Rico
I slowly pull up to the motel that I marked on the GPS.
"Are we here?" Nicole asks as she opens her eyes.
"Yeah." I said. Leaning back in my seat, resting my head, "Cody," I said stretching my arm back to wake him up, "Yo" I say again, tapping his leg.
The others start to move too, "guys, get up. We're here."
"Let's just sleep in the car." Chris says from behind me, half asleep.
"You stay in the car. I'm going in the room. I want a bed." Chantel mumbled taking her seat belt off.
"I need a smoke." Cody says stretching his arm.
"All of you can do that as soon as we get our rooms." I said.
Slowly everyone gets out of the keep. We stretch and turn our bodies around. Cody grabs his wallet from his back pocket, "Okay, who's coming with me inside to pay for rooms?"
"I'll go." Nicole volunteers.
Cody looks at Nicole, "Of course you would."
Nicole walks to Cody and takes his arm as she walks by him to walk with him, "come on big baby."
"I'll come too," Chris says, jogging to catch up to them as they go inside the motel's entrance door.
I look at Chantel. She's leaning on my jeep, looking at her phone.
"Social media followers sure take up a lot of your time, Chantel?"
Chantel looks up at me, she quickly puts her phone away in her hoodie pocket, "Hum, yeah they do." She says looking at me with her fake smile. I notice her playing with her fingers. I look at Chantel, "Did you see how happy Cody was when we argreed to go on this road trip with him?"
Chantel let out a laugh, "Oh my God, yes. I don't get it. We could be doing so many other things this summer together. Why this and so far away?"
"Yeah and how our parents don't know where we are." I lean against the jeep, beside Chantel, "but he's a good guy and he would never put us in danger." I look at Chantel, "I hope no one finds out where we are so that we can have this road trip as our trip."
Chantel looks at me, "I agree." She smiles.
Dame, I thought, "So who are you texting Chantel??" I said looking straight into her eyes.
"No one, I'm just posting random stuff about makeup and hair." She said as her fingers start to fiddle.
"Chantel, you can't lie to me, but if Cody fucken finds out that you've been leaking our whereabouts, even his love for you won't save you."
"Don't tell him!" Chantel grabs my shirt.
"About what Chantel?!?" I said, reacting to my shirt getting tugged.
"Promise me you will repeat nothing of what I'm going to tell you?" She said grinding her teeth together.
I'm regretting that I brought this up, I thought," I promise."
Chantel let's go of my shirt and looks at the entrance door, "I met this guy at the mall. We started talking and we exchanged numbers. So we're texting back and forth."
I look at Chantel. Oh good. I thought she was snitching .
"Cody will freak out if he finds out about the guy and I'm not in the mood to hear it." Chantel continues.
"He wouldn't freak out Chantel, the whole trip will become about you, and, he'll be moody," I said, " Fuck. I'm not saying nothing."
Chatel smiles at me, "Good, then I'll be on your good side too."
I know exactly why Chantel and Cody cannot date each other. They have the same personality except one is male and one is female. They both can be conniving, sneaky when they want something, persist until they get it and can love every minute of it. The only real difference between them, is that Cody is confident and not scared of embarrassment or being wrong...Chantel is.
"Okay; Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Chris hollers from the doorway when the three come back out.
"Spit it out?" I say.
"The good news is; we have shelter for the night." Cody says, leaning on my jeep beside Chantel.
"The bad news is; they have only one room with two queen beds left." Nicole says with disappointment.
"I still think it's a win-win situation!" Cody says putting his arm around Chantel. Chantel immediately elbows Cody on his side and he doubled over in silence.
"So the guys are on the floor right?" Chantel confirms.
Nicole folds her arms together, " I agree."
"Wait the fuck," I say, "why are the guys on the floor?"
Chantel looks at the three guys, one by one, "Oh I'm sure you guys were not thinking of Nicole and I sleeping anywhere else but in the beds."
Chris and I just look at each other as Cody pipes "Nope. But the two of you can sleep on one bed. I doubt anything will happen between the two of you."
"Real mature Cody!" Chantel tells Cody.
Cody looks at Chantel with a devilish smile, "Well, the other choice is sleeping with me and I don't think you'll be able to resist me ALL NIGHT." Cody says as he grinds the Jeep.
"Yo Cody get your shit off my Jeep!!" I yell at him.
Cody starts laughing.
"Okay guys, let's just get our stuff together and settle in for the night." Nicole says as she starts to walk to the back of the jeep.
Everyone starts to scavenge through my jeep, gathering their belongings. We follow behind Cody, who's jangling the keys in a tribal rhythm.
Cody puts the key in the lock and opens the door, "Welcome to our dwelling for the night." Cody says, standing to the side and gesturing his hand into the room, welcoming us.
Nicole and Chantel place their bags on the bed on the far end of the room. Chris drops his bag on the floor by the table and Cody flops on the bed.
"Just so you all know, I'm wiping my boogers and my saliva on this bed." Cody says, talking into the bed, "shotgun!"
We all laugh. "Chris, you can bunk with Cody. I'll sleep on the floor." I tell Chris laughing.
Chris looks at Cody trying to contend his laughter, "oh shit, I'm desperate for a good sleep. I'll bunk with you, lover boy." Chris says winking at Cody.
Cody lifts his head up fast and looks at Chris, "Rico. You sleep with me. I'm scared of Chris now."
"No, no, no. I'm leaving you two love birds to deal with that. I'm sleeping on the floor." I tell the boys.
I sit on the chair by the door. I check my phone for any messages. I want to call my mom and dad, but it will hurt me to lie to them again. Maybe tomorrow.
I lean back on the chair, putting my hands behind my head. I see Chantel showing her phone to Nicole. Nicole's reaction tells me that she knows about this guy that Chantel is talking to. Of course she does. Being the only two girls in our little familia, brings them closer to each other. I just hope Cody doesn't find out about this guy. I think he secretly feels that as long as Chantel is single, he has a chance with her, or for the very least, feels like the 'boyfriend' in her life. I look at Cody, still face down. I think he fell asleep, the poor jackass. There's something about Cody that you love and hate him all at the same time. He's the guy who would kill for you, but will knock some sense into you at the same time.
Ever since I punched those grade eight morons for Cody, I knew he would always have my back.
I look at Chris walking out of the washroom with only his wife pleaser tank and gym shorts on. I catch him glancing at Nicole. It breaks my heart to see this. I don't know if I feel more sorry for Chris for having a crush on Nicole or that Nicolle is so blind to see who really loves her. I know her parents won't approve of Chris, but sometimes parents don't need to know everything. I remember about two months ago, I spent a night on the phone with Nicole crying, telling me how her parents have registered her to the private school that Gavin goes to. Nicole lives a life that her parents command. Maybe this trip is what she needs.
"Hey Rico," I come back from my thoughts, hearing Nicole's whisper, "Do you actually think there's gold buried out there?"
I look at Cody, who's not budging at all, "Oh I believe Cody's great-grandpa did bury some gold. Who wouldn't?"
"Yeah, but is it still there?" Chris adds.
Chantel picks up her phone and starts typing, "well according to google earth, the area of the map doesn't look developed, so whatever is buried there must still be there."
" Are you guys calling me a liar?" We hear Cody's muffled voice.
"NO man, it's just, it's hard to believe it can be this easy to get our hands on gold nuggets." I say to reassure him.
"Yeah," Chantel says, "like Cody, why didn't your great-grandpa go back himself to retrieve it. I mean he'd be crazy not to."
Cody slowly gets up and sits on the bed, wiping the droll from the corner of his mouth, " I don't know. I don't think he really told anyone why. Or if he did try, but couldn't." Cody looks up at me, " But what if it's still there? Waiting to be found."
I look up, "I'd fix my dad's shop and send my parents to Puerto Rico to see family and friends.' I sit up on the chair, "Maybe I'll pay for my college, full pay and make my parents proud."
Wow, that would be great. I thought.
"What about you Nicole? What would you do?" Cody asks.
Nicole thinks, " I don't know. I never thought of it yet. I guess I'd pay for my university too, and save some for my future." Nicole smiles.
"I'd move out." Chris says, "I love my dad but I think getting my own place and visit him and my mom would be the best plan. Then yeah, I'll also pay for my own choice of college." Chris smiles.
"Look at us. If we had the money, we'd leave our parents, well except Rico," Cody says looking at me, "you'll send them away on a vacation." We laugh, " You guys, we did it. We are at the edge of our adolescence, we are thinking BIGGER and BETTER than we did yesterday." Cody smiles, " Ladies and gentlemen. I think we hit our euphoria."
We all cheer!
"What about you Cody, " Chantel asks, "What would you do with the gold?"
Cody looks at Chantel, "Well, nothing will change between us. I will love you forever," I look at Chantel's reaction. She looks away from Cody, shyly, "but I'd make sure to buy each of you a token of my friendship to all of you. Yeah and I'll send my parents and their partners somewhere too and..." Cody says as he gets up and grabs his smokes from his pocket, " buy weed and smoke up until I die!" Cody adds.
We laugh as he goes outside.