SWNOVELS Chapter 5 A Ride Home
As I entered my car, the search for a way home began right where I left off, but a little different. Now, I was searching for any signs of the fog showing up, so I could leave this place and forget about this dude named Gary, once and for all. But my search for the fog was quickly becoming a failure because it became clear to me that it was a bright, shiny summer day with no clouds in sight.
So, there was no chance of a fog showing up randomly. You know, I tried everything to get its attention….I really did. Either by looking around every corner of my car to see if there was some secret button or just snapping my fingers, but nothing ever happened.
Then it hit me. If this indeed is a dream, I should try to wake myself up. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought about that sooner. So, I did what any normal person would do in my situation and slammed my head against the steering wheel. I even tried to slap myself just to wake up. But no matter how hard I slapped myself, I didn’t wake up.
So, after letting everything out--like my anger, happiness, and sadness for a short while, I was finally ready to calm down and try to come up with a plan of some sorts to figure out what to do next, like I’m obviously here to do something, but one thing I do know is that wherever I am, Gary’s parents are probably worried sick about him, and I should try and find his or my way back to his house before I get into more serious trouble. I said to myself, “Well, at least this day can’t get much worse for me.”
I turned the car on and immediately backed out of the school parking lot and headed somewhere, anywhere but here, and left the school as fast as possible. But I slowed down in awe once I got to this downtown area. It looked so different but so cool, especially seeing all these little shops that I never heard of like the local general store, butchershop, and most of all, I saw all these men in suits and ties while the ladies wore dresses coming out of tall buildings. I even noticed a couple of ladies who had small children with them going from store to store; these moms didn’t seem to be distracted by their phone and let them roam free or let their kids be entertained on an iPad or phone, unlike a few mothers I know.
Driving through the downtown area was fun. I gotta visit this downtown more in my free time, but I have somewhere to be, so I turned on the radio and listened to some 50s tunes to help me get there, and it was great. Driving around sure is fun and all, but I asked myself what I was going to do next.
Soon as I left the downtown area, I decided to turn into the first secluded neighborhood I saw, where hopefully someone would let me stay for the night. That, or park somewhere so I can think and talk freely to myself about what to do next without being seen as a lunatic. When I got to a neighborhood that I thought was secluded, it actually wasn’t because I could see and hear children playing outside with what looked like toy guns and laughing.
I knew I couldn’t park at some random house with children around to see me talking to myself, so I kept driving until I either reached a dead end or didn’t hear and see anyone. After driving straight for what felt like an hour, I finally saw no one outside. So, I gave myself the “all clear” and talked to myself, which I hadn’t done since I left the school. I turned the car right to the side of someone’s driveway, put it in park,turned the car off, and said, “Phew! I Made it. Now, how am I going to get to Gary’s house without using Google Maps or maybe ask around for directions?”
Then I got an idea and smirkingly thought, Oh, I don’t need a map. I got his driver’s license!
I immediately grabbed my wallet and opened it up to see his driver’s license, but when I looked inside, it said My Name! My….name and address. I was shocked, to say the least, and even wondered how in the world this was possible. How could I see my own wallet when I wasn’t even born in this era?! “Wait, what if….” I then grabbed my wallet and opened it up again, aimed it at the mirror, and it showed a mirrored Gary’s address with his photo.
I said, “Now that’s better, so it looks like I’m supposed to head to Franklin Street, and the house number should be number 508.” I looked to see what street I was on, and I was apparently on Franklin Street and looked to the right to see the house number that I parked, and the house number just happened to be 436. This means if I just keep on going a little further, I should be able to spot his house. I immediately started my car, backed out, and continued driving.
Just when I was about to reach a dead-end, I spotted Gary’s house number. I parked my car on the driveway, grabbed my bag, turned the car off, and slowly started to ring the doorbell to see if anyone was home as I did not want to try my key ring to open the door just in case someone was not home unless I absolutely needed to. As I am waiting for someone to open the door for me to let me in, I notice that this house is not like my house at all, especially when it’s big and has lots of red bricks. All of a sudden, I see the door suddenly swing wide open with this tall older gentleman wearing a blue suit with a matching hat and tie, and the first thing he said to me with an angry look on his face was, “Couch...now!” and pointed inside.
This guy is probably Gary’s dad or my dad now, and he seems to be very mad at Gary, Aka Me! When he spoke, I felt like the entire room shook, especially when I got inside and sat down on this couch where he went full angry parent mode on me and said, “Gary, I’m very disappointed in you because I received a telephone call from your English teacher this morning and he told me how you had a blast this summer about some drag race with your friends and how I kindly “lent” you my ride to do such a thing. So, from now on until I see some responsibility in you, young man, I don’t want you near my dealership again. You hear me?!”
I don’t know why, but I said, “Yes, dad. I hear you loud and clear.”
“Good. Now, how many times did you take my car out for a little joy ride of yours? How many times?” He demanded.
I immediately burst out, saying, “It was only 2 or 3 times, I swear.”
“Hmph...but next time, if you ever get the chance to drag race with your buddies again, ask because I do not want you racing my rides all willy nilly, especially when these rides are meant to be sold to the hardworking American class. Hand over your keys.”
“W-w-what...why?” I asked.
Gary’s father simply said, “Don’t make me say it again.” With that, I was kinda forced to give him my keys, but I really didn’t want to because it wasn’t even my fault, to begin with.
When I handed him my car keys, I felt so defeated, but Gary’s dad wasn’t done lecturing me just yet and continued to ramble on, saying, “Thank you. Now, I don’t want to hear any more complaints from any teacher about this. Got it? And don’t you even think about drag racing my or your ride again because you are not going anywhere for the time being until I see some maturity from this childish antic of yours. So, for now, you will have to walk to school like how I did. Go to your room, Gary Benjamin Walter now!!!”
I said, “But it--”
Gary’s dad interrupted me and replied, “Now!” and he really meant it.