I wake up to the sound of a small cat hacking up the hair ball of a much larger cat. In reality, I think it's Reggie. Looking over, I see him sitting up in bed and staring at the opposite wall as he makes that awful sound. He goes on for a little longer before realizing that I'm sitting up and staring at him.
He slowly turns his head towards me, "My throat itched."
I nod and turn away, letting him continue because I've had a few throat itches in my day.
"What is that noise?" Beth sits up with her mask still on. This is easily the most distraught I've ever seen her.
"Reggie's throat itches," I simply tell her as she removes her mask.
"It sounds like a garbage disposal," Blake says, still lying down. I didn't even realize he was awake.
"Can a guy just itch his throat in peace?" Reggie snaps at us. We sit there in silence until Reggie's done.
Once he's done, he looks over at me, "So, what's in store for today?"
I climb out of the bed and head over to my backpack. Reaching into it, I pull out my map to see what our next stop will be.
"We're going to see Colonel Sanders," I tell them, folding my map back up and shoving it into my backpack.
"I mean," Blake finally sits up, "we won't all see Colonel Sanders."
We all turn and look at Blake. No one says anything, we just let him feel our eyes on him. He doesn't indicate if he knows that we're all looking at him but, he sits with a smug smile on his face.
"Is that breakfast?" Reggie bolts up and goes over to the bags of snacks that Blake and I bought last night (this morning?). He doesn't wait for an answer before ripping through a pack of off brand pop tarts. He's too focused on his snacks to ask where they came from. Beth, however? I honestly think she could care less.
We all take turns in the bathroom, putting on clean clothes and brushing our teeth. It's exciting to know I'll be meeting the man—or the wax figure—that birthed the most delicious mashed potatoes and mac n cheese that my mouth has ever had the pleasure to taste. Just the thought of them makes my mouth water. We pack up our things, Blake making sure to grab the snacks, before heading back to the car.
Reggie tosses me the keys to his van, saying that it's my turn to drive. To my utter confusion, mild discomfort, and maybe possibly elation, Blake calls shotgun. Blake's a cool guy so why wouldn't I be happy to sit by him? I hook my phone up to the car and let Blake scroll through my music and choose the songs.
As we drive towards Louisville, we make a game of pointing out the states we see on license plates. Reggie seems to enjoy making up back stories for whoever's in the car. Though no one admits it, we all enjoy the stories he makes up.
"So, this guy over here is driving home from staying with his second family. Little does he know, his wife has found out about these little trips he's been taking and is waiting at home with a baseball bat for his return. Now, she's already thrown his things out on the street but, the baseball bat will really spook him."
He doesn't even pause to think of these stories. They roll off his tongue as if has had these ideas in his head for years. It's mildly unsettling, but overall entertaining. I try to imagine this trip if these three hadn't come. The idea seems almost depressing. I mean, I'm not really sure about Beth yet, but I guess it's better than being alone.
"Where did the snacks come from?" Beth asks from out of nowhere. I really thought everyone would just pretend like they appeared out of thin air.
"You know, I thought about that to," Reggie says as he opens a pack of pop tarts.
Blake answers before I can even formulate a reply, "Trevor got hungry in the middle of the night so she dragged me out of bed to accompany her to get some snacks."
He says all this with a smug smile on his face that earns a small glare from me which he of course didn't notice. Reggie easily accepts the answer and while Beth doesn't seem one hundred percent convinced, she accepts the answer as well.
The trip takes about two and a half hours to reach the Colonel. Getting to see that smooth, waxy skin makes it well worth it.
I can feel how close the Colonel is when we pull up to the building. We all get out of the van and head towards the building. Blake mostly uses his cane with some guidance from Reggie. I mean, I guess I feel better that it's not Beth. But it would've been even better if it were me, strictly in a platonic way of course.
We enter the building where, low and behold, wax statue Colonel Sanders himself is standing there in all of his white suit and black-tie glory.
"Is he holding a bucket of chicken?" Blake asks as he stares ahead at where he's been directed that the Colonel stands.
I slowly nod my head before answering, "Yes. Yes, he is."
We take it all in, or maybe I'm taking it all in while everyone else is waiting for me to make a move. Either way, I stand staring at the wax stature for a bit before Reggie, unsurprisingly, breaks the silence.
"You want to feel it Blake?" Reggie asks.
Blake nods his head to signal that yes, he does in fact want to feel it, before Reggie leads him towards the statue. He hands his cane over to Reggie to allow him to use both of his hands before slowly lifting them up to the Colonel. His hands initially land on the Colonel chest before he moves them up to eventually land on the face. He runs his thumbs over the Colonels lips as his fingers grip the rest of his face. He feels the nose and both eyes before moving onto the hair.
Watching his hands roam around like that makes me feel a certain...way. I can almost feel his hands on...
"Well that was weird," Blake exclaims as he removes his hands from the Colonel's face.
We all stand around admiring this waxy figure and I even take a picture of Reggie standing next to the Colonel himself.
As excited as I am to have stopped at this site, my most vivid memory won't be of the Colonel, but of Blake with him.
And how...I felt.
Heading back to the van, we hop back into the spots we had been in earlier that day.
"Don't you have to be like 21 to get a hotel room?" Beth asks as we get on the road to find somewhere to stop for lunch.
"Beth, I doubt any night shift worker at some dumpy hotel cares who they're renting rooms to," Reggie tells her. I hadn't thought about that until she asked, but that seemed like a good enough answer.
We seem to be driving for only ten minutes before Reggie yells for me to turn into the next exit. Now, in most cases, I would've been pissed from him yelling like that as I drove. But, his reasons for yelling were completely noble.
That being said, Reggie points us into the parking lot of a KFC buffet.
We all sit in the car staring up at this beautiful place.
"Why'd we stop?" Blake asks, not knowing that he's sitting in front of the most amazing things in the world.
"You'll find out soon enough my friend. Soon," Reggie tells him.
We quickly hurry out the van, Beth seeming to have a little pep in her step as well. Without any thought, I run over to Blake's side of the van and grab his hand to lead him inside.
He smiles.
When we get inside, Blake's brows furrow and he takes in a deep breath.
"Is that KFC?" He asks which causes a small grin to appear on my face.
"It's a KFC buffet," I tell him and watch as a pure look of awe overtakes his features. He opens and closes his mouth, not quite knowing what to say, though he doesn't need to say anything.
I know.
When we get our table, Blake sits down and asks if I'll fix his plate. I quickly agree. I load both of our plates with KFC's delicious mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, barely thinking about the chicken because, let's be real, though the chicken's good, nothing can beat the mac n cheese and mashed potatoes.
I bring Blake and I's plate back to the table were Reggie and Beth are already sitting. To my surprise, Beth really seems to be going ham on her food. Not to my surprise, Reggie is as well.
Before I even pick up my fork, I watch to make sure Blake was all set with where everything is. I don't start to eat until he takes his first bite.
It's just what a good person would do.
It's not long before we're all going for a second plate. It's actual heaven getting to eat all of this mac n cheese.
Eventually we all get full, even though we know that five minutes after we leave, we'll want more food. We all long for more stomach room to continue eating.
Beth offers to drive with Blake in the passenger seat and Reggie and I in the back. It isn't long before we have to stop so Blake can take a bathroom break.
"Really?" I question when he asks Beth if we can stop so he can use the bathroom.
"I have to pee," he tells me.
Does he need help with getting to the bathroom?
Reggie's already walking with him to the gas station to use their bathroom, so I just leave it to him to help with whatever Blake needs. Knowing Blake though, he'd probably manage just fine on his own.
Beth and I silently make our way into the gas station together. I head over to grab a Coke and a pack of Sour Patch Kids before going to pay for them at the counter. A guy who must be in his early twenties is working behind the counter. He's got this curly brown hair that seems to constantly be covering his eyes.
"Will this be all beautiful?" He asks.
I look up at the guy with a grimace that mirrors the one of someone catching someone else picking their nose. You'd think he'd just kicked a puppy with the face I make at him. I know it was supposed to be a compliment but, I don't fare well in any type of situation like this one.
"That'll be $3.26," he tells me. I hand him a five and the amount of time our hands touch during the exchange seemed like an unnecessary amount. I disregard my change, grab my things, and quickly make my way out.
I don't do well with male attention.
I make my way to the car, Beth not too far behind.
"That guy was definitely trying to flirt with you Trevor," Beth tells me when she gets to the car.
"I'd like to think I helped him by not going along with it," I say as I climb into the car.
She doesn't ask about it anymore after that reply. What I said was true though. By getting out of those types of situations I'm able to save—like two—guys who've ever tried to flirt with me from a shitty date.
It doesn't take long for Reggie and Blake to meet us back in the car, allowing us to get back onto the road. We continue to drove towards Tennessee for a couple of hours before stopping at a gas station to actually get gas. Beth gets out to fill the tank and we all wait for her to be done. A few moments after Beth climbs out the car, a couple comes storming out the store, seeming to be in a fight. We try not to pay attention but, the yelling seems to get louder.
"What's going on?" Blake asks, hearing the couple screaming.
No one says anything as we watching the guy slap the girl hard enough to knock her to the ground.
After seeing that, Reggie jumps out the car running to the scene.
"What the hell?!" Reggie yells as he charges towards the guy, stepping between him and the girls who sits crying on the ground. The yelling continues followed by Reggie shoving the guy.
The guy, unsurprisingly, punches Reggie in the face.
The guy runs off before Reggie can react. He seems to completely disregard the fact that he was just punched in the face before he's turning to the girl that's crying behind him. Beth runs over to join Reggie in consoling the girl.
"What happened?" Blake asks again. I explain to him what happened and the frown that overtakes his face is one I hope to never see again.
"I should've done something, I wish I would've done something," he mutters under his breath as he rubs his eyes under his glasses.
I translate what he said into: I wish I could see, then I'd be better equipped in helping in that situation.
Tentatively, I raise my hand to rest on his should, feeling them slightly relax under my touch.
"It's not your fault, it's okay," I whisper to him, not knowing what else to say to make him feel better.
I just want to make him feel better.
Beth and Reggie lead the girl back to the car where she joins Reggie and I in the backseat.
"This is Sam. We're dropping her off at the bus stop," Reggie tells Blake and I with his arm around her as she continues to sniffle. Beth doesn't say anything, she just starts to drive with a small frown on her face.
No one speaks as we head towards the nearest bus stop. Beth keeps on checking in the rearview mirror. The frown seems like it's not able to leave her face.
I wonder if a small part of her doesn't like seeing Reggie holding another girl, even in these circumstances.
Emotions are weird like that.
It doesn't take long for us to reach the bus stop. Reggie climbs out with Sam and after they exchange a few words, Sam plants a kiss on Reggie's lips before walking inside the building to get a bus ticket. Reggie climbs back in with a large smile on his face that if you flipped upside down, it would mirror the expression on Beth's face.
We sit quietly for a bit before Reggie claps his hands, "I think we should call it a night."
We make another quick stop to grab some food before making our way to a campsite.
"Isn't this exciting!" Reggie exclaims as we park the car in a clearing with a fire pit in the middle of it.
Beth's frown is briefly replaced with a grimace at hearing that we're camping.
Reggie goes to the back of the van to pull out a large tent that we'll be sleeping in. Even with the four of us, or three since Blake appointed himself as director, it takes about half an hour for us to set the thing up. If not for Reggie's optimism, I would've called it a night and slept in the dirt.
Blake and I head off to collect wood to start a fire. I search for wood then hand it to him to carry back. Sometimes I throw small things at him causing him to look around and ask me what it was. Is it cruel? Yes. But I'm kind of an asshole so it works.
Picking up another stick, I break up a small piece to throw at him, but when I look up, he's not there.
"Blake?" I call out. No answer.
I'm worried for a split second before a 'boo' comes from behind me. I jump and whip around to find Blake with a smug grin on his face.
"If you could stop throwing things at me, that would be great," he says, earning an eye roll from me.
We make our way back to the campsite to then watch Reggie spend twenty minutes trying to start our fire. It actually makes me grin to see his face when he finally gets it started.
He pulls out some hotdogs and marshmallows for us to roast over the fire. Beth makes sure to pass around her comically large hand sanitizer for us to use. I wait a bit for Reggie and Blake to be occupied with their own conversation to ask Beth what I've been wondering for the last couple of hours.
"So," I start, "Reggie's pretty cool," it sounded more casual in my head.
"I like him, he's fun," she shrugs her shoulders. She doesn't seem to understand what I'm getting at.
"He's kind of cute," I continue, which causes her to look up at me.
"I don't like Reggie if that's what you're wondering. I just want to be his friend I guess," Beth explains and I mentally yell at myself for jumping to such a conclusion.
She was probably just upset about the situation you over dramatic idiot.
"You and Blake though," she starts, and I think I want to throw up. This is what I get for opening my mouth, this type of humiliation.
"Are getting along well," I finish her sentence before she can. She gives me a knowing smile but doesn't comment otherwise.
Whatever I feel for Blake doesn't matter. He's a cool guy but, he could never like me. Even if he liked me now, would he like me if he could see me? If he could see that I was black. Probably not. He'd want someone to look more like... Beth.
Before I let these dangerous thoughts consume me, I focus back into the conversation. Just in time too because I hear Reggie open up with "This one's called the Campfire Song Song." The entire spectacle is hilarious. He goes into some other camp tunes in which the rest of us join along. We eat, we sing, and for just a moment it seems like I've known these people for more than a few days.
It starts to get dark out and though nobody wants to admit it, we all are getting a little scared. We put out the fire and climb into the tent that has some sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows for if it gets too cool at night.
It doesn't seem to take long for everyone to get settled in and doze off. Lying here I finally let myself think, 'What happens after this trip?'
As per usual, sleep quickly transports us to the next day. We all decide to sit and eat the rest of the pop tarts. I make a mental note for us to stop at some point to pick up more provisions.
We all take turns changing in the tent before taking it down—which is a hundred times easier than putting it up. I make sure to quickly take my hair from its bun, try to get at least some of the bigger knots out, before throwing it back into a bun.
Getting out of the tent, I see Beth pull her hair out of its ponytail and run a brush through it so she can wear it down. I subconsciously rub my hand over the top of my hair before making myself stop.
It is what it is.
Beth offers to drive the van to our next stop, Tennessee.
"I call shotgun," Reggie shouts before rushing to the passenger seat. A small smile appears on Beth's face. It's nice.
Before Beth starts to drive, she makes sure to pull out some disinfecting wipes to wipe down the steering wheel. Though she got through camping with us for the night, she's still undoubtedly Beth.
When we're all in the van with everything put away, we leave the campsite and head towards Tennessee.