Oceanology

The Caged Bird Sings

        The sound of flip flopped feet clamoring up the stairs made my attention shift toward my door and await the knock upon it by one of three girls that had just pulled up in my driveway. Sure enough, a light tap sounded on the wooden frame on the other side  and a happy voice, muffled slightly by the thick wood that the door was crafted from. 

        "Are ya ready, Joey? Ya got your bags packed and everything?" Kat's voice drifted to me over the low music that'd been playing from a Beatles CD. 

        "Yeah, I'll be right there. You can come in, it's fine." I answered back happily. I grabbed my blue cardigan from off the side of my bed and hastily slipped it on  before she entered the room, making sure my arms were shielded from sight. Kat, standing in the doorway, had her brilliant smile shining as she looked me up and down. She was wearing an old american flag tank top with dropped armholes and underneath it was a simple black bandeau. Her long tan legs were exposed to the air for she wore short that, in my opinion, were a little too short, but I knew she had spandex underneath so I deemed it tolerable. Her medium length, wavy brown hair was held up by a large metal hair clip in the shape of a butterfly, a few strands hanging down around her jawline and cupped her tanned, heart-shaped face. 

        "Hey. I''m ready. Let me just get my shoes on and grab my bag and we can go." I told her as I slipped on no-show socks and a pair of black slip-on Vans over my feet. I stood up and clicked off my radio before heading toward the door. With my bag in hand, I was ushered out my room and down the stairs by the enthusiastic brunette. 

        "You're going to wear that? But it's so hot outside!" Kat complained, tugging at my cardigan. I hopped off the last stair and took my car keys off the hook beside the door. 

        "I feel fine. The wind will cool me off, don't worry about me. You should worry about you freezing to death once we hit the mountains." I smiled at her and opened the door to let her out. The other two girls had already gotten their stuff out of Kat's car and piled into the back of my Chevy, Joice. She wasn't a fancy BMW or anything, but I loved my truck more than anything and she hasn't let me down yet. 

        Joice was a black, lifted 1972 K5 Blazer that my grandpa had given to me two years ago for my fifteenth birthday. He had taught me how to drive her and everything. Joice held good memories and this trip was going to make even more of them for her to hold in the old, cracked leather seats. Kat, having a spare key to my house, locked the front door and I went to great the others. Avery and Ellie smiled at me and I smiled back. I was actually excited for this trip. It took my mind off other things that I didn't want to think about. 

        "Joey! Did you get ev'rything you need? I can't wait for this trip! I could barely sleep last night, I'm so excited." Ellie spoke rapidly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as we hugged each other. Her Scottish accent was thick and I could barely understand her babbling.

        "It's great to see you, hun. You're so pale! Don't worry, the sun will get into your skin soon." Avery said joyfully. She grabbed the suitcase from my hand and plopped it into the back of my truck before I could protest so I had nothing else to say but thanks. I went around to the back and, with a bungee cord, started to tie up all the bags to the bed rail. The other three gossiped among themselves as I finished up. 

        "Hey, Joey," Ellie's voice floated over, "How long will the drive be to Santa Cruz? It just struck noon." I tossed my keys from hand to hand as I walked to the driver's side. 

        "I'm guessing five to six hours..." I told her after a few seconds of estimating. She hopped up and down a few times, her curled brown hair bouncing on her shoulders. Avery rolled her soft brown eyes but couldn't help but smile at Ellie's excitement. 

        "You guys ready?" I asked them, grinning as I unlocked the doors to vehicle. 

        "Hell yes!" was Kat and Ellie's response. 

        "Shot gun, bitches." was all Avery said as she ran around the front and hopped into the passenger's seat. We all laughed as we fitted ourselves into our designated seats. Kat, sitting behind Avery, took out a mirror from her purse that she'd taken out of her car before locking it and looked for any blemishes on her face. Once she found none and was satisfied, she put it back in the pocket she retrieved it from. I turned and looked behind me as I backed out of the driveway, making sure there was nobody to run over or crash into. Ellie took out a pack of mint gum and passed it around after taking one for herself. Avery took two and gave it back and, after unwrapping one and sticking it in her mouth, she slipped the wrapper off the other and held it up to my lips which I grabbed with my teeth. 

        "Merci, mon petite croissant." I thanked her and we all giggled at the little joke from French class last year. 

        After the simple success of accessing the road, I flipped on my radio and turned the volume up high. I didn't know the song on the radio but it seemed Avery did and she sang the words as she placed black aviators over her eyes. I decided to do the same and placed my blue ray-bans over my own eyes from the cup holder. 

        "Did you hear that Riley finally broke up with that piece of whore trash girlfriend, Tammy?" Kat started gossiping once the song ended. I stopped listening to the conversation and I felt the traffic around me. The roaring of the great machines thundering down the streets, stopping at necessary intervals then continuing on forward like they've done hundreds of times. I settled back into the seat with one hand on the top of the steering wheel and the other on the door. 

        The wind whistled past, cooling everything down around us. I laughed now and then, barely listening to the conversation but picking up funny things once in a while. The entrance to the freeway was visible and I switched lanes to access it. The sleeve of my cardigan flew back a bit and I hastily fixed it to cover the disgust and despair of my past. I glanced around the truck to see if anyone noticed but there was no sign of it so I looked back to the road. Living like this was difficult, but I've found a way to manage. It seems I always do. Ellie told a joke and everyone burst out laughing and I joined in with them.