Heading East
by Hugo Labrande (as Alex Davies) (2015)
Genres: Slice of life


action: %
response: Hey. U asleep?

Nah. What's up?

dad's car? I need
to go for a drive

Oh ya? Ok. He's
not snoring yet
tho.

Sounds good :3

Where to?

I dunno... past
Coquitlam? I know
a place

^_^



Half an hour later, the old man goes to bed; you wait a few more minutes, until he starts snoring. When he's snoring, the way is clear; grab the keys from the table, and let's go pick Jane up.

The room is dark and warm, it's a hot June night. There's barely a glimmer of light from the street, but you know where everything is: the TV and the couch on the east wall, the door to your room behind you, and the one for your Dad's on the opposite side, the dinner table kind of in the way, and the front door. The keys must be on the entry table, near the door; at least that's where they always are.
action: You touch the entry table
response: You touch the top of the entry table, expecting to find the keys... But you can't find them. Crap! You hope he put them somewhere else, because if they're still in his pants pockets, you're just gonna have to go back to bed.
action: You touch the dining table
response: Maybe the keys were left on that table... You carefully run your fingers on the surface of the table, but they're not here.
action: You touch the couch
response: You get closer to the front of the couch and run your hands on it, just in case... ah! The car keys got stuck in the back of the couch. They must have fell from your dad's pocket. You grab them quietly, trying to not make them jingle too much.
action: Go outside
response: You slowly, carefully put your shoes on, then unlock the door and leave quietly. Locking the door behind you without making any noise is always a bit scary, but you've mastered the trick; once it's locked, you wait a few minutes, just in case, but the light in your Dad's room remains off. You walk to the car, unlock it manually, and start it as smoothly as you can.

You slow down when you reach Jane's block; but she's been posted behind that big oak since you texted her, and she climbs quickly in your car.
"Hey" you nod.
"Hey. Thanks for picking me up" she says as she put the guitar in the back of the car.
"Yeah sure. I was worried you'd forget the guitar, forgot to remind you"
"Well, we're going camping, of course I'm bringing it! ;)"
"Haha yeah. Sounds great. You ok though? :/"
"It's..." She sighs, exasperated. "My stupid sister and her stupid boyfriend"
She doesn't say more. But there's no need. "Ok. Going east, then?" "Yeah. I'll tell you"

"..."

"Hey, wanna get pot?" she says out of the blue.
"Haha. Sure, might as well, we're going to be up there a few hours eh? :)"
"I know a guy. Go towards SFU, I'll tell you"
"Ok. And we'll just stop at 7/11 for munchies?"
"I brought chips"
"Duuude, you rock :D"
"I know duuude :D" You bump fists jokingly.

"Is that the place?"
"Yeah, that house there. Shit do you have money?"
"How much do we need?"
"20 bucks for an eighth :/"
You count your change. "$8.75, you?"
"Damn it, $6.75. We're short, like, 5 bucks :("
You pause for a second. "Well... My dad usually has change lying around everywhere..."
"Yeah but..." She stops, uneasy.
"He won't mind... I mean if he asks I'll say it was for fast food or something ^^'"
"Ok. You sure?"
"Yeah. Besides, I haven't smoked in ages"
"Hehe, k"

The car is a Chevrolet... something. Like, it's not a truck, just a regular, dark red, automatic car. It's fine. Your dad always keeps change around, sometimes in the most random places, for like Tim Hortons, or groceries, or like to give to bums. He probably won't notice if you grab some, and he won't mind anyway.

Jane is here, looking around her. "I dunno, where does he keep change?"
action: You look under the seat
response: You reach under the seat and pull it back a little, then look down. "There's nothing. How about you?"
"Nah. Maybe if we..." she reaches under her seat awkwardly, and pats around on the floormat. "Mmmh... Pfff no there's nothing"
"Let me see if I can..." You stick your arm under the seat, and fish around... Ah! That was definitely something cold, like metal. "I'll just... reach... and... Pff! Hey, a loonie!"
"Jesus, your Dad *does* have change lying around everywhere"
"Told you"
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You are carrying your Dad's car keys, your Novice license, your cellphone and some change.
action: You examine the license
response: You got it six months ago. And six months ago, you started borrowing your Dad's car for a ride while he was sleeping. Pretty sure he knows (oh yeah, especially since that day where you and Jane forgot A & W bags in the car), but he's never mentioned it.
action: You examine the cellphone
response: It's just your cell phone. You've had it for a while, I guess. You don't use it much for calls, but you sure text.
action: You examine the change
response: Your money, plus Jane's, plus the change you found in the car, that makes it $16.50. In other words, not quite enough.
action: You open the glove compartment
response: "Hey, could you try the glovebox?"
"Oh yeah, sure" She pops it open.
"There's... Ah yeah, three quarters here"
"Cool"
action: You look at the door
response: The car door, with a pretty deep compartment in which your dad keeps a few things, like his old CDs and his sunglasses.
action: You look in the door compartment
response: You reach inside the compartment. "Hey, there's actually a few coins here..."
"Oh yeah?" She checks the one on her side.
"Yeah... let's see... Like, three dimes"
"I got a dime and two quarters"
"Man, we're loaded!"
action: You examine the floor mat
response: It's a kind of plastic mat; an annoying plastic mat, because it always moves under your feet.
action: You look under it
response: You lift the floormat, to see if anything fell under it... Mmh, no, there doesn't seem to be anything.
"Ugh, it's..." says Jane, looking at her fingers.
"Is it dirt?"
"Yeah"
"Come on, we're going in the woods, don't tell me that --"
"Ya ya ya ya, I know!" she rolls her eyes. "Well, I can't... ah!" "Found anything?"
"Yeah it's... ugh, just a quarter"
"Hahaha"
"Hey shut up, I worked hard for this one"
":p"

"Man, there sure is a lot of places you can hide change in a car" she says.
"Yeah. I'm sure you can hear all the coins when my Dad goes over a speed bump ^^"
"Haha yeah"
action: You search the floor
response: You look under your feet, to see if anything fell... A-ha! There was a quarter between the edge of the floormat and the side of the console in the middle.
"Cool! I can't really see anything on my side"

You think for a second. "Are you sure it's gonna be ok? I mean, we have a lot of change... :/"
"Ah, don't worry about that, I'm sure it'll be fine..."
"Yeah but... I dunno"
"Yeah well what's he gonna do? Make a fuss?"
"Yeah, and then we won't have any"
She shrugs. "It'll be fine, trust me"
"K"
action: You look at the back seat
response: You can't really see behind, because twisting your neck is awkward, but there might be coins back there after all...

You think for a second. "Are you sure it's gonna be ok? I mean, we have a lot of change... :/"
"Ah, don't worry about that, I'm sure it'll be fine..."
"Yeah but... I dunno"
"Yeah well what's he gonna do? Make a fuss?"
"Yeah, and then we won't have any"
She shrugs. "It'll be fine, trust me"
"K"
action: You search back seat
response: Jane has better things to do.
action: You search back seat
response: "Oh yeah," you say, "do you think there's some in the back?"
"Ah yeah maybe. I'll check"
She throws her leg between the seats and climbs into the back of the car. "Well... Ah, there's like a dime here!" she says while checking in the seats. "And let's see... nothing on the rear deck, I think..." "Did you check behind the seats? Like, the pockets?"
"Oh right, good call! Let's see..." she puts her hand in it and searches while making a face. "Yeah, there's... Hey, that's a loonie!" "Sweet!"
"Yeah!... I'm just gonna come back from outside now"
"Ya it's awkward as hell :p"
She opens the passenger door and sits back in her seat.
"Thanks duuude ;)"
"Haha yeah you bet dude"

"Hey, so... Have you been writing anything lately?"
"Yeah..." you reply. "I mean nothing major, but yeah, a little bit. You?"
"A song :) but I haven't finished it yet"
"Cool. You'll show me?"
"Sure, we'll write the rest when we're high :p"
"Haha sounds good"
action: You examine the dashboard
response: Right under the windshield, where you're supposed to put your parking receipt.
action: You examine the windshield
response: It's just the windshield, with the dashboard under it; it's not really dirty right now, and you hope it won't be after your little trip to the mountains, so that your Dad doesn't notice. Hopefully.
action: You examine the steering wheel
response: The wheel is pretty high, but you don't mind, and then you can drum up your fingers on the dashboard when you're waiting at a long light. There's the horn in the middle, and various switches on the side.
action: You examine the console
response: Between the two seats, there's a few cupholders, and a little compartment that opens from the top.

"Pff look at us, looking for dimes to get pot" you say jokingly.
"Haha yeah, that's pretty bad"
"I do want it pretty bad, so there's that"
"Yeah, it's gonna be pretty awesome"
action: You examine the cupholders
response: There's two cupholders side-by-side in the console between the seats. They're good for soda, but the milkshakes from the place on Robson never quite fit. The trick is to drink a third of it, and then squish them in.
action: You look in them
response: "Did we look here?"
She shrugs.
"There's a dime I think... Ugh, it's... stuck..."
"Niiice. Covered in sugar?" she says.
"Must be. Yuck, it sticks to my fingers"
"Gross :p"

"So your Dad still doesn't know?"
"What, that I take the car sometimes?"
"Yeah"
"I dunno" you shrug. "I'm sure he knows, but he doesn't say anything" Pause.
"Which is pretty cool I guess"
"Yeah. Your Dad is cool"
"Yeah, he's alright. We get along well. I mean, it could have been worse"
"Yeah"
action: You look in the little compartment
response: You open the small compartment. There's a box of Tic-Tacs there, and a few coins.
"Sweet! That's like... 80 cents!"
"That's all? Sucks :/ It was probably the most obvious place"
"Yeah... I'm sure there's more lying around."

"Alright, we have enough :D"
"Yay! Ok, I'm going"
"K. I hope it'll be fine..."
"?"
"With all that change and all..."
She shrugs. "I don't care. I'll try it."
And with that, she's out of the car.

...

Yeah, he doesn't seem very chill. He's like laughing at her. But she doesn't move one bit. So he starts acting all important and macho -- like, arms wide open moving a lot, his face kind of in her face. "u disrespecting me? i'm doing u a favor selling pot to a teenager and u come here with your lunch money? man i don't have time to waste", you can totally picture it. But she doesn't move one bit. Even crosses her arms, unimpressed like "r u done here bro".

God, she's *amazing*. So determined and self-assured. You wish you could do that.

The guy's still at it but she shrugs like "ok u don't want my money i guess". Then she starts to turn away but he grabs her by the arm; and, like, he starts getting angry like "wtf r u doing". And then bam -- she gives him the money, like right in his hand, and she puts the other one out. And she got him, and he knows it, and he's like "pff whatever", and he gives her the pot. She nods a thank you and walks away; he looks at her while she walks away, shaking his head but almost grinning.

"You ok?"
"Yeah, no worries. He tried to make a fuss, but yknow. He had to I guess, but it's not like he didn't want to sell it to me so..."
"Haha nice." You stop, unsure of what to say next. But you say it anyway. "You're amazing. Like, seriously"
"Haha yeah thanks. I get around."
"No, really! Hey how am I gonna get pot when you're gone?"
"Haha. You're gonna miss me, eh?"
"You kidding? Totally."

You stop -- an awkward silence. It's not that funny I guess. Anyway, she breaks it:
"So -- head east!"
"East!!"

"..."

"So... yeah."

"..."

"What happened?" you ask, tentatively.
"It's just... ugh. She's visiting, right?"
"Right"
"And she brought Brandon, you know, her fiancé"
"Right"
"And like... The guy's working in real estate out there in Toronto, right? So like, three-piece suit and the smile and oh i'm a people person right"
"Right..."
"Anyway. It's fine, except that he was like asking questions, like 'Oh well what good is an art degree anyway? It's not about quality anyway, all that contemporary shit...'"
"Ugh, of course"
"Yeah, that kind of guy! And like 'What are you going to Concordia for? You're gonna have to come back and live in your parents' basement anyway. It's not like it gives you a job!'"
"?????"
"Yeah! Total. Massive. Douchebag."
":/ sorry. Why does your sister like him?"
"Ugh dunno. And like, she didn't like say anything! Like he was all laughing loud, and my sister was like looking at me... and I was like 'Dude! How about, like, saying something! Control your man! I'm your sister, for fuck's sake!'"
"Really?"
"Yeah! ... well, no, not really. OF COURSE i didn't say anything, cause i'm stupid"
":("

"Sorry" she says after a while.
"That's fine"
"It's just... Family's hard, yknow?"
"Heh, tell me about it"
"Well, no, I mean... ugh, sorry, I just"
"Hey no, I know what you meant"
"Yeah. Sorry. Ugh, I hate this"
"Haha I know. Drives you crazy eh? Not finding the words. Like, for your songs too"
"Pff whatever, writing nerd"
"U jealous? :D"
":D"

Sitting in the grass on the side of a hill, with the forest all around, with a guitar, some pot, and your best friend. Best way to spend the night. You feel very good, completely in the moment, although you can't help but think about how it's the last few months, already nostalgic.

Jane is sitting next to you, eating some chips.
action: You ask Jane about the school
response: "So, how do you feel about this Concordia University?"
"You know what, pretty good. I mean, Montreal sounds like such a... I dunno, like, a vibrant, and different, and exciting city -- and their campus is amazing apparently, and the classes I could take all sound so cool... I'm really gonna like it I think :D"
"Cool! Sounds good. You sound excited :)"
"Yeah well, I wouldn't be going there if I wasn't, right?"
"Haha I guess yeah"
action: You ask Jane about the montreal
response: "Have you ever been to Montreal?"
"Nope, never been further east than Saskatoon" she replies. "You?" "When I was, like, 10. Apparently I hated it cause I couldn't read any of the signs -- I dunno, I just remember the theme park"
"Haha, nice"
action: You ask Jane about French
response: "Are you gonna have to work on your French then?"
"Nah, I mean a bit, but not that much. Concordia is an English university, so I'll be fine"
"Yeah, but you'll be surrounded by French people in the city, right? I mean, it's basically expatriation"
"I guess yeah. Guess I should have worked a bit harder in French class :p"
"Haha, instead of sitting at the back of the class and chatting with your neighbour? :p"
"Yeah -- that damn neighbour"
"Lol u mad? :D"
":D"
action: You ask Jane about us
response: Ah, this is a tough question. You struggle to find the words for a few minutes.
"Do you really... I mean... We're gonna stay... yknow..."
You think you see in her eyes that she's as scared as you. But she says, with a confident voice: "We're gonna keep in touch? Yeah! Of course! Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know, it's just... far away, right?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess, but like, it's only three hours of time difference! Like, nothing!"
"I guess, yeah, it's pretty convenient if we want to, like, call each other..."
"Yeah! It's gonna be fine, I'm sure. We always talk for hours, and we'll have even more to talk about :)"
"Haha yeah, that sounds good :)"
action: You ask Jane about the vancouver
response: "Isn't it gonna be weird, to like not be living in Vancouver anymore?" "Yeah, it's true. I'll miss all the cool shit happening here"
"Yeah. And it's not like you can come back visit all the time..."
"I know... It's a bummer :/"
"Yeah. Anyway..."
action: You ask Jane about the art
response: "So, are you still talking about doing an album?"
"Yeah! I mean... I want to, but it's hard"
"To write?"
"No, more like... I don't know, I have a lot of songs, but it's like I have a hard time finishing them, and like, actually being proud of them... you ever get that feeling?"
"Nah, I mean... I have ideas, but I don't start them. Like, I know if I start it I have to finish writing it till the end, or it drives me crazy, so I don't"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! Not you?"
"No, it's like the opposite! Like, sometimes I get ideas and like, I HAVE to grab my guitar and spend like half an hour working out chords and stuff"
"But what if you don't have time to finish it?"
"I don't know, I don't care? I'm like 'meh', and I forget about it. I mean, that's how I know a song is good, if I want to come back to it" "Huh. Interesting"
"Huh indeed"
action: You eat the chips
response: "Can I have some?"
"Sure" she says, tilting the bag towards you. You grab some chips and eat them almost instantly -- can't resist, and you feel really hungry right now.
action: You play the guitar
response: You reach out for the guitar. "Do you mind?"
"Nah, it's cool, just chillin here"
You strum a few chords, aimlessly. You don't really know a song, and you can't sing.
action: You ask Jane about the guitar
response: "Hey, will you help me one day on the guitar?"
"Oh yeah, we've been talking about it for ages. Shit, sorry :/"
"No, that's cool! It's just... let's not forget, right? I mean, let's do it this summer"
"Yeah, this summer for sure. Before I leave, definitely"
"Cool :) and I'll practice while you're gone and then we'll start a band :p"
"Haha, yeah sounds good ;)"
action: You ask Jane about Jane
response: "So... how do... How do you feel?"
"Fine?"
"I mean... about leaving and stuff"
"Oh." She sits there quietly for a while.
"I dunno, I felt like asking, because..."
"No, yeah, it's okay. I mean, thanks." She sighs heavily. "I dunno. I mean, I'm excited, sure. But at the same time... like why can't I stay? Like, I'm going to have to leave everything behind, right? Family, you, friends, the city I grew up in, and all that... Is it worth it? I mean, it is... It's just..."
"Right"
"It's just a huge change, and it's hard. And the closer it gets, the worse it's gonna be"
"Right, yeah" You sit there, quietly, for a moment.
"It sucks, and it doesn't suck, at the same time"
"Yeah." Another pause. "Well, if you need to talk, you know..."
"Yeah. Sure, yeah. Hey, thanks"
"Sure. And in the meantime, let's enjoy this summer?"
"Yup, definitely. It's gonna be a good one"
"Hehe. Yeah, I think so too :)"
action: You ask Jane about summer
response: "Any plans for the summer?"
"Not really, no. Maybe go somewhere with my parents for a week, but not even sure right now. You?"
You shrug. "No, nothing. My Dad's gonna work, I think"
"Ah. Sucks"
"Whatever", you shrug, trying to act casual. "I'm gonna try to get a part-time job somewhere, but I don't really know where. I don't know. I really don't feel like it"
"Yeah, that sucks. Well, in any case, we'll make time to hang out?" "For sure :D I want that more than getting a job :p might be why I'm so not motivated to look for one"
"Haha yeah I bet ^^"
action: You ask Jane about the family
response: "How are your parents?"
She shrugs. "Fine, I think. I dunno. I think it's hard for them, but they haven't talked too much about it"
"That's good I guess"
"Yeah... I dunno. I don't know why, but I think it's gonna be worse when my sister's gone"
"Ah, yeah. Yeah, maybe"
She fiddles with her hair, and doesn't say more.
action: You ask Jane about the future
response: Ah, this is a tough question. You struggle to find the words for a few minutes.
"Do you really... I mean... We're gonna stay... yknow..."
You think you see in her eyes that she's as scared as you. But she says, with a confident voice: "We're gonna keep in touch? Yeah! Of course! Why wouldn't we?"
"I don't know, it's just... far away, right?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess, but like, it's only three hours of time difference! Like, nothing!"
"I guess, yeah, it's pretty convenient if we want to, like, call each other..."
"Yeah! It's gonna be fine, I'm sure. We always talk for hours, and we'll have even more to talk about :)"
"Haha yeah, that sounds good :)"
action: You ask Jane about the pot
response: "Do you think we should smoke some more?"
"Nah" she makes a face. "I mean, I'm pretty high right now lol"
"Haha yeah me too"
"You can if you wanna tho"
"Yeah. Nah. I'm good"
action: You wait a while
response: Time passes.