by Zoë Marshall
Sutton sat in the car without moving for a couple of minutes before starting the engine. She turned up her music as high as possible, bass thumping so loudly that her parents could probably hear it from the third floor. Then she backed out of the driveway and began the drive to the freeway.
Sutton was feeling a mixture of emotions. She felt relief, fear, excitement, sadness … though she wasn’t sure what she was sad about. High school had been okay and all, but she didn’t exactly miss it. She couldn’t feel sad about leaving her parents. She probably would later, but right now she was too angry with them. So, what was she sad about?
Knowing she was going to be apart from Cole for the next four years was a weird thought. He was only going to be a few hours away, but that seemed like worlds away to Sutton, seeing as they’d only lived about ten minutes away from each other throughout high school. It was going to be strange, but she knew they would talk constantly, and that was comforting.
Sutton picked up speed as she entered the freeway. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing….
COLE WAS PACKING light. The way he figured it, he’d have very little room in the dorms and it wasn’t like he had a lot of clothes. This was his fresh start. The less he lugged around, the better. He was sitting on his bed eating a bowl of Cheerios when he heard a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Cole called out between bites.
Ralph opened the door slowly and looked around Cole’s small room, seemingly much emptier than before, even though Cole hadn’t packed much of his stuff up. “How’s it going, son? Are you about ready?”
Cole swallowed a huge bite and looked at the small pile of boxes at the foot of his bed. He nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Packing light, I see.”
“Yeah. I’m not really one for carrying around a bunch of stuff.”
“That’s always been my philosophy. Like father, like son.”
“I learned from the best.”
“Can I sit?” Ralph asked.
“Go for it.” Cole scooted over a bit.
Ralph sat down next to Cole and sighed. “It’s going to be lonely without you here.”
Cole felt awful about leaving his dad. He knew Ralph wouldn’t have anyone around and Cole didn’t want him to sit around alone all the time, eating Hungry Man frozen dinners by himself. Cole had contemplated going to the local community college, but Ralph had thrown a fit.
Cole’s dad wanted nothing but the best for him. He didn’t want him to make the same mistakes he had. Once upon a time, Ralph had had a dream of becoming a firefighter, but he never did anything about it. Instead, he’d followed in his father’s footsteps and gone into the family business. He’d worked in his father’s mechanic shop for the majority of his high school years. Ralph had barely even graduated high school, but it wasn’t because of a lack of smarts. He just hadn’t really tried, for a variety of reasons.
Bottom line, he didn’t want the same life for Cole. Cole had goals; Cole had drive. Ralph was going to do everything in his power to make sure Cole got everything he wanted, including the second job he had taken as a janitor at a nearby hotel. He hadn’t told Cole about it, because he knew Cole would feel guilty. But he was going to make sure his son would be successful, no matter what it took.
Cole hugged his father and felt tears forming in his eyes. He didn’t want to leave him. He wished more than anything that Ralph had someone else in his life. “Dad?”
“Yes, son?”
“I want you to promise me something.”
“Hit me,” Ralph replied.
“Promise me you’ll try to get back out there.”
“Back out where?”
“You know, the whole dating world. I want you to try. Can you do that for me?” Cole pleaded.
Ralph had a contemplative look on his face. “Yeah, I suppose I can try.”
“That’s all I ask.” Cole hugged his dad one more time.
Ralph pulled away from the embrace and put his hands on Cole’s shoulders. “And I want you to promise me something too.”
“Anything.” And it was true—Cole would do anything for his father.
“Promise me you’ll give this whole thing a chance. I don’t want Sutton to be a crutch. I know you guys have been incredibly close over the last four years, but you need to build your own identity, without her.”
Cole paused for a moment. “Don’t worry, dad. Sutton and I have talked about it a lot. We’ll probably visit each other every couple of months, but we’ll do our own thing. Holding on so desperately to each other will only keep us from becoming whatever it is that we’re supposed to become.”
“I’m proud of you, son. And I’m sure as hell gonna miss you.”
“You too, dad.”
“Now, you should get going. You have a long drive ahead of you.” Ralph took the now-empty bowl of cereal from Cole and stood up.
Cole stood up as well. He took another look around his room. It was going to be strange living somewhere else, in a strange state, surrounded by a whole new group of people, surrounded by a world without his best friend. He thought about the moment he first saw Sutton on that football field….
Cole walked over to the sidelines to grab a drink. Suddenly he saw a stunning girl standing next to him. She flashed him a perfect smile. Sutton Meyers was the kind of beautiful that made her virtually impossible to be around, almost like staring at the sun. Her straight, bleached blonde hair fell all the way down to her hips. She had a perfectly symmetrical, heart-shaped face to match the heart-shaped birthmark near her right ear, slightly tanned skin and big, round eyes, which where a sparkly shade of grey, placed above small clusters of freckles on both cheeks. Her teeth were the whitest shade of white and perfectly straight, with soft lips in a natural peach tone. Her slender figure was draped in a white blouse and fitted beige cargo pants.
As they made their introductions, Cole felt an instant connection. And he knew he was going to try to spend as much time with her as he could.
Cole smiled at the memory and threw a duffle bag over his shoulder. Here goes nothing, he thought, as he walked toward his car to begin loading it. It was time—time to chase the unknown.
COLE PARKED IN front of the hotel, then walked into the old and decaying lobby. He shuddered as the stench of stale cigarette smoke and chicken that had been sitting out for a few days filled his nostrils. He walked up to the desk and was greeted by an old man wearing a monocle. Cole stifled a laugh.
“Hello, young man. How can I help you?” the old man asked, followed by a painful sounding cough.
“I was looking for a room for tonight. Preferably with two beds.”
“Let me see what we have available.” The old man searched through his ancient, dust-covered computer and nodded his head. “Yes, we have the perfect one for you. How many will be staying?”
“Just me and one other person,” Cole replied.
Sutton had texted to let Cole know she’d be arriving in twenty minutes, but he was glad he’d have time to get settled in before she got there.
“Okay, let me get you the key. And I’ll need to see your identification as well.”
The man disappeared into the office for a couple of minutes while Cole pulled the ID out of his wallet. The man returned with a rusty old-fashioned bronze skeleton key and handed it to Cole, then took Cole’s ID and input the information into the computer.
“That will be twenty-five dollars.”
Twenty-five dollars? Cole wondered if he’d entered a wormhole and woken up in the seventies. He took his card out and the man informed him they only took cash. Cole checked his pockets and pulled out two crumpled twenty-dollar bills.
The man gave Cole his change and he headed up to the second floor, then gasped as he entered the room. Beneath the layers of filth, the shaggy carpet was orange. The tattered curtains were yellow and green plaid, and were covered with cigarette burns. The heavily frayed blankets on the bed were gold with purple speckles. Cole laughed to himself a
s he thought about how clean-freak Sutton was going to react.
Cole sat down on the bed and noticed the lack of TV—not that it really mattered. It was late, and they probably needed to just go to sleep anyway. It was their last night before going their separate ways. Cole wondered what it was going to be like. Of course they would talk on the phone, but it wasn’t going to be the same. He had mixed emotions, because he was also really excited for the journey he was about to embark upon. All throughout high school, he had dreamed about college; what it would be like, who he would meet….
Cole heard a knock on the door and opened it to see an exhausted looking Sutton. She threw her bag down and gave Cole a hug. “That was the longest drive ever.”
“Seriously.”
Sutton looked around and cringed. “This is awful.”
“I thought you’d like it,” Cole said, snickering.
“Oh yeah, totally my style,” Sutton replied sarcastically.
“There’s no TV.”
“I’m not worried about it. I’m so tired.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“I’m going to get ready for bed.”
“Sounds good.”
Cole watched Sutton walk to the bathroom, and sighed. He changed as she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. When she came back in a few minutes later, she had a horrified look on her face. “I thought the room was bad, but that bathroom is simply atrocious.”
Cole got up and entered the bathroom once she was done, then immediately peeked his head back out. “Wow, you weren’t joking.”
“I never joke,” she replied, with a smirk.
The tarnished mirror had a huge crack down the middle of it and the sink was virtually rotting. It smelled far worse than stale cigarettes. It was like sour milk, but the air was thick. He held his breath as he brushed his teeth as quickly as possible.
Cole returned to find Sutton lying on one of the beds. He lay down on the other bed.
“Hey C—I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, bud.”
“Remember the day we walked around Berkeley and you got a jay-walking ticket?”
Cole laughed at the memory. “Of course. Most ridiculous ticket ever. That sucker cost me three-hundred dollars.”
“Oh, you mean the three-hundred dollars I lent you that you never paid back?”
“Yes, that three-hundred dollars.”
“I’m going to collect someday.”
“Well, I’m going to be super rich when I get drafted to the 49ers. I’ll pay you back with interest. Promise,” Cole said.
“Don’t worry about it. It was worth it for the sheer entertainment of you arguing with the police officer. You kept repeating, ‘This is Berkeley. Don’t you have anything better to do?’”
“Yeah, way to stand up for me by the way. You just stood there laughing.”
“Come on, you would’ve done the same,” Sutton replied.
“When has arguing with cops and telling them how to do their job ever gotten someone out of a ticket?”
“Good point. But hey, I was sixteen. Sixteen-year-old boys aren’t exactly known for their infinite wisdom.”
“Oh, now that you’re eighteen, you’re the wisest old man around, huh?”
“Maybe the second-wisest, because that decrepit old man at the desk seemed incredibly wise,” Cole said, staring at the small opening in the curtains and outside to the dark night sky.
“Well, he’s easily two hundred years old, so he should certainly be wise by now.”
“Certainly. Hey, did you ever end up calling that homeless Jamba Juice guy?” Cole asked, cracking up.
“Oh. My. God. I totally forgot about that!” Sutton exclaimed.
“I gave that guy my free smoothie every single day I worked there.”
“And then you saw him driving by in an Escalade. You were so upset,” Sutton added, seemingly very entertained by the memory.
“Well, yeah. I mean, I only got one free smoothie a shift. And he obviously had no need for it. Then you stopped by to meet up with me there one day and he hit on you and gave you his number. So funny.”
“Funny is one word for it. And no, to answer your question, I never called.”
“That’s a shame. You two could probably be really happy by now. Panhandling by day and cuddling up in your mansion by night. And going on endless joy rides in his Escalade.”
Sutton threw a pillow at Cole. “Gross.”
“Aw, I think you guys would be adorable. And I probably would’ve gotten past my anger at some point. But he would need to buy me tons and tons of smoothies to make up for the deceit.”
“Well, duh.”
The two continued reminiscing for hours, until they finally both passed out mid-conversation. When Cole awoke, Sutton was dressed and packing up her toiletries. “Hey sleepy-head. We should get going. We still both have long drives ahead.”
“Want to find a coffee shop somewhere first?” Cole asked, groggily.
“Absolutely.”
“Are you ready for this?”
“What? Coffee?” Sutton asked, sounding confused.
“No, silly.”
“Then for what?”
“You know, life,” Cole replied.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
SUTTON STARTED THE car and selected the Road Trip #1 playlist on her stereo. She watched Cole drive away and her eyes began to fill with tears. She was feeling mixed emotions once again. Fear, sadness, excitement and happiness, all wrapped into one. Finally, she wiped her face with her sweatshirt sleeve and began to back out of the parking spot.
As Sutton merged onto the freeway, she began to think about her parents. She was still angry but, more, she was hurt. Anger didn’t really sit well with Sutton, plus a part of her would always feel like that little girl who only wanted her parents to love and accept her for who she was. She wanted the kind of relationship that Cole and his father had. She often wondered if her parents even loved her at all. Maybe someday they would come around, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath. She would have given up all the riches in the world and lived in a trailer if it meant her parents would love her. She remembered the exact moment she realized her parents thought she was destined to become a failure, just like it was yesterday….
It was eighth grade graduation day and Sutton was sitting on her bed writing a short story on her laptop. She was spinning a tale about a little girl who grew up in a beautiful forest, surrounded by magical beings. She was granted three wishes by a fairy and they were as follows:
1.I want my family to be safe from all that lurks in the shadows. I want to keep them protected.
2.I want the world to see me as I am, as one who walks forth without fear.
3.And a pony. Because what little girl doesn’t want a magical pony?
Just as Sutton was writing a fight scene between the Beast of Argathia and the main character, Xenia Gainsborough, there was a knock at her door. “Come in.” She closed her laptop as Justine entered the room.
“Are you almost ready?” Justine asked impatiently.
“Yeah, I was just finishing up this story.”
“You’re graduating today. What homework could you possibly have?”
“It’s not homework. It’s just something I’m writing for fun.”
“Fun,” Justine replied, flatly. Sutton wasn’t sure if it was a question or merely a scoff. It was most likely the latter.
“Yes, fun, mother. Have you ever heard of it?”
Justine ignored the question, which was meant to be rhetorical anyway. “We’ll be downstairs. You have one minute, or we’re leaving without you.”
“To my graduation without me? What’s the point?”
“We’ve donated a lot of money to that school. It would be incredibly impolite not to attend.”
Sutton rolled her eyes. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
Justine left the room and Sutton placed her laptop on her bedside table. She stood up and
walked to the full-length mirror on her bathroom door, then looked herself up and down for a moment. The teal ballgown-type creation could not be less Sutton, but Justine had paid a fortune for it and surprised her with it one day, so Sutton felt obligated to wear it.
Sutton took one last look at the stranger in the mirror, then grabbed her stuff and walked downstairs to meet her impatient-looking parents.
“It’s about time,” Scott said, tapping his grotesquely expensive Cartier watch.
“Did you finish your speech?” Justine asked. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t let us proof it first.”
“I’m entirely capable of proofreading my own speech. Plus, it’s supposed to be a surprise,” Sutton replied, heading out of the house and up to her mother’s Lexus SUV. She took a seat in the back and looked outside of the window as Justine began the drive to Sutton’s school.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into an extremely packed parking lot. Sutton made sure her speech was in her purse (which she realized she probably should have done before she left the house), and luckily it was there. Public speaking never really bothered Sutton, but she was mildly nervous that day, mostly since she really wanted to make her parents proud. When she told them she had been chosen for valedictorian, they’d seemed fairly underwhelmed, as if it wasn’t a big accomplishment at all.
The three of them followed the hordes of people walking toward the soccer field, which was covered with maroon and grey balloons and streamers. Classical music floated around the field as they made the way to their assigned seats. Sutton only had a few minutes before she was to line up for her graduation walk.
“I’m going to go get my cap and gown,” Sutton announced. She looked around for a moment, then saw a check-in table surrounded by excited eighth graders. She walked over to the table and saw her friend Sarah.
“Sutton! Hey!” Sarah threw her arms around Sutton. “This is so exciting, isn’t it?”
