Should I Stay?

Chapter 2

We pill into the car, nothing big and fancy, but an old car that Gran give us after Louis was born. Mom offered to let me drive, but I said no. Dad sits behind the wheel instead.

He likes to drive now. He'd stubbornly refuses to get a license for years, insisting on riding his bike everywhere. Back when he played music, his bandmates were the ones stuck behind the wheel on tours. They used to roll their eyes at him.

But when Mom had gotten pregnant with Louis, she put her foot down. He had to get his license. Enough, she said. Dad seemed to understand that something had to change. He's stopped arguing and had gotten a driver's license. He'd also gone back to school to get the teaching certificate. He'd grow up, and I think he thought it was time to start wearing a bow tie to prove that to everybody.

He has one on this morning, along with a flecked coat. ''Dressed for the snow, I see.''

''I'm like the post office.'' Dad replies, scraping the snow off the car with one of Louis' plastic dinosaurs who are scattered all over on the lawn. ''Neither rain nor a half inch of snow will force  me to dress like a lumberjack.''

''Hey, my relatives were lumberjacks.'' Mom warns. ''No making fun of the woodsmen.''

''Wouldn't dream of it.'' Dad replies. ''Just making a stylistic contrasts.''

Dad has to turn the ignition over a few times before the car roars to life. As usual, there's a battle for who gets to pick the music.

Mom wants the ''normal'', now a days music, Dad wants to go back in time by listening to the music he made with his band, Louis wants Spongebob SquerePants or that other band he's listening to, and I want the classical music station. But me being the only classical music fan in the family, I'm mostly the ignored one.

Dad breaks the deal. ''Seeing as we're missing school today, we have to listen to the news for a while so we don't miss anything import-''

''I believe that's not important at all.'' Mom says, interrupting Dad.

Dad rolls his eyes and claps his hand over Mom's and clears his throat in a very schoolteacher kind of way.

''As I was saying, first we listen to the ''normal music'', as you call it,'' Dad says looking at my Mom with a smirk. ''and then when the news is over, the classical station. Louis, we will not torture you with that. You can use my phone if you want.'' Dad says, starting to get his phone out of his pocket. ''But you're not allowed to play that band of yours in my car. I forbid it.'' Dad says jokingly.

''I want Spongebob!! It's on your phone right?'' Louis shouts, bouncing up and down and pointing to Dad's phone. 

Those pancakes give him such a sugar rush. He can't really handle itreally well. He gets so hyper and excited about anything. Really anything. If you gave him a plane stone,  he would give it a name and it would be his new best friend. Yeah weird kid, i know.

Once the musical selections have been made, we are off. The road has some patches of snow, but mostly it's just wet. 

But hey, this is London we're talking about. The roads are always wet. Mom used to joke that when the road was dry that people ran into trouble.

I lean my head against the car window, watching the scenery zip by, the dark green trees dotted with snow and heavy gray storm clouds above us.

When the news is finally over, we turn to the classical station.

 I hear the first few bars of Time Forget by Yiruma, which was the very piece I was supposed to be working on this afternoon. I concentrate on the notes, imagining myself playing. I'm feeling so grateful for this chance to practice, and i'm also happy to be in a warm car with my piano piece and my family.