"God, I can't take this!" I say to a coworker whose name I've already forgotten,
He looks at me, sweat beading off his head. "I mean, come on, man, it's not terrible," he says, looking at the line of customers flooding in from out the door.
Taking off my hat and walking towards the back door, I look towards him apologetically and say, "Uh-huh yeah, tell Greg I'm out of here."
Frowning, he nods and turns his attention towards the ever-growing line of angry customers. The fresh air feels like winter came in the middle of July. Walking over to my car, I drive down the highway, blasting the A/C until I find myself running out of gas in a small town in the middle of nowhere. So, when I pulled into the gas station, I checked my phone, and other than an angry text from my boss, not a single person noticed I'd been gone for three hours longer than my shift lasted.
Just the steps from the car to the gas station felt like I had been dragged down to the deepest layer of hell. "Only 89℉? That can't be right. It feels like it's at least 95," I mutter as I enter the gas station. But as I stepped through the threshold of the gas station, I felt that A/C had been running all day, and it felt heavenly.
"Welcome to the Lone Star Grocery and Gas. If you need anything, please figure it out on your own." I hear an annoyed feminine voice say from somewhere to my right. Walking over to her, I see a short girl with long black hair wearing a very baggy black hoodie that falls over her shorts. She is staring at her phone behind the counter.
Walking up to her, I ask, "Hey, um, where am I?"
Chuckling, she replies, "Bad trip, huh?" without looking up her phone.
"Oh no, I don't do that stuff," I say, grabbing a pack of gum and some sunflower seeds.
Finally, after putting her phone down and scanning my items, she answered my question from earlier: "You're in Smiton."
"Huh? I've never heard of it." I tell her, handing her my card.
"It makes sense; this is the only store in the whole town," See says, laughing to herself.
As the conversation dies down, I run to the fridge and grab a soda. In my peripherals, I notice her face turn to a frown, but by the time I walk back, she's staring at her phone again.
"It's getting late; how long do you work?" I ask her, trying to find an excuse not to return to the car.
As she hears my question, a mischievous grin appears on her face, and teasingly, she asks, "Why? Are you asking me on a date?"
Flustered, I shake my head rapidly, feeling the blood rush to my face. "N-no, I'm just making conversation, that's all."
She laughs and says, "Yes, we can go on a date, and we closed about three minutes ago." I nod, enjoying the thought of finally talking to someone interesting today.
"Sure, okay, let's do it. But don't you have to clean?"
She shakes her head. "Nope. I open tomorrow, so I'll clean then. Let's go!" She hops over the counter and follows me out. We walk over to my car, where I finally fill up on gas.
"So where are we going?" I asked, climbing into the driver's seat and starting my car.
"Just drive up the highway a bit; I'll tell you when to turn." Her voice is weirdly soothing.
I nod and drive up the road while messing with my phone, trying to pick some music. She smacks my phone out of my hand and says, "Hey, keep your eyes on the road, dummy."
"Then what will we listen to?" I ask, reaching down to grab the phone off the floor. Sighing, she puts an earbud in my ear, and we listen to a punk rock playlist.
The drive continues in silence, except for her occasionally humming along to the music or muttering the words. Until she blurts out, "Turn here!" Scaring me, I jerk the wheel right, taking the turn a lot harsher than I needed to.
"Woah, easy, we're okay," she says, clutching the grab handle.
"Sorry, you scared me," I reply, trying to slow my breathing.
She taps my shoulder and says, "Look," and I take in the view. We had driven up a mountain, and the short turnoff was just an overlook from which I could see the entire town in the distance.
Looking in the distance, spotting an even brighter set of lights further out, "Woah, it's gorgeous. You can even see… what's that bigger city off in the distance?"
"That's no city. That's the military base," she says, pointing at it to ensure we're discussing the same thing.
We sit silently, the only noise being the music playing in our ears. Eventually, she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one, offering me one.
"Oh no, thanks, I'm not 21," I say dismissively, waving my hand/
She lights hers and takes a drag, saying, "Aw, come on. It's not as fun if it's legal." while shaking the pack of cigarettes in my face.
"But they're bad for you; don't they take like a year off your life?" I ask, pushing the cigarettes away from me.
She takes another drag and blows the smoke in my direction, saying, "There now, you've already breathed it in. You might as well join me."
Weighing the risk compared to the reward, I decided that I had lived a boring life and always wanted to do something intense, so I took one of the cigarettes from the pack, put it in my mouth, and grabbed her lighter. "See, I knew you were cool," she says while I light the cigarette, taking a drag. Filling my throat with smoke, it scratches and burns, yet it doesn't feel hot. Then, as I blow the smoke out, I can feel myself on the verge of throwing up. I throw the door open and lean out of my car, hurling on the dirt.
Laughing, she says, "It's always bad the first time, but don't worry, you get used to it."
"I don't wanna get used to it. That hurt." I say leaning back into the car wiping the remains off my face with a napkin from the center console.
She takes another drag. "Spend enough time with me, and you will," she says in a sing songy voice.
"How would I spend time with you? I'm just passing through town." I say, dropping the used napkin outside my car.
"Well, where are you going?" she asks, offering me a piece of gum.
Taking it, and putting it in my mouth I shrug, "I don't really know. I just sort of started driving, and I have nowhere to go."
Her eyes light up, warning me of the wrong idea she undoubtedly just got. "Take me with you!"
I look at her like she's stupid and say, "That's a terrible idea. Why would you abandon your life here? Don't you have friends?"
She laughs, saying, "No ma'am, I'm the only person in this godforsaken town under 21. I don't have a life here"
"Alright then, I guess you can join me," I say, taking another drag from the cigarette, immediately regretting it as the smoke burns up my throat again. Still, instead of throwing up as I puff it out, I'm able to keep it down, coughing my gum onto the steering wheel.
"Alright well let's drive!" She says a lot happier than before.
"I'm so tired I'd rather not." I say throwing the cigarette out the window.
She unbuckles her seatbelt and says, "I'll drive."
I shrug figuring if it'll make her happy, I don't mind, and we switch seats. As she begins driving off into the distance I close my eyes, finding some sort of peace knowing that wherever this journey takes us I won't be alone.