"Grab me a bag of chips!"
Hour Twenty Seven
"Maybe I shouldn't go."
The urge to drink coffee was wearing off and the heat skyrocketed to unbearable. Avianna's skin stuck to the leather seats which felt like lava. Halfway through the ride, her sweater became the barrier between the two.
"What?" Piper slammed on the brakes. "You have been bothering me since we got in the car. We are going now."
"I know. But with the traffic there's no point. Plus I'm boiling in here!"
"So am I, but we can't turn back. We're bumper to bumper, Av."
Avianna sunk down but rapidly shot up feeling a jolt of heat on her shoulder blade. "I'll get something cold then, preferably an ice pack."
~~~~~
"It's a good thing you took the back roads," Logan rolled down the windows.
"Only fools and tourists take the highway. It's littered with cars this time of year. If we did, we wouldn't reach until sundown."
"Thanks for driving me."
"No problem, as long as you're buying the drinks. I like my coffee with soybean vanilla and whip cream."
"That was not agreed upon."
"Until now," Morgan beamed.
~~~~~
"It's not that bad," Piper honked as a driver in another lane tried to merge in front of her. "Move it!"
Traffic crawled to a halt and Piper mindlessly rested her head on the steering wheel. A tap from her sister and a green light five minutes later, prompted her to step on the gas.
A continuous honk and a swerve left, they nearly missed a car.
"Next time I'm driving," Avianna ordered, while she clutched onto the handle on the inside of the car. "You've done enough damage for one day."
"I'll let you drive when you have your license. Until then, buckle up."
Avianna wiped the sweat from her arms and her head. Even the coily strands of her hair felt oily, which was alarming because normally they were dry.
"Fine just don't do anything crazy. I need to make it there and back in time."
At last the pair made it off of the highway. The sun hadn't faltered for the hour they'd been held hostage by numerous vehicles.
"I can finally breathe! Coffee here we come!"
"Well actually," Piper drawled, wincing a bit. "We have to make a quick stop."
"What do you mean a 'quick stop'?" Avianna turned Piper's head to face her, and held it there.
"I'm driving!" Piper pulled away, yelling as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. Luckily there were no oncoming cars at the moment and the road was free of potholes. "And we're almost out of gas."
"Oh, okay. Carry on."
"You are something else." Piper marvelled at Avianna's changing mood. "Now sit back. It'll only take a second."
~~~~~
"I'm bored!"
"Play a board game. My friend Rita left checkers in the trunk, just for this moment. I owe her so much candy now."
"What are you talking about?" Logan asked.
"Well you see, Rita always leaves her things in my car so one day I was fed up. I threw her things out, I guess I forgot about the checkers. She told me that one day, someone is going to appreciate her things and today's that day."
"When I said what are you talking about, I wanted the short version."
"That was the short version. We're still friends though."
"I'm hungry."
"That is one thing I agree with you on," Morgan turned up the radio. "Hold on tight!"
And soon Logan was pressed against the window.
~~~~~
"How long is this going to take?" Avianna leaned against the car. Piper yawned while filling it up.
"If you helped maybe this would go a lot quicker."
A green 2006 Honda accord pulled up and a young woman got out. She had brown wavy hair, a pink, periwinkle and sky blue athletic tank top and black leggings.
"You should dress like her," Avianna whispered.
"That is not nice." Piper giggled and hit her sister's shoulder. "What's wrong with my t-shirt and jeans look? I can't believe you're making fun of my wardrobe!"
"It's hard not to."
"You know what? Just for that you get to watch the car. Stay inside and make sure nothing gets stolen. I cannot afford new highlighter."
"Why would someone steal it?"
"It's a car and it has a full tank of gas. Do the math."
"Grab me a bag of chips!" Avianna closed the door.
"Grab me a boyfriend!"
"At least my request is doable!"
~~~~~
Thirty minutes earlier
"This is the best you could do?" Logan stared at the broken down shack.
The neon sign on the front hung from a fraying electrical wire. Even the old dog on the porch failed to move a muscle. The ground was made up of pebbles, and each step would either end up with pebbles in your shoe or dust into the air.
To make it fitting, the store's name was The Shack.
"We're going to get in and out."
"We're going to rob the place?" Logan asked, flabbergasted.
"No! We're going to pick up some snacks. What's wrong with you?"
"I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm bored. That's what's wrong!"
"Calm down. I'll be back in a jiff. Sit tight."
She passed several pumps and a person smoking a cigarette on her trek to the front door.
Morgan roamed the aisle, carelessly throwing anything chocolate, fried and sugar ridden into the basket.
She then raided the vending machine. By raided, she paid exact cash for each Mountain Dew, Fanta and Water.
The items were rung up at the cash register and she dipped into her pocket. She handed over the money,to which the cashier grunted.
"You're short."
"Excuse me?"
He groaned, slicking back his greasy hair. "The money-- you're a quarter short."
"Let me see if I have some more," she rustled through her purse.
She pulled out receipts, a pack of gum and some breath mints. "I don't have a quarter."
"I do."
Piper stretched her arm forward and handed her the coin.
"Thanks," Morgan mouthed. "You're the best."
"No problem. It's the least I could do. He looked like he was going to blow a blood vessel."
Piper paid for her gas and walked out, Morgan right on her heels.
"You officially saved me from my cousin's groaning. He can be such a pain."
"Tell me about it. My sister is throwing a fit. She nearly ripped my head off for saying we needed to stop for gas."
"I'm Morgan."
"Piper."
"Nice meeting you and thanks again for the quarter. I have to run. Logan, my cousin is sleeping or else he would've said hi."
"That name sounds familiar." Piper mulled it over until she saw Morgan's confused face. "It's probably not the same person."
Recovering, Piper managed a smile.
"Oh. Same here. Avianna, my sister, is probably so bored."
"See you around, Piper," she waved.
"See you around, Morgan."