that you are innocent.’’ He whispered and his breath blew over me.

‘’This one,’’ he showed to the sun. ‘’This one means you are quiet capable of lighting a room by being in it,’’

‘’Are you guys coming or what?’’ Logan interrupted and broke the moment as Austen was about to kiss me.

Was he about to kiss me?

‘’Rils,’’ my dad hugged me outside. ‘’Be safe honey. If you need anything, just call or email or something, we’ll be there for you.’’

‘’Thanks dad. And thanks for the money you gave me.’’ I hugged him back and kissed his cheek.

‘’Bye mom,’’ I hugged her tightly, she kissed my forehead.

‘’Bye baby.’’ She smiled and I slid into the car.

Logan, Ella and Adrianna were in front, Oliver, Austen and I in the middle and Rebecca and Devin in the back.

I was sitting in between Oliver and Austen as Logan pulled away and the road trip started.