The Small Town

This Is Gonna Be A Terrible Summer.

"I don't see why we have to go there for the whole summer," Keith complained to his older brother. "And why I have to go, too."

"Because Keith," Shiro turned on his lecturing voice. "Matt and I had planned this visit months ago. And I was not leaving you alone for sixty days."

Shiro turned his attention back to the road. They had been driving for hours to a small Texas town called Olkarion. They were going to visit Shiro's college friend and his family. Keith wasn't looking forward to it. He wanted to be back in Ohio with his friends, being stupid teenagers and going to house parties, playing video games and wandering around the city. Now he would be stuck on a farm.

They probably don't have WiFi. I'll be stuck shoveling horse crap and feeding chickens, he thought.

He stuck his earbuds in and scrolled through his playlist 'Emo music'. He selected 'High Hopes' by Panic! at the Disco. He rested his head on the window and closed his eyes. He was stuck on a nineteen hour drive, and he had only been in the car for eleven hours. There were still eight hours left. He eventually dozed off, dreading the next day.

When he woke up, they were driving down a road of wheat fields and cattle farms.

"Are we almost there?" he asked.

"Morning princess," Shiro chuckled. "The GPS says it's another forty-five minutes before we arrive."

Keith groaned and turned on his phone. No notifications. He scrolled through his Spotify feed, looking through for a new playlist. He came across a new one called 'Excellence' by Constellation. He added it to his library before putting his phone on the dash and leaning back.

Shiro told him all about the people they were going to visit. Matt, the oldest sibling, was and still is Shiro's best friend from their first year of college. After the summer they would be going back. Katie was the youngest Holt. She was a year younger than Keith and had never been outside of their small town. Colleen and Sam were their parents and they were apparently the kindest people you would ever meet.

Shiro droned on and on about them, and eventually Keith tuned him out and looked out the windows. It was daytime. Keith realized how long he had slept for.

"Where you driving the entire time I was asleep?" he interrupted his brother.

"Yeah. I figured I could sleep when we get there," explained Shiro. They finally drove past a sign welcoming them to the town. They must have been driving longer than Keith had realized since he woke up.

Half an hour later, the boys pulled up to a long driveway, surrounded by forests and fields.

"Here we are, Keith," Shiro declared. They got out when the driveway turned to pavement and a house appeared. Shiro knocked on the door and it flew open to reveal a boy. He was absolutely beaming when he saw Shiro, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Matt. Chill out. You're gonna break my ribs," said Shiro, hugging Matt back. "This is my little brother, Keith." Shiro pulled from the hug and introduced Keith.

"Nice to meet you Keith." Matt smiled and stuck out his hand.

"Yeah. You too," said Keith as he shook the older boys hand.

"You look about the age of my little sister. I'm not sure where she's run off too, though," Matt explained. A woman walked down the stairs to greet the brothers.

"Hello! You must be Shiro and Keith. I'm Colleen. Lovely to meet you!" She shook Shiro's hand, then Keith's. Shiro was right. She did seem like a sweet woman. She took them on a tour of the house, showing them bathrooms and the rooms the boys would be staying in. Keith shared the downstairs floor with a girl named Katie.

This is gonna be a terrible summer.