Hazel's Hitchhiker

4: The Hitchhiker

Hazel

"Live from the headquarters of Ramsey Solutions. Broadcasting from the Dollar Car Studios, it's the Dave Ramsey Show," announced Dave Ramsey on one of the many podcasts I had downloaded to my phone.

I guess you could say a benefit to not having Amber in the car with me was that she would never let me listen to Dave Ramsey. Instead, she likely would want to listen to Nicki Minaj or Cardi B nonstop the entire way to Austin. Sure, I didn't mind Cardi B. And as I enjoyed some of her music, she's nothing compared to Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is king. He literally has the answers when it comes to money and finances. Good old Dave.

Within ten minutes of being on the road, my eyes spotted something rare. Some guy was walking on the side of the road with his arm out and thumb up trying to hitch a ride with a large duffle bag. Obviously, I was going to keep on driving and ignore the dude, but my foot wouldn't allow it as it slammed on the brakes. If I weren't crazy enough, I stepped out of the car. Before my mouth could say anything, it soon occurred to me who this aspiring hitchhiker was. It was Joey. Did he need a ride? What was I supposed to do? The temptation to get back in the car and take off was beyond real. And for a moment, my body just stood there lost in thought.

"Ah Ms. Perez, thank you for coming to my office," commended my principal who just finished eating his apple.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" I asked taking a seat with my pencil in my hand wanting to tap it against his desk.

He began laughing. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. But I do have a favor to ask of you. Are you willing to do it?"

It depends I guess. What's the favor?"

With no effort, he stood out of his seat and pulled a picture from a basket. Once the picture was in his hands, he sat back down and presented me with the picture. It was none other than Joey.

"I trust you're familiar with Joey Garcia? Our star basketball player." My head nodded yes. "Thanks to him, he's been able to take the team to state these last couple of years. But there's a problem." A brief quiet moment took over with a serious look on his face. "He's currently failing two of his classes. Algebra and chemistry."

"Wait," I unexpectedly interrupted. "You want me to tutor him? No way in hell I'm going to do that!"

"Ms. Perez," his voice stated calmly. "I understand you might not like Mr. Garcia. But right now, he needs you. Do you realize that you're currently top of your class? And I'm pretty impressed with your GPA. I have never seen a GPA that high before. Can you please take one for the team?"

"No, find someone else." With that, I stood up to leave his office.

With a quick reaction, the principal pulled out his phone and instructed me with a firm voice to sit down. Looking at the phone, my own eyes witnessed a video of Amber vandalizing the boy's bathroom. Everything inside of me wanted to find and slap the crap out of her.

"This all happened yesterday after school. Your own best friend was bored enough to deface school property." He licked his lips and took a sip of his coffee. "Here's what I'm proposing. You tutor Joey and in turn, Amber doesn't get in trouble. No suspension, no detention, no nothing. But if you say no again, you'll be the one to blame for the bathroom. Not her. Do we have a deal?"

Would I get in trouble for slapping our own principal? Taking a deep breath, I agreed and quickly stormed out of his office.

"You okay?" asked Joey trying to bring me back to reality with his duffle bag on the ground.

With my head back, in reality, I looked at my surroundings for a moment until my attention came towards Joey.

"You plan on walking to Austin," I asked? My mind could literally not think of anything to say. 

"There are not many other options," he replied. "The bus I was going to take can't take me anymore." Kicking his foot to the ground with his eyes looking at the dirt, he spoke again without looking at me. It was as if he was too shy to talk to me. "You're going to Austin, right? You wouldn't mind possibly taking a friend like me with you?"

Joey

I'll admit, if I were Hazel, I probably would've said no and took off. She had every right to leave me there to fend for myself. At that point, paying all that money for an Uber didn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe I'd be better off with some random trucker.

"You really have no other option?" she asked while lightly kicking my duffle bag while scratching her forehead. "Weren't you part of a basketball scholarship with Phillip and your other buddies? What happened to that?"

"I don't know, it's a long story." My eyes could not stay off the ground. "Maybe it's not a long story. Let's just say after some unforeseen events, I'm the only one who's going and the bus that was going to take us isn't willing to take just me."

An awkward silence took over us. Hazel took her sunglasses out of her pocket and lightly chewed on them while kneeling down to feel my duffle bag. Once finished feeling out my bag, she placed her sight on the car and walked around checking it out in deep thought. It would be a lie if I said what she was doing wasn't hot. I loved the way she was chewing on her glasses. It reminded me of how she would sometimes tap her pencils. Once she finished, she opened up the front passenger door.

"Alright Joey," she began with a sigh. I suppose I can give you a ride. Get in the car."

Hazel sure is nice. Thanks for reading! Much appreciated! Remember to comment, vote, and even share! (New chapter is next Saturday!)

Have you ever hitchhiked before? Have you been a hitchhiker?

Could Joey make it to Austin by foot? It's MANY miles!

Was Hazel wise in giving Joey a ride?