The Ballad of an Angel

Chapter Eight

April 14, 2017 - Road Trip Part 1

Today was the last day of school before spring break. Now, nothing was planned beforehand, but as my curiosity grew larger, I suggested that Zack take us to see our dad in Los Angeles.

"No," Zack abruptly said. I frowned
"Why, Zack?!??" Clara exclaimed, really whiny as well.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," He said. In his eyes I could tell he really wanted to.

"Just tell us the address and we'll go without you," I suggested. Zack then agreed. But we had to wait until Saturday.

"Fine," Zack huffed. He was clearly frustrated with our pleading.

We walked to school talking about nothing in particular. The sky was shining beautifully and the clouds were nowhere to be seen. My hands were clenched to my backpack as the adrenaline flowing through my veins made me have butterflies in my stomach.

Clara jumped around as usual and Zack laughing as she trips. I help her get up and she punches Zack in the arm.

"Hey ya big dork!" Sabrina called out to me. She hugged me immediately after and smiled. She talked about how her mom just had another kid, which was the tenth baby. I thought about having ten kids. That's far too many.

We walked to our first class together and she kept talking about how his name is Briggs and he's adorable. I just let her talk my ear off. It's not like I had anything better to do.

The whole day was laid back and boring. Clara doodled an entire page, I barely stayed awake, which I'm pretty sure Zack had the same problem. Sometimes I would wonder about how insane it is sharing DNA with another person; and that person is Zack.

As anticipated, the loud school bell rang. My ears were ringing immediately after it rung, soon wincing at the high pitched noise. Clara defeated the laws of physics by jumping out of her chair onto her feet. I soon followed her after I placed each book carefully into my bag. That took longer than expected.

I was lucky to catch her at her locker, leaving every book behind purposely to forget about school. That sounded really good for some reason. Now was the time to pack clothes for our road trip.

We decided to leave that night, well, getting keen approval of Alice and Gavin. That was important.

In theory it sounded really stupid to leave at night, but it was smart actually. Zack would drive the first half, and I would for the second half. We didn't agree to Clara driving because it would only last a couple of minutes. It was best for her to sit in the back seat like a little kid.

We packed our suitcases pretty quickly, saying our goodbyes, and getting into the car. The rain kept pouring down on the roof and hood of the vehicle, which had me worried because it sounded like people jumping on it. Zack started the car a little hesitantly. The hum of the vehicle relaxes me, soon sitting back to enjoy the ride.

T-Minus 15 hours.

The first few hours to Los Angeles was peaceful. Zack put on some podcasts while I could faintly hear Clara's music blasting in her ears. My napping skills were on point because I slept for a good three hours.

We then stopped at a gas station in Thompson Springs, Nevada. I could tell Zack was tired, from the lack of energy in his aura. I volunteered to drive, but he just shrugged it off. Clara went in to get some snacks and to use the bathroom, while I stayed to put gas in the car. Zack just sat there motionless in the drivers seat. He placed his head at the top of the steering wheel.

When I finished pumping the gas, I walked into the gas station to pay the cashier. I walked around for a few minutes waiting on Clara, and then walked back to the car. I had bought an energy drink for Zack since his tired nature concerned me. He was golden when I handed it to him.

I'll have to say that the drink worked. He was smiling and looked less exhausted. It had only been four hours.

The ride was long and dreadful. Our second stop was at 2am for a swap. I drank another energy drink as the steering wheel became mine. Zack sat where I formerly was and immediately fell asleep. I think it was time to stop for the night.

I pulled into this nice motel and told Clara to watch over the car while I was inside checking in. The process was swift and we immediately got out to go to sleep. The thought of it made me excited.

We got into our room, which only had two beds. I opted to share a bed with Clara, since we've shared one before. Zack just went with it and spread like an eagle across the bedspread. I laughed at him as his eyes shut calmly. Clara changed into sweatpants and laid down on the right side of the bed. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. When I returned, both of my siblings were sound asleep. The time was four o'clock in the morning, and we wouldn't leave until about noon. Eight hours of sleep wasn't so bad.

And it wasn't the end of this.