Down The Highway

Chapter Ten

Like what I used to do, I started walking at St. John Street with both my feet on the ground as I faced the road still thinking of the letters that Xanny has been sending me and who was really behind that name. As I faced the ground, I felt someone walking behind me and so I looked at my back and saw no one else but Travis on a black jersey jacket. "Oh, hi," I said and he smiled at me.

He never looked like the playboy or the heartbreaker that Xanny has always been referring to in her letters for me. He looked like a good boy who would even save the world. But little did I know those days, that he could be the one to bring hustle in my life. I was too young and dumb and naïve to think of that but still, I could not help doubting him.

If I am going, to be honest, he looked like the good guys in screens like he was a guy that could always give you everything you want. "Umm, hi," he said back as I did not even notice that I frowned a little bit. "I just want to ask something" there was me again, thinking that it meant something weird, I gulped but did not make that one obvious though.

I nodded as a response, which meant that I was already letting him state what he wants to. "So our school recently announced that we need a few more Volleyball players for our school's Varsity team, do you know anyone else that plays Volleyball?" I shook my head to the left, then to the right just to say no and I guess he understood what I was trying to say.

He nodded, then I continued walking with him beside me, and there was the thought of me, trying to figure out if he was the guy that Xanny was referring to. "What about you? Do you play Volleyball?" Never. I never played sports or anything sort of that thing since I was not the type of girl who used to be sporty active. But Jannet was. "Not my thing" I answered with a smile that crossed my face. "Ok" weird how he mentioned that it was for their school's Varsity team and he has been asking me while we were not in the same school. And I thought that he just forgot about it.

****

My eyes were still pointed at the empty ceiling above me, and there I was. Holding the dress that Xanny sent me and thinking of what to do next after I just finished my math homework. Suddenly, I heard a truck from outdoors which broke the silence.

I narrowed at the window and saw a truck with some dudes assembling some boxes through the ground. I just figured out that someone is moving next to our door. I ignored it then got back to my bed but even just before a second, I heard my dad calling, "Jade, throw the garbage outside!" I rolled my eyes. Out of every single chore in the house, throwing the garbage was what I hated the most since it used to make me stink so much that I even have to take a bath again.

"Just give me five minutes dad!" I screamed, then I heard him screaming back to me "don't raise your voice. Throw it now!" How in the world was he not able to realize that I only raised my voice for him to hear me. Imagine if I did not scream, then he probably did not hear me.

I stood up, feeling a lot of pain in my back considering that I did not want to do the chore but I had no choice but to get down and throw it. I saw dad doing the dishes, guess he was lazy because those were even the dishes we had on our breakfast that he did not wash. He pointed his hands full of soap to the garbage bin as if I did not know where it was located.

I nodded, mom has not arrived yet at that time since she was at work. They both work but their schedule is not fixed. I mean sometimes mom comes home earlier than dad and sometimes dad comes home earlier than mom and sometimes I come home later than them. And whoever is the first one to get home will do the extra chores in our house.

And honestly, dad should have been the one who did that garbage thing chore but he passed it onto me and I had no choice but to accept it for me to show my respect to him. With a little frustration, I went out the door and walked towards the empty lot behind our house where we place our garbage, waiting for the garbage truck to collect them.

As my feet stumbled on the ground, I fell on the floor and the garbage scattered around the floor. As in. Everything that was in the garbage bag was scattered around the floor and the bag even got broke and it was as stinky as poop even if there was no poop there.

"Ugh!" I reacted in disgust, thinking that it was dad's fault. There was the part of me, blaming other people again for my stupidity. Until then I saw a guy on a black jersey jacket picking up some of the trash that was on the floor. Then even if my hands were dirty, I used them to fix my glasses and get my hair out of my way for it was blocking my sight.

I looked at the guy's face and realized that it was no one else but Travis. "Oh, Travis?" I mentioned his name to confirm if it was truly him or it was somebody else that I have mistaken. He smiled, which confirmed it, he was truly who I was thinking of. "Umm, what are you doing here? Right now?" With too much confusion, he just smiled at me and I frowned for another chance of getting a word from him.