"Audrey! Guess what!?' My best friend, Genie Gonzalez bounded down the street toward me.
"What!?" I yelled back at her as I stood by the bus stop.
"I got a car!" She shrieked, and tacked me with a mammoth hug.
"What? Wait, seriously?" I was dumbfounded. Genie and I had always taken the bus together everywhere due to our parents' condemnation of teenage driving.
"Yeah! It's new and everything. Toyota Prius; gotta reduce my carbon footprint, you know?" She was bubbling over with excitement, jumping haphazardly up and down.
"Um ok? Wait HOW?" I was still confused by Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalez's quick change of heart.
"Well…you know how I've been working more?" She began with an eager look in her eye. "Well, I haven't spent ANYTHING I've made for the last two years. And with savings and birthday money and stuff like that, I've made 15,000!" She announced, clearly proud.
"Whoa…15,000?" I asked in sheer disbelief.
"Yeah, anyway, they said they were really proud of me so they said they would match what I've made and I can do what I want with the money." She continued, spewing her story in a rush. "So I bought a car! And I still have, like, 5,000 left!"
"Wowowowoowooow!!" It slowly dawned on me how this would change our lives. Instead of building in 1½ hours to go across town, it would take half the time. Instead of opting to stay at home due to a lack of a ride, I would stay out all night.
"I know, right!? C'mon let's go drive somewhere!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street.
"There it is!" she proclaimed gesturing toward a shiny mint green Prius. I hopped in and took in the smooth leather interior and delicious new car smell.
"Omigod, Genie, this car is great!" I told her as she smoothly maneuvered onto the road. "It doesn't make any noise!"
"Yeah, it's super quiet. Wait, so where do you wanna go?" She asked me, as she turned on whiny country music.
"Umm, well I was on my way to Walgreen's..." I offered. After the first verse lamented the death of the singer's dog, I plugged my ipod into the stereo system. "Yeah none of this country music Genie, we gotta go crazy for the debut of yo scraperr!" I busted out my hood accent, and bumped some serious Bay Area rap.
" Wow you're such a loser, Aud. Love you!" Genie rolled her eyes at my gangsta façade. "Ok, here we are! Walgreen's awaits!"
"Whew! Crazy ride!" I joked as we headed into my favorite Walgreen's. I headed straight to grab some shampoo and conditioner, before grabbing a basket to mill around. Walgreen's was one of my favorite stores. It had everything. Plus, you can walk out of Walgreen's with a handful of birthday cards, candy, lotion and magazines for under 20- my kinda store. One time, I bought myself pajama bottoms from Walgreen's and wore them to a Sweet Sixteen Slumber Party—after that night, I realized not everyone had the special connection I had with Walgreen's. Genie and I dabbled at the cosmetics counter, testing out the cheap lipstick shades and spraying the ten-dollar perfume before moving on to the pies-de-resistance, the magazine display. This magazine display was reason why the Walgreen's on the corner of Geary Blvd and Spruce St was my favorite. It was a full wall, divided by 4 shelves. Layer after layer of magazines were piled upon one another. Canary yellow headlines screamed out, only to be challenged by hot pink bylines. The Economist stood stoically next to Good Housekeeping, GQ paired by Star! Newspapers flanked the bevy of magazines, while pornos were discreetly piled beneath them. I stared at the onslaught of pure American Media, enraptured by the glossy covers and brightly colored words. As my eyes browsed the shelf, looking for a suitable magazine, one rag stood out at me. In bold green letters positioned over a grid of photos it announced, "New Celebrity Couples!" I gazed at it briefly, before steering my attention to the latest Vanity Fair. Then something registered. I quickly turned to look at the tabloid again. There, in the bottom left photo, was a picture of a car, with two people. A man and a woman. The woman had long chestnut hair and stunning features, she was driving. The man, had mussed up hair and a scruffy beard, he was wearing a grimy plaid shirt. But his face. I couldn't take my eyes away. Although half hidden by the beard and dull lighting, I instantly recognized him. Robert Pattinson was staring me down again. This time with a vacant look in his face, but with the same grey-green eyes. I reached out for the magazine and impatiently flipped through it, looking for the cover story. There he was again, this time sporting a tan blazer and a black v-neck t-shirt. He was smiling at me. I felt my heart rate increase slightly, and a goofy smile spread on my face. I gawked at his picture, not bothering to read the caption underneath, mentioning some nonsense of him being involved with the girl in that babysitting horror movie. I suddenly remembered my dream and realized it was fate.
"Genie! Let's go somewhere!" I suddenly turned to her.
"Uh, ok. Like, where?" She looked at me nonplussed.
" Let's go to L.A. Let's go on a road trip!" I suggested hysterically. My face broke into a maniacal grin.
"Actually, that sounds like a good idea! I mean, it IS summer. And I DID just buy myself a car! Wait, let's go next week!" She started getting excited as she thought through the idea of a spontaneous trip to Los Angeles.
"Ok! Take me home! I'm going to go clear it with the parentals, except…let's go tomorrow!"
"Yeah! Oh my parent's will be down!! They're having friends come in two days, so they definitely didn't want me home! Oh my god, it's a plan!"
We sped back to my house and I dashed in to talk to my parents.
"Mom! Dad! Can you guys talk?" I yelled into the hallway as I slammed the front door. Muffled replies came from two corners of the house. My parents were never together anymore. They seemed to spend as much time apart as physically possible while living in the same house. I sauntered into the kitchen, formulating my strategy for asking them. They came in just as I was pouring myself a glass of water.
"Hey honey, what is it?
"Audrey! How was your day?"
My parents asked me simultaneously. I turned around and gave them my best daughter smile.
"Today was good. Guess what? Genie invited me to go to her cousin's house in L.A. Can I go?" I looked at them hopefully, but careful not to sound overeager.
"Well, how old is Genie's cousin? And how will you get there? Are her parents driving you?" My mom asked, trying to pin down my story.
"Yeah, of course they'll be driving us! It's kinda like, a family reunion, and Genie's cousins are our age, so it'll be fun." I looked straight into my mom's eyes, trying to ooze innocence.
"Sounds fine to me," my dad interjected with an absent smile on his face. My mom wasn't so easily convinced.
"Well, how long will you be there? Are you sure her mother is ok with this?"
"Umm, its just for like, I think 5 days. Not long at all. And her mom's totally cool with it, she invited me! I ran into them at Walgreen's funnily enough." I padded and padded my story until it couldn't get anymore wholesome.
"Well, I guess it's ok. Just be sure to call and check in with us." My mom reluctantly gave me permission.
My heart soared as I scrambled from the kitchen to pack my bags. I took the stairs two at a time, no three at a time, closing the distance between the landing and my room in less than a second. Doing a little dance, I quickly dialed Genie's number.
"Hello?"
"Genie!! YAY I can go!" I shrieked into the phone, ecstatic.
"Really? Oh my gosh this is going to be so much fun! My parents were fine with it to! What'd you tell them?"
"I said we were staying at your cousin's. What'd you tell yours?'
She chuckled, "the same thing."
"Ok, so when are we leaving?" I asked into the phone.
"Ummm, how about…11? That way we can get there by like, 6:30ish," she calculated.
"Ok, perfect! I'll see you at 11 tomorrow!" I dropped the phone on my floor and hurried over to my closet. My drab wardrobe was perfect for San Francisco weather, but it seemed bleak for the sunshine of Southern California. It was going to have to do. I grabbed all my brightest clothes, my cutest tank tops, my shortest shorts, my frilliest dresses. As the pile on my bed grew higher, I realized I had nothing to wear for nighttime. I searched worriedly through my closet but found little that screamed "Sex!" or even, "Whore!" Frustrated, I stole into my sister's room to scrounge. My sister was three years younger than me, but sometimes her clothes fit me, and looked strangely sexy. After hunting around the 14 year old's mess, I came up with one black tank top studded with stars. It was perfect. Pure club attire. I couldn't think why she would even own something like that. I was ready. My bags were packed, my spare cash tucked away in my purse, my newly acquired checkbook stowed next to the emergency credit card my dad gave me last year. I was ready for an adventure!