Looks Like Blue Skies for the Next 21 Miles
It was just one of those days. The sun was a bright, glaring white ball of light hanging in a perfectly blue and cloudless sky. A gentle wind was blowing, causing the grass to wave and bits and pieces of discarded trash to roll across the parking lot. On the wind was the smell of fresh baked sweet rolls, a sent so tantalizing and mouthwatering it had the power to literally lift you off the ground and carry you to it's birth place.
A sizable blue plastic bag came to rest at Alfred's feet, guided to him by the wind. He picked up and looked at the yellow smiley face emblazoned on it for a moment before walking over to the trashcan conveniently located next to the gas pump and stuffing it in. He took another slurp off the raspberry-kiwi smoothie he'd been drinking, then tossed it in too.
Raspberry-kiwi, how eccentric of him! Surely he was the only one unique enough to come up with such a thing! Alfred patted himself on the back as he approached the shiny red Corvette and leaned against the door. The spunky, stylish little convertible was something else he was exceedingly proud of. He loved to pontificate it extensively in front of his friends.
Speak of the devil himself! The door of the convince door swung open on its plastic hinges, dinging the little bell as two figures shuffled out, making their way over to the car. Arthur stood in front of his American friend, posing dramatically in front of his car, his overtly thick eyebrows quirked in an expression that communicated confusion, possibly with an edge of disgust. He put one hand on his hip, the other clasped around a blue berry slushie ('how lame!' his American cousin thinks) which he sipped on idly. Then his eyes clashed with Alfred's and spoke. "So, we're suppose to make the whole trip in this tin can? You sure it won't fall apart?"
"WHAAAAAAT!?" Alfred shouted, his mouth hanging agape in pure, indisposed shock.
"You shouldn't stand there with your mouth open. It makes you look startlingly dumb. Er, dumber, in your case," Arthur said, gently placing a hand under his cousin's jaw and moving it back into place as he climbed into the driver's seat.
It took Alfred a moment to get over the put down, before turning and glaring at the Brit. He was just getting ready to chew up the Brit when Arthur interjected again. "Your car is backwards..."
Alfred blinked. Arthur's cool stare rolled right over him in a moment of overwhelming cluelessness and confusion. All the pent up awkwardness in him, having no other outlet, ejaculated forth from him in a strange bout of semi-rage and frankly ridiculous and incoherent screaming.
He did not sound the slightest bit threatening.
"What do you mean backwards!? MY CAR IS AWESOME! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW! JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE COOL CARS IN BRITLAND! MY CAR IS A TOTAL CHICK MAGNET TOO! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF MY DRIVER'S SEAT!"
Arthur stared at him for a moment, sipped his slushie, shrugged, then scooted over to the other seat, leaving Alfred nothing to retort to. Still fuming, he muttered to himself, climbing into the driver's seat with a huff. He jammed his keys in the ignition, the engine roaring to life in a loud, magnificent splendor that shook the whole car. Alfred grinned broadly, shifting the car into drive.
"Uh... guys?"
Alfred slammed on the accelerator, pulling out of the parking lot, ignoring his blinker or any other safety measure as he skidded out of the parking lot in an impressive display of recklessness and rubber marks on the street. The screech of a truck slamming on its breaks to avoid rear-ending Alfred's shiny new car punctuated the action as he tore off down the seemingly abandoned highway.
Arthur allowed Alfred to drive approximately twenty feet or so before he looked over at him and scowled slightly. "You do realize, you forgot Matthew."
Silence. Alfred looked into the back seat. "GOD DAMNIT!"
Alfred whipped around in a violent u-turn, almost ousting Arthur from his seat (which secretly satisfied Alfred very much) and drove back to the gas station. He rolled up to the little blond boy, standing in the parking lot with a look of loss etched into his face.
Alfred kept his head down as his younger brother climbed into the back seat. He waited until he heard the door close with an affirming thud and the click of the safety belt before he allowed himself to roll out of the parking lot again, this time without the astounding performance of his first departure.
So much for the amazing beginning to their amazing summer adventure. Alfred had just wanted to make a good impression.
"So?" Arthur began, interrupting his thought process. "Where are we going anyway? You were were pretty vague in the letter you sent me."
Alfred looked at his cousin, a giant smirk on his face. "I have no clue!"
"What!? What do you mean? We're lost already!?" Arthur blurted, a very real look of fear on his face. The last thing he wanted was to be lost in America. He could barely stand being there under the watchful eye of his younger cousin as it was.
"No, you dork!" Alfred said with a laugh. Then he smiled at his cousin, steering with one hand as he tossed the other out, indicating the world all around them. "We're just going where the road takes us! Where ever we end up, we end up. It's an adventure!" He grinned at his cousin, who clearly did not get the concept. "You've been living on that little freaking island too long!" He gave the other a soft, genuine smile then. "I'm leaving for college next month, you're going back to Brit-land, and Matty's gonna be a Freshman. This is the last chance we'll get to spend together. I want it to be something special."
Arthur looked at his cousin, checking his expression for any hint of malice. After failure to find any he allowed his own countenance to soften just a tad. "I see..." he paused a moment, looking around with a degree of still being uncertain. "So... do you know where this road goes?"
Alfred nodded idly. "This highway will take us to the southern border of the state. After that though, it's all random exits and shots in the dark. And we'll keep going 'till we can't drive anymore."
A beat passed between them, and Arthur smiled. "Sounds like a great way to piss away a summer, Alfred."
The breeze from before picked up, blowing their hair in the wind and carrying with it the departing scent of fresh bakery products. In some part of his mind Alfred thought he should stop and get some, but the feeling of contentment in the car paired with the freedom of aimless driving was just too much for him to bare to stop this early in the venture.
So he slammed the accelerator, zooming down the long, vacant highway at semi-illegal speeds. He clicked on the radio and was greeted to one of his favorites flowing through the speakers.
"Sweet like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock, And sweet you roll. Lost for you, I'm so lost for you. You come crash into me. And I come into you."
"This is good American rock!" Alfred said with an odd sense of pride about him. The was no protest from his passengers and so he turned it up, humming the lyrics. And before any of them realized it they were all singing, even Matthew, though no one else noticed.
And as the sun was just cresting the big blue sky, and unanimously the boys thought together, that it would be the best summer ever.