Playing with Forever

Chapter 9: Field Trip

"Okay," I answered, having no idea how to respond to that. She stuck out a hat with slips of paper containing the different exhibits out to me, and I reached in to grab a slip for our assignment.

The California Missions, it read.

"Exciting," I said flatly, not sure how to react. Ms. Reynolds patted me on the back for good luck, then moved on to the next pair of partners. Sam and I resorted to figuring out when we could make a trip down to Green Oak.

"I have volleyball practice after school—" I said.

"I am busy as well. Sunday?" he suggested.

"It'll be closed on Sunday. How about Saturday?"

Sam shook his head. "I am busy Saturday."

"When is the paper due?" I asked, since I hadn't really paid attention.

"Tuesday."

I rubbed my face tiredly. It was too late to change plans for the day, and I had a game on Friday I couldn't back out of. "Ugh," I groaned, trying to mentally sort everything out. "Okay, is there any way you can clear your schedule for Monday after school? I can try to get out of volleyball practice. It's the only thing I can think of."

"Yes," he eventually replied. He wasn't excited about it either.

"We'll have to write the paper that night, too," I pointed out.

"It will not be hard."

So, on Monday, I ditched practice and Sam ditched whatever he was supposed to be doing, and we headed out to Green Oak. Thankfully, Sam had offered to drive, because gas was expensive.

When I climbed into his car, I looked around in awe. It was super high tech on the inside with smooth, expensive leather and all sorts of high tech displays. I knew nothing about cars, but even I knew it was incredibly high end. The entire thing oozed wealth. I decided not to mention it.

Instead of pulling out onto the highway when we pulled out of the school parking lot, however, Sam turned into a fast food drive-thru. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am hungry. What do you want?

I shook my head. "Oh, no. I'm not hungry."

"I am paying, if that is what you are worried about."

"No, that's okay. I'm not hungry."

He looked at me for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure me out. The loudspeaker of the drive-thru crackled loudly when Sam didn't reply to the cashier's greeting. Sam ignored it. "Why are you doing that thing?"

"I'm not doing anything," I replied, kind of defensive.

"Yes, you are. The whole, 'I am not going to eat in front of people' self-conscious thing. I am not going to judge you for eating. I will not even look, if you want."

"That's not why I'm not eating. I told you, I'm not hungry."

"Fine," he said, then ordered a double cheeseburger and massive soda for himself. I was jealous of the sight of it. Maybe I should have let him buy me a soda, after all. Oh well.

The rest of the drive down to the museum was uneventful. I read the assignment out loud, and we talked out an outline for our paper.

We made it to the museum in good time, stepping out and buying our tickets at the front desk. I mourned the loss of my eight dollars, but paid stoically knowing I had no choice. It was a done deal.

We meandered through the museum, taking it all in. There was all sorts of history of California, and it was pretty impressive. There were exhibits on famous Californian people (entertainment celebrities excluded), Native Americans that settled here, and natural wildlife found within our state. There was a children's exhibit where the kids could pan for fake gold, and I got in there and put my hands in the cold water and pretended. "Come on," I goaded Sam as he stood and watched me with a smile on his face. He relented and joined me, laughing at how much fun I had. I startled at the sound of it, a slow grin spreading across my face. His laugh was rich and happy, and filled me with matching joy. It was my new favorite sound.

After playing around, we stopped at our assigned exhibit, the Spanish missions of California. We explored the map of the twenty-one missions and military outposts founded by Spanish Catholic missionaries on what was called "The Royal Road," the El Camino Real. I had thought they served only as religious ministries, but in actuality they had introduced farming, livestock, and ranching to the state.

Sam took notes on his phone as I pointed out interesting tidbits here and there, but he seemed to know a lot about them already. "I've visited many," he said.

"Really?"

"You will find that I am very into history."

"That's cool." I wasn't. English was more of my type of subject, and I much preferred reading fiction than textbooks.

He hummed in response, turning back to the last bit of the exhibit we hadn't seen. "Are you ready to go?" Sam asked.

"I want to see the other exhibits! I paid for it, I want to get my money's worth."

He nodded with a smile. "Off we go, then."

There was a huge mural to see, filled with California history to view, and an exhibit on empowering California women.

Half an hour later, we ran out of museum to visit, and I was satisfied to leave it behind and go home.

We talked through our outline in the car as I went through the notes Sam had taken. All in all, it was a good time, and I'd been glad we'd been forced to go. I'd actually learned. Go figure.