world, she chose something as boring as white.
Just as I’m thinking that, I spot her car coming down the road. It’s the pounding music that gives it away. I never noticed before, but there are a lot of white cars on the road.
“Whoohooo!” I yell, pumping both fists like she just made the winning score for the team. She leans on her horn. Her horn works well. It’s good and loud. Heads turn,that’s for sure. I’m waving, she’s waving. She’s got the windows of her car wide open, her auburn hair swirling around her, sunglasses on, a big smile on her face. She looks so grown up.
I get scared for a moment. It’s weird. Doesn’t make sense. I mean, she’s my friend. She’s bought a car. This is exciting. Something she’s been saving for. So why do I feel like somebody punched me in the gut? Like it’s the beginning of the end and she’s outgrown me already, just doesn’t know it yet. I should have brought my sunglasses too.
Chapter Two
“Hop in,” she says, just like a character in a book or movie. I open the door and get in.
“This is totally awesome!” I say, and we smile at each other as she pulls out. I strap in, but I do it casually, like an afterthought, so it doesn’t look like I don’t trust her driving skills.
We are sailing down the road, free as birds, and now that I’m inside, the music is so loud it’s vibrating the fillings inmy teeth. I have to admit, I misjudged this car. It doesn’t seem staid to me at all anymore. Not one bit. The air inside is electrified. We’ve just entered a whole new world. The world of people who ride in cars without parents, and I’m glad I’ve got my good-luck sweatshirt on.
“Where shall we go?” Lynn asks. She really does look like a movie star. It’s like somebody sprinkled that extra something over her that she didn’t have before. An extra something that I don’t have. I feel awkward, sort of tongue-tied, which is ridiculous. This is Lynn. We’ve been best friends since eighth grade, for crying out loud.
“Um...” I say. I can’t come up with a single stupid idea. “I don’t know, what do you think?” How lame is that?
“Haley,” Lynn says, giving me that look.
“Um...” I think fast, unglue my brain. “How about Dairy Queen?”
“Okay.” Lynn shrugs. “Dairy Queen it is then.” She jerks the steering wheel hard. Pulls a U-turn right in the middle of theroad. I’m not expecting it, so I don’t have my body set. I thought she was going to pull into a drive to turn around or something, but she didn’t. Lynn’s kind of a daredevil.
“Whoa!” I say, my hands reaching out to grab the door, the dashboard, to steady myself. She laughs like I’m a comedian, and I laugh too.
We ride for a while with the wind blasting our faces. The sun is setting, streaking the sky between the trees with dusky gold and tangerine, and it’s beautiful. I don’t know what is better, watching the sunset through the windshield or the reflection of it dancing across Lynn’s sunglasses. It’s one of those moments where I want the world to stop, time to hold still, so I can just take my time and savor it. Because magical moments like this, they don’t happen that often. I catch my breath, like maybe that will make it pause, but it doesn’t work. Time keeps barreling forward. Lynn makes a left and the sunset is to the side of us now, lost behind a thick bank of trees.
Chapter Three
Dairy Queen is a bit of a letdown. Nobody we know is there. Nobody to watch us arrive in Lynn’s car. No one oohing and ahhing with envy. I don’t piss and moan about it though. Don’t want her to remember whose idea it was. Instead I act like I really had a craving for ice cream and splurge on a Pecan Mudslide. Then it’s Lynn’s turn to order, but instead ofgetting some kind of ice-cream thing like she usually does, she says, “I’ll have a coffee, please.”
Coffee? I look at her to see if she’s joking, but she doesn’t appear to be. Since when
Just as I’m thinking that, I spot her car coming down the road. It’s the pounding music that gives it away. I never noticed before, but there are a lot of white cars on the road.
“Whoohooo!” I yell, pumping both fists like she just made the winning score for the team. She leans on her horn. Her horn works well. It’s good and loud. Heads turn,that’s for sure. I’m waving, she’s waving. She’s got the windows of her car wide open, her auburn hair swirling around her, sunglasses on, a big smile on her face. She looks so grown up.
I get scared for a moment. It’s weird. Doesn’t make sense. I mean, she’s my friend. She’s bought a car. This is exciting. Something she’s been saving for. So why do I feel like somebody punched me in the gut? Like it’s the beginning of the end and she’s outgrown me already, just doesn’t know it yet. I should have brought my sunglasses too.
Chapter Two
“Hop in,” she says, just like a character in a book or movie. I open the door and get in.
“This is totally awesome!” I say, and we smile at each other as she pulls out. I strap in, but I do it casually, like an afterthought, so it doesn’t look like I don’t trust her driving skills.
We are sailing down the road, free as birds, and now that I’m inside, the music is so loud it’s vibrating the fillings inmy teeth. I have to admit, I misjudged this car. It doesn’t seem staid to me at all anymore. Not one bit. The air inside is electrified. We’ve just entered a whole new world. The world of people who ride in cars without parents, and I’m glad I’ve got my good-luck sweatshirt on.
“Where shall we go?” Lynn asks. She really does look like a movie star. It’s like somebody sprinkled that extra something over her that she didn’t have before. An extra something that I don’t have. I feel awkward, sort of tongue-tied, which is ridiculous. This is Lynn. We’ve been best friends since eighth grade, for crying out loud.
“Um...” I say. I can’t come up with a single stupid idea. “I don’t know, what do you think?” How lame is that?
“Haley,” Lynn says, giving me that look.
“Um...” I think fast, unglue my brain. “How about Dairy Queen?”
“Okay.” Lynn shrugs. “Dairy Queen it is then.” She jerks the steering wheel hard. Pulls a U-turn right in the middle of theroad. I’m not expecting it, so I don’t have my body set. I thought she was going to pull into a drive to turn around or something, but she didn’t. Lynn’s kind of a daredevil.
“Whoa!” I say, my hands reaching out to grab the door, the dashboard, to steady myself. She laughs like I’m a comedian, and I laugh too.
We ride for a while with the wind blasting our faces. The sun is setting, streaking the sky between the trees with dusky gold and tangerine, and it’s beautiful. I don’t know what is better, watching the sunset through the windshield or the reflection of it dancing across Lynn’s sunglasses. It’s one of those moments where I want the world to stop, time to hold still, so I can just take my time and savor it. Because magical moments like this, they don’t happen that often. I catch my breath, like maybe that will make it pause, but it doesn’t work. Time keeps barreling forward. Lynn makes a left and the sunset is to the side of us now, lost behind a thick bank of trees.
Chapter Three
Dairy Queen is a bit of a letdown. Nobody we know is there. Nobody to watch us arrive in Lynn’s car. No one oohing and ahhing with envy. I don’t piss and moan about it though. Don’t want her to remember whose idea it was. Instead I act like I really had a craving for ice cream and splurge on a Pecan Mudslide. Then it’s Lynn’s turn to order, but instead ofgetting some kind of ice-cream thing like she usually does, she says, “I’ll have a coffee, please.”
Coffee? I look at her to see if she’s joking, but she doesn’t appear to be. Since when
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