This is something I'm doing for my english coursework, and the character names just so happen to be Nick and Jeff... Tell me what you think of it!
Roadtrip
There is a great romantic image of the road. The black asphalt stretching on endlessly; further than the eye could possibly see, and the rumble of a car engine as a constant soundtrack. The way the road dips and crests beneath the wheels, jolting everyone awake just in time for the sunrise. There is a huge appeal in filming the entire experience, even though the grainy, uneven footage will probably never be watched.
These were the images I had kept with me for years in my hometown of Ann Arbor, never coming to fruition, yet never fading in intensity. At first, I thought I was too young- and seeing as I was about eight at the time, I was- but as I got older I kept finding reasons not to go. I couldn't drive, there was no-one I could take with me, it wasn't the right time; my excuses got thinner and thinner. I was too afraid to admit that I would never be brave enough to leave everything I knew behind. Until I met him. Nick.
He was a year older than me, with bright eyes and a string of very attractive boyfriends to his name. Clearly then, as a less-than-average kind of guy, I didn't stand a chance. He started getting closer to me in sophomore year; inviting me to sit with him at lunch, talking to me between classes. Of course I, being a socially awkward turtle, felt that he was just setting me up for disappointment, bringing my hopes up only to send them crashing down again. So I tried to avoid him… Somewhat unsuccessfully. Okay, I admit, I completely failed, and somehow ended up closer to him than ever. Nick had a strange way of doing that, of drawing people in closer than they could have anticipated. He wasn't malicious about it, though, no, never malicious. He was just… Friendly. People often said he was charismatic, but now, of course, I know it was so much more.
This means that when Nick found out about my lifelong dream, and decided that it was a brilliant idea, I caved almost immediately.
"Come on! It'd be so cool!" He pleaded with me. I was about to say no (for the fifth time) when he sweetened the deal. "I have a video camera."
That was the moment I crumbled. That was the moment I, Jeff Sterling, began the greatest adventure of my life.
I wasn't really surprised when Nick showed up at my house, on the first day of summer, in his beat up old Mustang, with a suitcase on the backseat. Without telling me. He waved excitedly to me when I opened the front door and yelled "Pack your bags! We're going on a Road Trip, baby! Wooo!" I have to admit, my heart pretty much stopped. The moment I got in the car, he turned to me and asked "Where to first?"
We ended up in Chicago, having traversed the interstate so much that I never wanted to see one ever again. He had brought his collection of driving songs with him, which livened things up a bit. It really was hilarious, when we looked back afterwards and realised that we'd listened to "Love Shack" so much that the CD was worn out. It's no wonder that I still know all of the words. And then? Route 66.