Thirteen

"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?"

- Joe Namath

Flutes. I had one. Once. I would play it in my room. Not at school, not in the house, only in my room. I never wanted anyone to hear me. Too embarrassing. Even if I'm really good, if I did mess up, either everyone would feel bad for me, or they would all laugh at me. Either way, I was the center of attention. Also not my thing. But tonight, just about five hours after passing through that small town, right now, I'm hearing not just any flute, but a pan flute. So eerie and dangerous. I look back at Tessa who is fast asleep. Then I look at Cameron, also asleep.

I finally find the pan flute player. She is a beautiful young woman with a shawl over her shoulders. She has wispy brown hair and no shoes. We make eye contact, and she stops playing. She has a sort of disappointed look on her face. It's probably because I'm a teenager who's driving way after curfew, but I'm not sure. Then she holds out her hand in my direction. I suppose she wants me to stop. So I do. I pull over on the road next to her house. She walks up to the side of the truck. I roll down my window.

"Can I help you, miss?" I ask politely.

"What are you doing so late at night, girl?" she asks.

Crap. I need to think of something, and I need to think fast.

"My friends and I are going on a trip. We're meeting our families at our hotel."

The woman looks unconvinced. But after a moment I hear Cameron stir next to me. No I think. The woman then nods. "Well then," she says. "Carry on. Don't let me slow you down." She scans my friends, and I don't like it. I move the truck forward a little, and she turns and plays her pan flute as she walks to her door. I drive away as quickly as possible without going over the speed limit.

A few seconds after I leave, Tessa wakes up. She looks behind us. "Uh, Eleanor?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"There's a lady staring at us through her window."

I shake my head. "I know, just some creepy woman. She asked me to stop a couple minutes ago."

"Did you stop?" Tessa is wringing her hands.

"Yes, I did."

"What did she want?"

"She wondered why I was out so late."

"What did you say?"

"I told her that we were meeting our families at a hotel."

"Oh, good idea. That should be our back-up plan."

"Yeah, except I should say you guys are family. Before, I said we were friends. We could be… Triplets."

"Yeah, that's good."

I tell Tessa to go back to sleep, but she refuses. She wants to drive. We're too close to the lady's house, though I think. "Tess, I'll let you drive once we get far enough from her."

Tessa nods and reaches for the radio. I smack her hand and turn it on. I play some quiet music and wait for Tessa to fall asleep, hoping she would so I don't have to stop. I have a terrible feeling that the woman is following us.

But she won't. Tessa won't fall asleep. And it's killing me. After about an hour, she finally starts bugging me.

"Eleanor, it's been an hour."

"Eleanor, it's my turn to drive."

"Eleanor, she's gone."

"Eleanor, she's miles away."

"Eleanor--"

"Okay!"

Cameron jumps, but he doesn't wake up. We're almost off the freeway when I pull over and jump out. I slam the door, and that wakes him up. Tessa almost doesn't move up, but I glare at her, and she leaves. I slam the door again and mope in the backseat. Tessa starts driving and nervously looks back at me. I dart my head away from her eyes in the rearview mirror.

After about seven hours, it's five o'clock. The sun is slowly rising, and the golden fields glow in the light.

I look at Tessa. Her eyes are red, and I can tell she's been crying. I guess I didn't notice. "Tess?" I say after a moment. She just shakes her head. "No," she says. "It's fine. I forgive you. I always do." She smiles so solemnly that my stomach ties up in a knot. I feel the tears coming. I try to stop them, but it's no use. They start rolling down my cheeks and into my lap. Tess looks at me and then looks back at the road. She knows that I'll recover. I always do.

***

When I wake up, we're at a gas station. We're still in the truck, but Cameron is in the driver's seat. I sit up and stretch a little. "Where are we?" I say with a yawn. "We're almost to ," Cam responds. He puts down his phone after showing me the map. I nod and close my eyes. Then I shoot them open again. It's Ernie. Ernie is at the gas station.

"Where's Tess?" I demand.

"Inside. Why?" Cameron responds.

"It's--"

But when I look back at Ernie, it turns out is isn't Ernie. It's just a man with a baggy beige jacket and a stubble beard. "What is it?" I hear Cameron ask, looking at me. I stutter, but then I reply, "Nothing."

Tess gets back in the truck a few minutes later, but as we pull out of the parking lot, I can't help staring at the man with the baggy jacket. I know he can't see me through the tinted windows, but I get a chill because it looks like he can. I don't stare anymore.

We get back on the freeway and continue driving. I ask if I should drive, but Cameron says it's fine. I stare at the window with my elbow on my lap and my hand on my chin. I stare out into all the fields and hills.

Then after a while, I ask, "So are we in Kansas?"

"Yeah, I think so," replies Tess. "But I've never been good in geography."

"We are," Cameron approves.

"So are we planning to stay in Utah?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. But that's where we're headed. Maybe we can find somewhere real cheap to stay, maybe get some food, water, all that kind of stuff."

I nod and look out the window again. At one point, I fall asleep. Then when I wake up, I'm in the front seat. I look in the back, and Tessa's cuddled up back there. "When did you move me?" I ask Cam.

"About two hours ago."

"Where are we now?"

��Somewhere in Colorado."

"Nice."

We keep driving for a while and then we stop at some old fast-food restaurant called "Amigos." We all order the same thing: Burritos.

We eat our food and pile into the car again. It's my turn to drive. I start the truck and drive towards Denver. We'd been on the road for about fifteen hours in total. I continue driving and I don't feel sleepy for a second. All of a sudden, it's morning. When we get to Montrose, Colorado, I pull over for dinner. "Come on, my peeps." I nudge Tess awake next to me and then Cameron in the back. We eat at some place with pancakes and burgers. We all order pancakes and bacon, eggs, your ordinary breakfast. I think this is the first time we've actually had breakfast since we ran away. We discuss what our plan is while we eat. "Okay, I think we're set on a location," Cameron says, taking a bite of his bacon.

"Utah?" Tess asks with a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Where?"

"Probably Salt Lake or Provo."

"Both sound nice."

"Alright, how much longer do we have to get there?" Of course Tessa asks that question.

"About five hours for Provo, and a little more for Salt Lake."

"I say let's just go to Provo," I suggest. "It's closer and smaller than Salt Lake."

"Okay."

We eat our food and exit the restaurant. We get gas and then continue the drive. Tess drives this time. I sit in the passenger seat, and Cameron's in the back.

I turn on the radio again. Static. I switch it off. Cameron gets a plug from the divider separating Tess and my seats. Then he gets his phone and puts the plug there. I watch him scroll through and tap on a song. We listen to pop for a while, then when that playlist ends, we listen to indie, then rock, classical, etc.

I don't fall asleep until it's 12:34, three hours after breakfast around nine. When I wake up, I look at the G.P.S that Cameron has on his phone. "We're in Spanish fork! That's only ten minutes from Provo!" We're all cheering, and then I realize something.

"You guys," I say. "We're all seventeen years old, and we traveled--" I get my laptop out and type some words in the search bar. "So far! Like, halfway across the country. We crossed--" I count the states. "Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah! That's five states!" Cameron smiles so big. Bigger than I've ever seen. I get this weird feeling when I see it. Not weird like bad, but good.

After we get to Provo ten minutes later, we drive around for a while. BYU, a huge library, inns, and just awesomeness. We drive around and look for somewhere to stay. We finally stop at a hotel. We get out of the car and walk inside. When we get to the counter, we ask for a room. The man scans us, and throws us out. "Why do you think he threw us out?" Tessa asks, obviously bubbling with rage. "I don't know," I reply, shaking my head and slamming the front seat door.

"Whatever," Cameron says, running his fingers through his hair. "We can find somewhere else."

But we don't find somewhere else. Everytime we stop somewhere, they throw us out. After about five tries, Tessa's had it. She runs to the front seat and starts the truck before I even shut the backseat door. Cameron and I aren't even buckled after she drives down several streets in seconds. I finally get myself buckled and grab Tess's shoulder. "Tessa! You're going to get us--" Then I look in the rearview mirror. Too late. The cops are already calling to us to pull over. Tess objects, but after coming to her senses, she nervously pulls over.

A man walks up to her and waits for the window to roll down. He has a bushy mustache and a nice pair of sunglasses. He has a toothpick in his mouth.

Tess rolls down the window. All I can hope is that she doesn't cry.

"Ma'am, were you aware of how fast you were driving?" he asks after taking his toothpick out of his mouth.

Tessa hesitates, but then says "Yes, yes, I was."

��And why were you driving at forty-five miles per hour when the limit is thirty?"

"Sorry sir, I panicked."

"Alright."

There is a long pause. Finally, he continues.

"I'm letting you off with a warning." He puts the toothpick back in his mouth and trots back to his car. We hear it start, and assume it's safe to go. As we start driving, Cameron starts scolding.

"Tess, that was way too close."

"Sorry, I was just mad."

"Mad about what?"

"What do you think? No one is letting us in their hotel!"

"Maybe it's 'cause we're a few teenagers trying to get a room?" I suggest.

"Maybe."

"Maybe there's a family who's basement we could rent or something," Cameron says.

"Yeah, okay, let's try it."

We drive up a street full of houses packed with children. Children in the yards, children in the dirt, living room, bedroom, peeking out windows, kitchens, everywhere. I smile as we drive.

We park outside a small neighborhood with a sign that has scribbled on it ���FOR RENT →" We walk around the neighborhood for a while until we find the house. It's a nice home with a couple of children playing in the front yard. I see the parents through the front window, sitting at the kitchen table with mugs in their hands. I guess it's coffee or hot chocolate, but I can never be sure.

We walk to the two children who suddenly stop playing. One --the girl-- hides behind the other --the boy-- and shakes. The boy takes his sister's hands and looks at us nervously.

I look at the front door and see the parents come out, having a broad smile on their faces. "Hello!" the mother says cheerfully. "How can we help you?"

Cameron talks. He's always the best at it. "Hi, I'm Cameron Jones, and these are my siblings, Tessa--" He points to Tess. She waves. "--And Eleanor." I wave too. And I know why he's calling us siblings. This is our cover-story. We are the Jones' and we are siblings. "We're hoping we can rent your basement," Cam finishes.

The father has a look of bewilderment and delight on his face. "Uh, sure! I'm John Lacey, and this is my wife, Jill. Our children are Oakley" he motions to the girl who smiles slightly. "--And Drew." The boy waves shyly.

"Come in!" Jill says excitedly. The children sprint into the house, probably ready to show us their toys.

They give us a tour of the upstairs (which includes a very nice kitchen, a living room, dining room, parent's bedroom, two bathrooms, not including the bathroom in the master, and Oakley and Drew's bedroom). Then they guide us down the stairs to where we are supposedly staying. Down here there are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small living room, a small kitchen/dining room, and an empty room.

The children follow us everywhere, each location including something that was theirs, that obviously didn't belong there.

After our tour, we sit in one of the bedrooms. There's a television screen, a bed, two nightstands on each side of the bed, and in the corner, a desk, in the other corner, an armchair. We each sit on the bed and discuss whether or not to rent the basement.

"I mean, it's only $100 now, and then it's only $75 per month after that," Cameron reasons.

"Yeah," I say. "But where are we gonna get all that money every month? We're gonna run out sometime!"

"What about jobs?" Tess suggests.

"Okay, let's go," I say, getting up. "We'll tell the Lacey's that we'll be back."

We all walk upstairs and open the door at the top of the stairs. We walk into the kitchen where the family is eating an early dinner. Jill gets up and walks towards us, folding her hands on her chest. "Made a decision?" she asks.

"Almost," Cam replies. "We've decided to look around for a job so we can pay you each month.

"Perfect!" she says. "Come back when you're ready."

We thank her and walk out. We walk down the street back to the car and hop in.

We drive around and look for a fast food restaurant. "Ooh! There's one!" Tessa points at a small restaurant called "Slick." "Looks promising," I say.

Cameron nods and pulls in the parking lot. We get out of the car and walk inside. We go up to the counter and wait for the cashier to come over.

"Welcome to slick, how can I help you this evening?" she says, readying the cash machine.

"Are you hiring?" Cameron asks.

The girl looks taken aback. Then she answers the question. "Um, I am not sure, let me ask the manager."

She walks into the back where I assume the manager's office is. After a few minutes, she doesn't come back. People are starting to pile in, so we move out of the way for them. After about ten minutes, she returns with the manager. Not what I was expecting.

The manager is a tall man with no facial hair. He has a fine layer on his head, and a long neck. He wears a suit and tie and shiny black shoes.

"From what I understand," he says casually. "You three are looking for a job."