"Jess. Wake up." I said as I shook my best friend awake.
"What? Is something wrong?"
"No. It's almost time to check out of this place. I've already showered. I'm going to get the stuff packed in the car while you shower."
"Okay. How long do I have?"
"Fifteen minutes. So hurry. I don't want to have to pay extra." I told her as I grabbed a couple of our bags and headed out the door.
It was a sunny Wednesday morning, I waited in the car for Jessica after I got everything packed in the back of my Camaro. I had honked for her a couple times, but before I could honk a third time she appeared out of the doorway.
"Alright ready finally! San Diego here we come. God I love road trips!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Do you know where you're going?"
"No, so I need you to navigate."
"Where are we?"
"Santa Fe." Jessica sort of scowled, something she does when she's thinking. I could almost see the wheels turning inside her head. I saw a light bulb go off, she brightened.
"Alright I remember where to go now," She said as she bought out the map. "Take the next left and continue on till you get to exit 20." Jessica's fingers pointed to the route we were taking as I stepped on the gas and off we went to see new places.
We cruised down the road for a while, singing our favorite songs. The steering wheel was the unfortunate drum when the bass came on. A long stretch of road lay before, in fact there was nothing but road. We were driving across barren land, never seeing anything more than a shrub or perhaps a rock. Jessica and I were lost in the music when a sound like gunfire came from the engine. The car shuddered to a stop.
I turned the engine off at the same moment smoke billowed from my hood. I cursed the car and got out to inspect the damage. Jessica sat impatiently in the passenger's side. As I lifted the hood I was blasted with hot steam straight to my face. Coughing, I looked closer, checking for a loose wire or something. Trouble is I'm no good at fixing cars, when it comes to mechanics Jessica and I ranked last.
"What's wrong with it?" Jessica asked as she got out of the car and stood beside me.
"I have no idea." I sighed.
Jessica and I stared at the hood for a few moments, contemplating what to do. Finally I couldn't stand the silence. "Do you have cellphone service?" She whipped out her iPhone holding it up high to get reception. Jessica walked around the car, looking positively silly with her hands out in front, almost like she was reaching for some invisible object.
She cursed and put her phone away. "Nothing. We are absolutely in the middle of nowhere! With no cell service and a broken car!"
"Well I'll tell what we're not going to do, we're not going to stay here." I continued, "It could take days before anyone knows somethings wrong, we have no where else to go but follow the road...Lets grab any snacks we have in the car, grab anything necessary and put into one backpack."
"I can't believe this happened!" Jessica muttered as she got her things together. In the end we decided on going back the way we came, seeing as we had at least ten miles to go until we reached the nearest gas station the other way.