Hazel's Hitchhiker

32: Hello New Mexico

Hazel

It had only been two hours since we left Avondale and we had made our way into Tucson. Tucson was similar to Phoenix. The only difference was it was a much smaller city and it seemed a lot less crowded. Neither of us cared much for Tucson as it seemed like an uninteresting place. With being in Tucson, the car would need gas. And just outside of Tucson was a Pilot Gas Station. This place seemed to be a popular place to get gas and food. Beyond this point, there wouldn't be much for several miles. After the car was full of gas and parked in one of the parking spots, Joey and I walked into the store together. We went to the bathroom and came out at the same time.

Looking at all the snacks, A large bag of Munchies caught my undivided attention, but the thought of having to deal with Cheetos seemed disappointing. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with my fingers getting dirty. Joey was able to read my mind as he found himself standing right next to me.

"I'll tell you what," he started. "You buy the bag of Munchies and I'll take out all the Cheetos for you. You won't have to eat a single Cheeto leaving me to eat them. It'll save me money on having to buy a bag of Cheetos."

The deal did sound pretty intriguing. Joey was certainly nice in offering to take all my Cheetos. How on Earth could anyone refuse to take that deal? And just like that, we shook on it and he would officially take my Cheetos. With the deal in place, we both stood next to the frozen drinks. Joey already had the door open to get himself a can of Bud Light.

"Hold on dude," my voice stopped him before his grip had the beer. "Instead of getting a beer, why don't you get an Arizona Ice Tea instead? Try something different for once."

His sight was on the beer can which was almost his. It was obvious that he desperately wanted it. No, he was craving it. Everything inside of him was demanding beer in his system.

"You're the one that said you didn't want to be like your old man. Why not start now?"

A great sigh came out of him. "Yeah, I know. Don't want to be like my old man." For a brief few seconds, the boy became silent and looked at me with little emotion. "Old habits are hard to kill. I know I need to break it, but I have to take it step by step at a time. Therefore, I'm going to take this can of Bud Light as well as a can of Arizona Iced Tea."

Okay, Joey did have a solid point. It was no lie that old habits were hard to break. So many people have tried to quit smoking cold turkey only for it to never work out for them. They just end up going back to smoking. Did he really like beer all that much? One could only imagine just how much his own father loved beer. It literally destroyed the life of the family. Hopefully one day Joey would be able to stop drinking beer. One day. Let that one day be soon. Once we had our drinks, we got in line, paid, and stepped outside with everything bagged except for the Bud Light.

"If you need a break, I'll take over and drive," claimed Joey.

Looking at the beer in his hand, something inside of me didn't sit right. Damn it, why was he offering to drive? Couldn't he just sit back, relax, and drink his damn beer? It would be better if I did the driving.

"If you drive, can you save your beer for later? Rather you did not get a DUI or some shit like that."

"Relax Hazel, nothing is going to happen. It's just one beer. Not like I'm getting drunk. Trust me, we'll be safe. What harm will one beer do?"

What harm? That was a great question. But considering the amount of alcohol consumption this boy had been through, maybe one beer wouldn't be so bad. As long as there weren't more beers in future stops, he could still drive. But if there was an accident, what would happen?"

"Alright fine, you can drive." The keys were handed over to him. "If you get into an accident, I'm going to kill the living shit out of you. No joke."

With no response, we both got in the car. The keys made their way into the ignition and we were off. Next stop New Mexico. Nothing but driving and more podcasts from Noah.

"Dude, are you sure you're okay to drive," I asked Amber who was clearly drunk and could not sustain her balance.

"Oh yeah, I'm good," she responded with wobbly walking with a finger in her nose. "Phillip might not want me, but my finger totally wants my nose. All those yummy and good stuff in my nose." My own friend began hysterically laughing like a crazy person.

"How the hell did you get drunk so fast? We were only at this party for an hour."

"But you only graduate once." Her body fell to the floor and within quick seconds, Amber sat against the car continuing to pick her nose. "Phillip is a dumbass for not knowing that." She handed me her phone to look at a text. Apparently, Phillip decided at the last minute to not show up to the graduation party. Instead, he would be out with Joey and his buddies. The poor girl began crying like a baby. "Oh, Phillip! Thou art Phillip! Why have you forsaken me?"

"Alright, you're not driving. Get on the other side. I'm taking you home."

"Hell no!" Immediately, Amber passed out and laid on the ground. Damn it, it was up to me to get her body into the car. This was turning out to be a great night. 

We finally made our way into New Mexico. Joey had only drunk half his beer. That attention of his was focused on the road. Maybe I worried too much. Maybe. Within two hours we were passing by Lordsburg and were close to Sheep City. There were roughly eleven hours left.

"Aw, shit," stated Joey. "We're being pulled over.

OH NO! Joey got pulled over! That's quite a cliffhanger! Remember to comment and vote!

Austin, Texas Clock Update: 11 Hours

Should Hazel not have let Joey drive?

Is Hazel right? Should Joey quit drinking?

Will Joey get in trouble with the law?