NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes that I will fix later.
Before they began their trip, Marcy placed a pile of books in the driver's seat so that she would be tall enough to see through the windshield. She could barely contain her excitement as she sat down and put her seatbelt on.
"You ready to go?"
The symbol that was on Goldbug's chest was also on the wheel and it glowed bright blue as the engine started.
Marcy grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."
They quietly drove out of the neighborhood and took the road that led them through the wooded area. She could still hear the annoying cicadas chirping loudly outside even with the engine going, so she decided to turn on the radio. The song that came on made Marcy smile ear to ear: Gary Numan's Cars.
Here in my car
I feel safest of all
I can lock all my doors
It's the only way to live
In cars
Feeling like a kid at Christmas, she grabbed the wheel with both hands and pretended to be driving the car herself, all the while bobbing her head and kicking her feet to the tune.
Here in my car
I can only receive
I can listen to you
It keeps me stable for days
In cars
They soon entered the town of Caraway, and most of the buildings were closed, of course, except for the local Walgreens and diner called Al's Grub. It was practically a ghost town at this hour, which was the perfect time for them to explore.
"So this is our town Caraway," Marcy told Goldbug, then she pointed to a tall building up ahead. "See that hospital? Dr. Veer delivered me there. I was born on a Wednesday night."
Suddenly the channel knob on the radio started twisting on its own and stopped on a commercial with a man saying excitedly, "This Wednesday night, come see the event of the decade: Monster Truck Rampage!"
Marcy blinked and looked at the radio. "Huh?"
The knob twisted again and the lead singer of Steppenwolf John Kay sang, Born to be wild!
"Are you...trying to talk through the radio?" Marcy asked her friend.
Again the channel was changed and the lead singer of Autograph Steve Lynch sang, Turn up the radio! I need the music, gimmie some more. Then the much softer Eric Clapton sang, Talk to me baby, talk to me baby.
Marcy's jaw dropped. "Whoa," she breathed. "That is so cool. Um...can you say your name? Can you say 'Goldbug'?"
A woman's voice came on saying, "Try our delicious fluffy gold-"
"-bugs this dry season with Bugs Bite Pesticide," a man with a thick Southern accent finished.
Marcy couldn't hold back her laughter. This was just too much. "Okay, okay, do my name!"
Orson Welles' voice came on as he dramatically narrated, "...from the planet Mars-"
—C, 1-2-3, Baby you and me, girl, the Jackson Five sang.
She laughed so hard she started to cry and had to catch her breath. "That..." she gasped as she wiped a tear from her eye, "that's pretty good."
"Well, thank you, thank you very much," Elvis Presley said on the radio.
"You're just full of surprises, Goldbug. So, shall we continue with the tour?"
"YES! Yes! Touchdown!" a football announcer excitedly shouted, making Marcy giggle.
...
After driving throughout town for at least half an hour, they pulled into the parking lot of a bowling alley. The giant LED bowling pin that towered over the building flickered with a buzzing sound.
"And this is our bowling alley," Marcy explained. "My Dad used to take me here all the time when I was little. Of course, I couldn't bowl but I'd eat pizza in the food court and watch him play. He was really good at it, too."
"Mmm-mmm, that pizza sure is good!" a man said on the radio, then another man with an English accent asked on a different channel, "What is it? It baffles me!"
"Pizza is only the greatest thing in the world," Marcy said with a grin. "You put marinara sauce and cheese on top of flat bread and then bake it in the oven. You can put other stuff on it like pepperoni, sausage, anchovies, you name it. I remember my Mom used to add pineapple and..."
She trailed off after she mentioned her mother and her grin slowly dropped.
It got quiet in the car for a moment before the radio broke the silence. "Hello?" a man said. "Hello? Is this on?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry," she said softly. "Um, I think we should be heading back home. I have school tomorrow and I don't wanna be too tired for class."
"That sounds like fun!" a kid on the radio said.
Marcy snorted. "'Fun'? No, no. 'School' and 'fun' don't go together."
They pulled out of the parking lot and started back home. At one point, Goldbug, who was unfamiliar with the rules of the road, drove through a red light.
"Goldbug, you always stop at a red light," Marcy told her friend. "You need to remember that. It's a good thing cops aren't out this late-"
Before she could even finish her sentence, blue and red lights flashed in the rear-view mirror.
She was immediately filled with terror and froze up in her seat. Busted.
It took her a minute to realize that Goldbug was still driving. "STOP!" she screamed. "STOP THE CAR!"
The Beetle screeched as it came to a halt in the middle of the road. The patrol car stopped behind them and a police officer stepped out with a disgruntled look on his face.
Marcy quickly climbed into the passenger seat and started to panic. "Oh man oh man oh man oh man oh man!" she whimpered as she gripped the sides of her head. "I'm so dead!"
The channel knob turned again and a black woman's voice came on the radio asking, "What's the matter, honey?"
"I'm in big trouble here, Goldbug," Marcy said with tears in her eyes. "I'm not old enough to drive. A grownup needs to be in that seat." She glanced up at the rear-view mirror and saw the officer approaching the car.
She squeezed her eyes shut and could just see it now: the officer driving her home in the back of his car, her father screaming at her, her picture being shown on the news. Her life was officially over.
All of a sudden, a ray of blue light emitted from the symbol on the wheel and shined on the driver's seat. Marcy watched on in amazement as pixels appeared out of nowhere and morphed into a figure that resembled a woman. She had fair Caucasian skin, long blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a very short red robe that left nothing to the imagination. Marcy immediately recognized her from the cover of her Dad's Playboy magazine.
She finished morphing just as the officer walked up to the window. He tapped on the glass and motioned for her to roll it down, which she did. He glanced down at her sexy attire and cleared his throat. "Hello, ma'am," he said, then he nodded at Marcy. "Little miss."
Marcy could only grin nervously and wave.
He turned his attention back to the woman. "Ma'am, do you know that you drove through a red light?"
Instead of answering that question, the woman just stared up at him and opened her robe a little, revealing more of her bosom but not all of it.
The officer cleared his throat again. "Well, um, I'm going to need to see your license and registration."
The woman simply licked her upper lip in a lustful manner. She also started to rub her fingers down her revealed leg.
Marcy looked at her confused. How was this going to help the situation?
But the officer blushed and even started to sweat as he tugged at the collar of his blue shirt. "Okay," his voice cracked a little as he spoke, "tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna let you off with a warning. Just remember to stop at a red light next time. Got it?"
The woman smiled and nodded.
He tipped her hat to her. "Have a good night. Both of you." He walked back to his vehicle and drove off.
As soon as he was gone, the woman faded away and the seat was once again empty. "Whoo-boy!" a man with a Southern accent spoke on the radio. "That sure was a close one, I'll tell you what!"
"Holy cow!" Marcy shouted as she crawled back into the driver's seat. "How did you do that?!"
"This is indeed a mystery, my dear Waston," an Englishman said.
"Well, whatever you did, it sure saved my sorry butt," she laughed softly, still a little shaken up. "Remember to do that the next time we're pulled over."
"Aye, Captain!" a pirate's voice came on followed by an "Arrgh!"
...
As soon as they pulled into the driveway of Marcy's house, Goldbug transformed back into his normal self and stepped over the gate. Marcy followed him into the backyard and waved to him as he went back inside the storage barn.
"Goodnight!" she whispered to him. "See you tomorrow!" She entered the house through the back door, which she had left unlocked before she left, and tiptoed her way to her bedroom. Thankfully her father was obviously still asleep as she could hear him snoring in his room.
She collapsed into her bed utterly exhausted and immediately fell into a deep sleep. This has been quite a night.
...
She did her best to stay awake in class, but she kept dozing off as the teacher Mr. Colbert talked about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
"So who can tell me which President purchased the Louisiana Territory from France?" Mr. Colbert asked his students.
One girl with blonde pigtails raised her hand.
"Yes, Tilly?"
"Thomas Jefferson," Tilly answered.
The teacher nodded. "That's right. President Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and his friend William Clark to survey the lands west of the Mississippi River. During the expedition, they met many Native Americans, including a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea. She helped them find food and buy horses from..."
He stopped lecturing when he heard someone snoring and scanned the classroom. When he spotted Marcy sleeping with her head buried in her arms, he walked over to her desk and tapped her shoulder. "Marcy? Marcy!"
"Huhwha-?" Marcy awoke with a startle, causing the other kids to laugh.
Mr. Colbert crossed his arms with a disapproving look on his face. "While I understand that history can be boring at times, I won't tolerate snoozers in my classroom."
Marcy yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Sorry, Mr. Colbert."
...
After the last bell rang and class was dismissed, Marcy started to walk to the school's bike stall when she heard a car horn honk twice. A yellow Beetle car was parked on the other side of the road across from the yard. She immediately recognized the cracked window on the passenger's side and the scratched up yellow paint.
"Goldbug?"
Rock music started to play on the car's radio and the passenger seat flung open. School's out for summer. School's our forever
Marcy laughed as she ran to the car. "You want to pick me up from school?"
"Hop on, little lady," a cowboy on the radio said.
She closed the passenger door and patted the side-view mirror affectionately. "Thanks, but I have a bike. You can follow me home, though."
"Hey, Marcy!"
She turned around and Tim and his group of friends were looking at her from across the street.
"Is that your car?" Tim asked her as he pointed to the Beetle.
"Um...yeah, it is, actually." She patted the hood of the car with a proud smirk. "Pretty cool, right?"
There was a pause before Martin spoke up, "I dunno, it looks pretty crappy to me."
This prompted the other boys to laugh, while Marcy nervously glanced back at Goldbug.
"Yeah, where'd you get it, the dump?" Tim asked.
"Hey, can your new car turn into a robot, too?" Corbin teased in a mean-spirited way.
As if to answer that question, the car began to shake and Marcy immediately threw herself on top of the hood before it could transform.
"NO!" she yelled. "No, don't that here!" Thankfully Goldbug listened to her and settled down.
The boys all stared at her confused before they chuckled and walked away.
Marcy sighed and got off the hood. "Look, you can't transform in front of other people yet. You can only do that in front of me, okay?" She patted the side-view mirror again before she walked across the street to get her bike.
...
Goldbug followed Marcy all the way to the grocery store and waited for her in the parking lot. She went in to buy the newest issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and G.I Joe, and her bike was left outside leaning against the wall.
Right after she walked into store, a shady-looking young man wearing a white tank top and black pants approached her bike and looked it over. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching him before he grabbed the bike and peddled out of the parking lot.
From his spot, Goldbug saw the whole thing and thought about transforming to pursue the thief, but then he remembered what Marcy told him at school earlier about revealing his true self to other people. So he stayed in car form and drove in the direction that the man went. He was going to get his friend's bike back no matter what.
At that very moment, Marcy stepped out of the store with her new comics and noticed that her bike was missing.
"Hey, Goldbug, did you see what happened to my-?"
When she looked for the Beetle, it wasn't on the spot where it parked before she went inside.
"Goldbug? Goldbug!" She ran around the parking lot but couldn't find her friend anywhere. This didn't make sense. He wouldn't just abandon her like that...would he?
Well, in any case, she had no ride home, and she was too young to walk home all by herself, so the only option she had left was to use the store's phone to call her father and have him pick her up. She started to head back inside when a familiar voice stopped her.
"Hey, I know you."
She turned and saw the blonde-haired punk girl from Saturday leaning against one of the light poles and smoking a cigarette. She smiled at the little redhead and walked up to her. "Little Annie."
"Um, it's Marcy, actually," Marcy corrected with a lopsided grin.
The girl nodded and put out her cigarette. "Marcy. Got it. So you being more careful on the streets like I told you?"
Marcy looked down at her and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, actually, somebody just stole my bike."
"Seriously?" the girl snorted in disbelief. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?"
"Now I don't have a ride." Marcy released a heavy sigh and kicked at the pavement. "My Dad's going to be so mad when he finds out."
"Hey, it wasn't your fault. Stuff like this happens to everyone." The girl gave Marcy a friendly pat on the back. "How about I give you a ride back home?"
Marcy looked up at her surprised. First this stranger gave her a Band-Aid after she injured herself, and now she was giving her a lift? "You would do that for me?"
The girl nodded. "Of course. We girls gotta look out for each other." She led Marcy to her own bike, which was blue and had red flames painted on it.
"Whoa," Marcy's eyes widened. "Sweet bike."
"Thanks." The punk girl sat down on her seat and let Marcy climb on behind her. As she peddled out of the parking lot, Marcy wrapped her arms around her and held on tightly.
"Hey, I never did get your name!" Marcy said.
The punk girl grinned at her over her shoulder. "I'm Chris."
...
The young man did a couple of tricks with his new bike under the bridge. The yellow paint was tacky but he could repaint it black. And he couldn't believe how easy it was to swipe it from that kid, like taking candy from a baby.
He did another flatland when a yellow Beetle car appeared and stopped in the middle of the road. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched and tried to find the driver's face, but then the headlights turned on so bright that he had to shield his eyes.
Then the car's radio turned on at high volume and a cowboy's voice said, "You took the wrong wagon, partner."
"What...?" the young man lowered his hand just in time to see the car charging right at him. Before he could even react, the front bumper collided with the bike and he fell off, landing painfully on his stomach.
"Oww...!" he groaned as he lifted himself up. "Dude! What the f-"
The car roared as it inched forward, forcing him to scooch away. "Whoa, whoa, hey! Stop!"
Again, the car moved closer to him, the bumper missing him by a few inches.
"Please, stop!" he screamed. "What do you want?!"
The driver said nothing, but the radio started to play "Sweet Revenge" by Motorhead.
Ah, sweet revenge
Ah, sweet revenge
Now utterly terrified, the man got up and ran for his life, leaving the stolen bike behind and praying that the car wouldn't follow him. Fortunately for him, it didn't.
...
When they arrived at her house, Marcy saw her Dad's van parked next to a grey sedan in the driveway. She remembered that he had a date with some teacher tonight and that she was going to join them for dinner, so it was possible that the car belonged to her.
Marcy climbed off Chris' bike and smiled up at her. "Thanks a bunch, Chris. I owe you one. Uh, I mean, two."
Chris smiled back and ruffled the little girl's red hair. "Don't worry about it. Good luck with your Dad!" she yelled as she pedaled away.
Marcy's grin dropped. Oh, yeah. She still had the break the news to her Dad that her bike was stolen. And how could Goldbug leave her alone in the parking lot like that? There had to be a good reason, 'cause they were friends...right? Or had he decided that he didn't need her anymore and left town? The thought of him bailing on her made her heart feel heavy.
She sighed heavily as she walked to the front door. "This sucks," she muttered.
When she went inside, her father was sitting on the couch with a woman who looked to be in her mid forties. She had shoulder length dark hair and a charming smile, and she laughed after Eric whispered something in her ear. She was the first one to notice Marcy standing in the living room and said, "Oh, hi! You must be Marcy!"
Eric stood up from the couch and walked over to his daughter. "Hey, kiddo. How was school?"
Marcy merely shrugged.
"Well, I want you to meet Anna, the teacher I've been telling you about," Eric put a hand on her back and walked with her back to the couch. "Anna, this is my little girl, Marcy."
Anna smiled sweetly at Marcy and took her hand, shaking it. "Hello, Marcy. Your Dad talks about you all the time."
But Marcy was too upset about today's events to make friends with some strange lady and said softly, "Yeah, nice to meet you, too." Then she looked up at Eric. "Dad, I don't feel so good. I need to go lie down."
Eric looked at her with worry. "What's wrong, honey? Is your stomach hurting?"
Marcy somberly shook her head. "No." Then without saying another word, she went straight to her room.
Anna became just as worried as Eric and asked him, "Is she alright?"
Eric sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think I know why she's acting like this." He sat back down on the couch next to her. "Remember I told you her mother left us about two years ago?"
Anna nodded. "Yes, I do remember." She gently placed her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry, Eric. I feel like this is my fault-"
"No. No, it's not your fault. Marcy's...well, she's never really recovered from that. I get the feeling she resents her mother for leaving, and she probably distrusts other women because of what happened. That's why she hangs out with boys." He sighed and scratched his head. "But from what I've heard, they don't want her hanging out with them, and she's got no friends. I really worry about her."
"Have you considered therapy?"
Eric nodded. "Tried it. But she wouldn't open up to him either. He told me the best thing I can do is to let her act out until she comes to grip with her mother's departure. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone, of course." He wrapped an arm around Anna and pulled her close. "She'll come to accept you, Anna. It just takes time."
"I hope so," Anna rested her head on his shoulder. "She seems like such a sweet girl."
...
Marcy stared up at the ceiling as she lay in her bed with the lights turned off. She clutched her toy dog Bernie close to her chest and idly flopped his long ears.
Her door creaked open and the light from the hallway peeked in. "Marcy?" she heard her father whispered. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah, Dad," she mumbled, not taking her eyes off the ceiling.
She felt her father's weight on the mattress as he sat down next to her. He tenderly rubbed her arm and asked softly, "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"
Marcy hesitated to tell him what was up. What could she tell him? That she made friends with a giant transforming robot that abandoned her when she needed him the most? He wouldn't believe her, so what was the point? Unless she worded it differently.
"Well," she glanced over at him, "I made this friend. Or at least I thought he was my friend."
"You did?" Eric sounded surprised. "What's his name?"
She paused before she said, "Goldie. We had fun for a while, but...he just bailed on me." She rolled to the side with her back to her father. "He didn't even say goodbye." Then she added glumly, "And someone stole my bike today."
She half expected him to get mad and scold her for letting her bike get stolen, considering how much money he paid to get it for her. But to her surprise, he just lovingly rubbed her head.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he said softly. "This just wasn't your day, huh? Well, I'll get you a new bike, so don't worry about it."
She rolled over to look at him. "But you paid a lot for that bike."
He just smiled at her. "It wasn't even that much to begin with." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Besides, seeing you smile again is worth every penny."
Hearing him say that made her feel so much better, even though she was still a little heartbroken over Goldbug leaving her. She grinned at her Dad as he stood up. "Thanks, Dad."
"Anyways, Anna and I are about to have some cheesecake," he told her. "You're more than welcomed to join us, if you feel like it."
She slowly sat up in her bed. "Can I add ice cream to my slice?"
He nodded. "Of course you can."
"Then yes," she jumped out of bed and sprinted past him down the hallway, making him chuckle.
...
"Is it good, Marcy?" Anna asked the redhead as she shoveled another piece into her mouth. All three of them sat at the table in the dining room enjoying the cheesecake that Eric bought earlier today.
Marcy nodded, her mouth still full and some whipped cream on her lips.
"You feeling better now?" Eric asked her.
She again nodded and gulped down some milk.
"I'm sorry we had to meet at such a bad time, Marcy," Anna said.
"It wasn't your fault," Marcy said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Anna grinned at Eric before she reached down for her shoulder bag on the floor. "Well, I heard that you really like cars, so I got you this." She placed a small brown box on the table and pushed it to where Marcy sat. "It's not a bike, but I hope you like it."
Marcy took the box and removed the lid. Inside was a plastic red car with a tiny stuffed mouse behind the wheel. The mouse had tiny bead eyes and a painted red mouth and wore a yellow scarf around its neck. She was both confused and touched. It was a weird gift, but a gift nonetheless and she smiled up at the woman in gratitude. "Thanks."
Anna smiled back before she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, I'd better get going. I still have math homework to grade." She left the table and headed for the front door.
Before Eric followed her outside, he turned to Marcy. "Well, what do you think of Anna so far?"
"She's okay," Marcy said. "I like her."
"Yeah? So you're okay with...me and her...you know?"
Marcy nodded. "Yeah. She makes you happy so I'm cool with it."
Relieved to hear his daughter say that, he smiled and patted her shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure."
They both walked outside to join Anna and see her off, when Marcy saw something leaning against their garage door and she gasped loudly.
It was her bike.
She ran to it and checked it over. Not a single scratch on her yellow paint.
"Hey, there's your bike!" Eric said, just as surprised as she was. "Looks like someone found it for you."
Marcy turned to the two adults with a puzzled expression. "Did either of you...?"
Eric shook his head. "Nope. It wasn't me."
"It wasn't me either," Anna shook her head as well.
"Maybe it was that friend of yours, Goldie," Eric suggested.
The corners of Marcy's mouth slowly lifted into a smile as she realized that her father was right. Of course it was Goldbug. He left the parking lot to go look for her bike, and he did. She was wrong to doubt him after all.
"Well, I'm happy for you, Marcy," Anna said. She then turned Eric. "Thanks for dinner." She kissed him on the lips before she stepped into her car and started the engine. She rolled down and yelled them as she backed down the driveway, "Night, Marcy! Hope to see you again soon!"
Marcy waved and watched her drive away, then she turned to her father. "Hey, Dad, I just remembered that I left something in the barn. I'll be right back."
She ran into the backyard and to the storage barn. Creaking the door open, she peeked into the darkness and whispered, "Goldbug?"
A pair of glowing blue eyes opened and looked right at her.
With a big smile on her face, she pushed the door all the way open and turned on the light. Goldbug was sitting in a corner and smiled warmly at her as she approached him.
Then to his surprise, she climbed onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a big hug.
She rubbed her cheek against his metal chin. "You're the best friend I ever had," she softly told him.
Goldbug couldn't remember if anyone ever hugged him before, but he really liked it. He smiled as he turned on the radio in his system, although he turned down the volume so that only the two of them could hear. This time it was the song "You're My Best Friend" by Queen.
Ooh, you make me live
Ooh, I've been wandering 'round
Still come back to you (still come back to you)
In rain or shine, you've stood by me girl
I'm happy at home (happy at home)
You're my best friend