Tuesday
"Get dressed Elliot. We're going to go truck shopping." My mom called downstairs, while I heard the rustling sounds coming from my parents' room. Today was the day my dad finally traded in that white 2008 Chevy truck he had been beating on for the last 5 years for his small business, and it was also beginning to die on him as well, since it has over 640,000 miles on it.
Aw crap! I forgot to give my mom the laundry, since I was on spring break. After my usual shower routine, I dug around my room, hoping to find something clean to wear. I only managed to find an old skateboarding shirt I once wore back in middle school, and with my luck, I might be able to fit into it, unlike Tristan, who can fit into his old clothes even though he is slightly taller than me, has more muscles, and is skinnier than I am, even though my parents hated to see me skinny.
I left my room, in my long-sleeved Element shirt I haven't worn about since 7th grade, and my hoodie over my long-sleeved shirt. The TV was on, so I grabbed the remote, aimed it at the TV, and turned it off, before going outside, to join my dad.
And this is what greeted me when I got outside to look at the reflection on my parents' house window...
Imagine my shock as I actually recoiled in horror at first, then slowly walked back to the window, placing my hands on the glass...
My hair had grown back! And despite my shower, it was still messy. Last time I looked like this was back in freshman and my later sophomore years!
Whoa! When's the last time I got a haircut? I guess I hadn't noticed how heavy my head felt since that day we worked on Daniel's truck. Nonetheless, I just left it as it is. I took a double take once more back to the window, and noticed I had lost quite a bit of weight. My hand ran up and down my now slender, long neck, and my shoulders were even more angled, and slightly narrow. My shirt disappeared under my hoodie, so that it looked like I was wearing nothing under there, just my neck poking out of my hoodie. It was only two days into spring break, and for some reason, I felt taller.
And lighter.
And for some reason, it felt colder again... even though I was wearing a hoodie over a long-sleeved shirt.
Behind me, I could hear my dad grinding his starter as he tried to get his truck to start, and the sounds getting lower with each crank he did. It finally died on the fifth crank, followed by clicks, and I could hear him shouting obscenities, followed by the sound of a tire being kicked. Remembering what Rae had taught me, I connected the battery leads to both his truck and with mom's permission, her Toyota, even though dad plugged the cables already to both vehicle batteries, and started the Toyota. He started the Chevy finally, and gave it a mean throttle as he floored the accelerator pedal for a few seconds. Even with the noise he was making, it never smoked, just the puffy white one, before clearing.
I noticed I have actually gotten taller now, and I was in need of new clothes...
"You've finally gotten a growth spurt, son." My dad tells me, as he's making his way up the porch steps, then patted my messy hair, before squeezing my right shoulder. This time, he didn't object to my hair. He seemed to... like my new look... He licked his lips, but I guess that's how fathers are, seeing their boys getting taller, and older...
"Your shoulders are getting hard there." my dad says, before my mom steps out of the front door.
"You're not going to put gas in that thing?" My mom asked, as we're getting ready to leave our house.
"We're trading it in. It doesn't need any more. This is the last time I put gas in this thing." My dad says, before going into the house. They finally locked the place, and my dad's the first to leave.
I got into mom's car, after figuring out how to use my newly grown body to get into her car, on the passenger side. Even with the seat now pushed as far back it can go, the large dash of the tiny car was a bit intrusive, as I tried to sit in the passenger seat.
For a small teenage kid like myself, my knees were now hitting the dash, even with the seat that was all the way back, reminding me of the movie Norbit, and the seat.
She told me I should've just rode with dad, but with the obscenities and all that, I didn't want to hear any more of that. Once I was 'able' to sit in her car finally, I noticed my stomach wasn't bulging anymore, or poking into my pants buttons. I resisted the urge to feel my new body. But I could tell I was even skinnier than before...
"Maybe I should've let you drive, if you're going to be in my car." my mom says, as we passed by Tristan's house.
We stopped by Pine's, while my dad continued on, as he didn't want to break down again. We parked next to this really clean dark blue, slightly older Chevy truck with a "Z71 OFF ROAD" decal on the back.
This one wasn't a 4 door, but instead, had the smaller doors and windows in the back. But it was still slightly larger than my truck.
Inside Pine's I passed by Kim, his long hair tied behind his head, as he got his stuff scanned on the counter by a young guy. He didn't seem to recognize me, or he was too admired as his purchases were being scanned to notice, as I passed him. That's the first time I've ever seen Kim dress like that outside of school, especially since he had his hair flowing behind his shoulders, like Rae's...
I noticed I was now taller than he was, as I slowly sneak my way behind him, then I quickly darted into the bread aisle. Nope, somehow, with only thing playing was the store's pop muzak, which played a Spanish song, he didn't hear me.
Oh, well. See you back in school on Monday.
I looked around the store, and noticed we were the only people. Doesn't surprise me, since this is only a small market, with the smell of Dillon's Chicken coming from the deli. I walk over to the deli, to where the kids would normally sit and eat their chicken, pizza, or whatever they eat besides the school food, and to get away from the school drama. There were four tables, overlooking the kitchen. To my right, were stacks of Coke, Pepsi and other soda products, and to my left, were the aisle for the eggs, butter and other dairy products. I quickly grab a bottle of Coke, and meet my mom at the checkout.
Just in time I saw Kim admiring mom's Toyota, before he entered the driver's side of the dark blue Chevy. I guess I hadn't noticed but I saw a Korean license plate on the mounted on the truck's front bumper, and I saw the familiar Korean symbols and numbers against the white background. Soon I saw the truck's lights come on, the window rolled down, and he carefully backed out of Pine's, before he drove off. To the direction towards the city below.
Somehow, it didn't hit me that Kim had come from the city below...
Mom paid for our purchases, and we finally met dad at the car lot 2 hours later.
*******************************
The city was cold, a little bit more windy than usual, and the sky was overcast as we strolled the lot. The car lot was full of fresh puddles that smelled of fresh rain, oil leaks, and grease, but it was really cold. Overall, the city smelled of car exhaust.
"I got something for your business right here." The salesman pitched in, almost sounding like Mr. Omega's speed talking in class, as he led my father to another white truck, and another 2008. He knew my dad since he's a regular at this lot, and once in a while he'd come here to look at cars. He also bought my mom's Toyota from here too. He hates buying brand-new cars. And he's proud of me for buying that '98 Chevy.
Despite the overcast, gray clouds, the cold wind, and the lightly sprinkling rain, people were driving about, the street across was flowing with cars as we walked over to the Ford pickup, that was located at the back of the lot.
"There she is. A real beauty. We just put it on our lot last week. It's a 2008. This one has the 5.4 V8, has the 5-speed manual, and it's also a two-wheel drive, like your trade-in. Better yet, you can carry even heavy stuff unlike that truck you're driving. It's a dually. And a flatbed. The best part: it only has 168,000 miles." My dad walked over, looked inside, as I couldn't remember the last time he drove a stick shift, as Rae called it. I could tell my dad was very interested, but the transmission deal kind of scared him. Then it kind of hit me: Didn't Ryo say he got that Suburban last week? Then this Ford might have been a trade-in from his parents... No! His parents won't shop at a place like this...
"Are you sure you don't have any more like this?" My dad asked nervously, as he looked around the lot.
"Nope. None right now. Unless you want that 2015 2500 Silverado, and it'll cost you $20,000, and it only has 65,000 local miles. That 2007 Sterling truck there, the one with the Dodge body without the bed, will set you back $45,000 with less than 90,000 miles on it. And lastly, that brand-new, and just released 2017 F250 with the aluminum body. It has 5,500 miles, a local trade-in from the Ford dealer, and I'm asking 50,000. If this were 2006 or 2007 again, you'd find great trucks like that Ford there for $2400 all day. The Ford's only $10,900. Mainly because it's a manual." He rubbed his index, middle fingers and thumb together. My dad looked at me. I've only driven Rae's truck only once, and we have not talked since we fixed Daniel's truck.
"Can I at least drive it first?" my dad asked.
"Sure, let me get the keys." With that, he disappeared back into the dealership, and came out minutes later, keys in hand. He handed the keys over to my dad, while I watched on.
"Let's check this out son," He tells me, as I made my way to the passenger side. This truck definitely feels bigger than that Chevy he drove, especially for a single cab. It almost feels like being inside Rae's truck, but even bigger.
The icing on the cake now is me taking a while to get used to my new, taller, even slimmer body as I got into the truck. I kind of feel a bit sore, and not in a feverish way... I almost hit my head on the truck's cab trying to get into the front seat.
"What do you think son?" He asked as he turned the key, pressing the clutch. The familiar Ford engine sound started as we sat looking at the busy city street, and the car lot. I didn't know what to think. For a nine year old truck that costs nearly $11,000, the interior was a bit chewed up compared to the rest of the truck. It's missing a stereo, the wires were dangling out of the gaping hole in the dash, where I guess the radio once was, and the mirror on top of the windshield was missing as well. The only thing that greeted me was the "SUPER DUTY" logo at the top of the windshield, and on the dash too, as I look around at the large interior (to me, anyway) of the truck. And the steering wheel looked like someone took a chunk and ate it, and didn't bother to replace it.
"Okay, you're going to save me. It's been a long time since I drove one of these, but like they say, it's like riding a bike. Here we go." With that, my dad eased the truck out of the lot, and we drove out on the city.
But overall it drove great, even though it rode like crap. I guess it's because of the dual tires and no weight on the rear end, and my dad handled it with ease.
Except for some of the big intersections, where our heads were jerking as he dropped the clutch too early, and didn't time his shifts right, as we had people honking behind us, but otherwise, the big truck is great for his business.
And we didn't stall out, either. Well, except for that one time back there.
And, it's been a long time seeing my dad drive a stick shift in a while. Just like he said, its like riding a bicycle, you never forget how to pedal. I think that's how the saying goes...