Chapter 3
Tuesday September 21st, 2010. Mid-Late Evening:
Ride to Gas Station
Randy couldn't help but feel so at home outside. He let the cool fall breeze blow through his hair. The sweet smell of flowers wafting from his mother's front yard garden, made his mind feel at ease. They happened to own a house on top of a hill, which was nearby a bunch of other rich houses. The Rodriguez family owned over three acres of land, which was a lot for a house in a big city. The house itself was over 2,000 cubic feet. There was a small driveway to the right where his truck sat.
He loved this truck, despite the fact that it was over thirty years old. He finally was able to buy a vehicle of his own. That was the Ford F-150, year 1975. The color was dark blue with neon green stripes that he painted and polished himself. Across from their house sat another immaculate building, which coincidentally held a girl that Randy had a crush on for years. Ever since she moved to California and attended Borrego Springs High School, he was hooked. Her long, golden blond hair, perfect teeth, bright blue eyes and smooth tan skin was enough to hook any guy. But he was always too shy to go up and tell her how he really felt about her, since he was a bit insecure.
Her house was painted light blue on the outside, with five windows, three on top and two on bottom, on either side of the front door. An overhang protected all who entered and exited the house. Kolleen's room was the one on the top right floor, with the green curtains. Randy never peeked at her inappropriately nor treated her badly. It wasn't until he began working at a local gas station that he really started conversing with her. She just so happened to be working at the same place, except she was funding a different dream. Randy got in his truck and backed it up into the Sparks' driveway. He felt the need to announce himself every time to help Kolleen to the vehicle.
So he got out, and combed his hair roughly before he got to the front door. Once he was there, his heart started to beat faster as his shaky hand reached for the doorbell. He clenched his fingers and then took a breath before pushing the button. Waiting outside the door, he started yanking at his collar to try and rid his nerves. The time it was taking for Kolleen to answer was beginning to unnerve him a bit. He figured maybe she wasn't coming to work that night so he went and turned around. Just as his feet met the walkway a familiar, angelic voice called to him.
"Randy?" she asked. He turned and almost got blown away by how amazingly gorgeous she was. She had a tight, white shirt on, blue jean shorts that ended three inches above the knee and a pair of jogging shoes. Randy just had a blue t-shirt on with black jeans and work boots. She on the other hand could wear anything and would knock him off his feet. "Shall we go to work then?" she asked. She was already exiting the doorway, and had a hair band in her mouth as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Randy waited for her to wrap the band around and then opened her door, closing it behind her. When he walked around to his side, she had already opened his door.
He looked in at her, which she returned with that smile that he always liked. Their eyes locked and for a split second, he couldn't move. It was like time stood still and Randy just couldn't place his finger on it. When he got in, he sighed and started the ignition. "So, tell me… What is it you're doing with this job? What are your goals?" Kolleen asked him. She stared over at him, who couldn't bring himself to look back. He coughed, and cleared his throat then took off out of the driveway into the side street. This road was surrounded mostly by houses and trees, leading to the main highway. They stopped just at the edge of the side road at the stop sign before pulling to the left.
"Aren't you going to answer me?" She asked. Randy used his driving as an excuse to not answer for now. He was moving along, passing a huge amount of skyscrapers and office buildings. That's what his city mostly consisted of, and he liked it that way. Most people stayed busy rather than being so close like the usual small town. They stopped again, at a three way intersection. To the very left was a gas station, which was the Hess building. Randy and Kolleen worked for Sunoco. Beside the gas station, there were a few bars set up, most of them closed early since it was a Tuesday.
Directly ahead were two separate entrances to different expressways. The left one lead to the very heart of San Diego and the right went off towards the more suburban area. To the right sat apartment buildings, one crappy motel and at the very far end was a two way road split. Randy signaled the truck and took a right turn. In his rearview, he saw the Hess station beginning to close down. "That's why Hess is going out of business down here Kol. Do you know why?" He asked. "Yes, but I'll humor you and say that I do not." She replied, giggling. Randy gulped loudly, pulling a bit on his collar again.
She saw the sweat pouring down his face, and pulled a small wad of paper towel from her lunch bag. She handed it to him which Randy accepted and mopped up his face. It was her laughter that really got him going. He couldn't get over how adorable her smile and giggle was. They passed the crummy motel which had scattered bullet holes near the right side windows. "Jesus, this place is going to Hell fast." Randy said. "You still didn't answer me." He stopped at the end of the street, looking both left and right. The left led to a back street which held a bunch more apartment buildings. The right road was a shortcut to their work place.
"The Hess station closes way to early Kol. I mean look at the time, it's only 7:30 and it's closing already. At least Sunoco stays open all night long. This is why we, the poor saps, get stuck pulling the graveyard shift." Kolleen nodded, staring out her window. "Is something on your mind Kol?" She shook her head this time, shrugging her shoulders. The truck passed by a burning barrel with a few people standing around it. One had a bottle of whiskey in his hand, sipping it and sharing it with his friends. Kolleen held a hand to her shirt, tightening her grasp. "Are you okay?" he asked, sneaking a quick glance over at her.
She swallowed hard this time, then breathed in as big as she could, exhaling slowly. Randy watched as her chest heaved out and in with such a rhythm that he forgot he was near a stop sign. Slamming hard on the breaks, he just barely stopped the truck behind it. Shortly thereafter a couple of cop cars passed by them, luckily they were unable to catch him in his ignorance. "It's just, I started to think about all those times I saw you in high school and how you never went up and talked to me. Why now all of a sudden do you want to get so close to me?" She was looking at him now. Her saddened and pained eyes were too much for his heart to handle at the moment.
He looked away quickly, rubbing his eyes as hard as he could. "I'll tell you more when we get to work. We still need to change into our uniforms and clock in. According to the time, we have about ten minutes to get changed. Can't believe you talked me into taking the 12 hour shifts. I still have to get back to my wrestling show tomorrow." The look he got from her concerned him. As they pulled out of the side road and back onto a main highway, Randy continued.
"Look, I promise I will talk to you more during work okay? Is that fine with you?" he asked, sneaking another quick glance at her. They pulled left, towards a bunch of small stores, consisting of a bakery, deli, the gas station and a few liquor stores. These all resided in the same general area, all of which were in walking distance. "Alright Randy, if you say so." "I promise, I will." he said, pulling the truck into the parking lot. When he stopped, and shut the truck off, he prepared for the long twelve hour shift ahead of him. At least he had a beautiful girl to talk to, whether or not she liked him. It was completely fine that he could at least be with her for the twelve hours, and his heart was beating fast to this thought.