Hope everybody had a very happy turkey day--I know I did! And now, I'm fully refreshed and regenerated to continue with our story. I'm hoping the sweet potatoes helped stimulate my creativity, so definitely let me know what you think! I love all of your feedback so far and don't worry if you were a little confused as to where we left off last time, I think you should be able to figure it out here...
So on to the next partof our saga...
As always, I do not own any part of Instant Star. I wish!
"So basically…we're stuck?" asked Jude in a panicked state.
"Sort of. See, everyone is walking to a gas station down the road. We could do that."
"And then what?" asked Tommy. "Stay at the gas station all night?"
"At least there are slushees," Jude thought aloud.
"I think you can go outside and make your own slushee, Harrison," responded Tommy with a grin.
"Can we get back to business here? If it's not going to be the gas station, where else would we go? We can't stay in the car." asked Kwest.
"Well, where are we exactly?" asked Jude.
"Still on Route 47. I think we're about a block away from Clearview Park."
"Clearview Park? That's not too far from my house--we can cut through the park!" shouted Jude.
"Whoa, girl. It's still pretty far even with a shortcut. And even if we were closer, have you looked outside? It's not like we can just walk so easily," said Tommy trying to think rationally.
"Well, I think it's a better choice than the gas station," Jude replied.
"I vote for Jude's," said Kwest towards Tommy. "Look, it's not going to be an easy hike but unless you feel like spending the night lying on the ground at a gas station with about ten dozen strangers, I say it's worth a shot."
Tommy sighed and looked outside. "Fine, but let's go before it gets worse."
Jude rewrapped her scarf and zipped up her coat. Kwest found a blanket in his back seat which he used as an extra layer. Tommy just had his regular jacket—no extra layers and no hat.
"Tommy, just take my scarf. I'll use my hood," Jude pleaded.
"A pink scarf with lace on the end? No thank you."
"Do you really think people can see what's covering your ears?" Kwest asked. "Have you even looked outside?"
"I don't care. It's bad enough I had to ditch the Viper, I am not wearing pink."
Once they were ready and had taken all of their stuff, they stepped foot into the whirling snow and brutal wind zipping down the street. People were still wandering towards the gas station but Jude, Tommy, and Kwest took off in the opposite direction towards Jude's house.
The snow was fierce at this point, blowing against each of them with such force that Jude had to keep her head down and her eyes on her feet as she walked. She could barely make out the images of people passing by her as she kept her eyes focused between Tommy's black shoe next to her and Kwest's gray sneaker which was a few paces ahead. A huge gust of wind blew and knocked them all off balance. As Jude stumbled, she felt Tommy on her right grab her arm to keep her upright. Not being able to speak, she peeked up at him and grinned under the scarf, which Tommy took to mean "thanks." They continued walking for at least an hour through the park following the trail that lead from one end to the other. At last, Jude could see her street through the trees and finally, her driveway.
They were completely covered with snow and ice and shivering as they approached her house. They headed up the driveway as Kwest ran ahead and pounded on her front door. As she and Tommy approached the door, she could see Sadie standing there with her arms crossed.
"Like I'm really going to let you in with those wet shoes."
"Sadie! We just walked for an hour through a blizzard and you're going to make us stop and take off our shoes before we're allowed to step foot inside my own house!" Jude yelled at her from underneath her scarf.
"They're not my rules, Jude."
"Well I think Mom would understand if we tracked a little bit of water on her floor to avoid freezing to death." Just then, Jude saw her mom walk from the kitchen up to the front door.
"Sadie, will you let them in! Look at them! Who cares about tracking water, they look like they're about 5 seconds away from hypothermia!" shouted her mother, pushing Sadie out of the doorway and letting the three of them inside. Jude shot Sadie a look as she passed in front of her thatsent Sadie walking away grumbling.
The three of them started to take off their layers, the jackets, the scarves, the blanket Kwest had used from his car, all of which was soaking wet from the snow and ice. Jude took her hood off to reveal a head full of red matted, disheveled hair.
"Hahaha…that's a good look for you, Red," said Kwest untying his sneaker.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Jude started to pat her hair down as she looked at the two guys next to her. Kwest's nose was running from the cold and he kept sniffling. He pulled off his sneakers to reveal a pool of water inside the shoes, which he opened the door to dump. Jude looked over at Tommy. His hair was a mess too, with the combination of snow and hair gel weighing it down to be completely flat. But it was his ears that made Jude laugh out loud.
"What's so funny?" he said, looking at her.
"Should've used the pink scarf, Quincy. That's all I'm gonna say."
Tommy brought his hands up to his ears, which hurt upon his touch. He turned to her with a grin and said sarcastically, "Ha ha, you're so funny. You know, if I had known that I would be in the presence of Pippi Longstocking today, I would've definitely brought my camera," grabbing her hair and holding it out into two messy pigtails.
She glared at him and went to hit him over the head as he ducked away from her. She continued to go after him as he ran away from her and further in to the living room. They both stopped and looked around as they realized that they were not alone.
Judegazed around the room in shock. Staring back at her were Jamie and Kat, standing in the corner, Sadie and another blonde girl, who Jude recognized as Kristen, seated on the couch, Ryan standing over the edge of the couch and a guy she didn't recognize sitting in the armchair by the fireplace. Looking further over towards the kitchen, she saw her mother's boyfriend Steven standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
Jude's mouth dropped open. "What…what are you all doing here?"
"What does it look like? We're all stuck here too," said Sadie as she turned her back to Jude to continue her conversation with Kristen.
Ugh, I hate Sadie! But she's unfortunately very necessary for this story...hope you all liked it! Definitely let me know what you think. Enjoy until next time:)