After some time of driving in silence, Vince was drifting to sleep. He caught himself on several times, he straightened and shook his head. Cars were evil. His thoughts were not helping and he brushed aside the whole pity party that continually threatened to swamp his mind. “Just to think,” he said. “I was worried about college and trying to find one that would accept us both. You know, so we could still be there for each other during that whole new experience. I had never brought it up, frankly I was worried your mother wouldn’t let you go. My father was all but shoving college down my throat.” He laughed and shook his head. “I had no idea what I wanted to go in to.”
What he did now he seemed to be better at, like he was designed from birth to end up like this. The thought was sobering, he leaned his head back on the seat not expecting a response from Anna. He was thinking out loud, which he did on occasion, and it didn’t require added input. He just needed to get it out of his head and let it simmer in the universe for a while.
The rest of the day was a blur, he was happy that he could stretch his legs every time she stopped for necessities. The car was getting to be like a cramped classroom by midday and he put his hands through the roof and pulled himself up. He concentrated on keeping the roof as his foundation and was able to stand on the metal surface. He stood there with his hands in his jean pockets laughing like a crazy person, the wind did nothing to his clothing or hair. Bugs, the occasional bird just passed through him. Not even a shadow on the ground. He was invisible to the world. He surfed the vehicle like he had seen in shows of jocks showing off, or complete idiots that would die at the end of the scene.
He automatically sat down when he noticed a highway patrol coming up behind them with the lights on. His heart hammered until the cruiser continued by and took an exit ahead of them. He sank through the roof and settled on the seat again. It wasn’t long before Anna stopped at subway. Vince went behind the counter and made faces and mimicked the poor ‘sandwich artist’ trying to steal a couple giggles from Anna. She wouldn’t crack like she was on autopilot, he slapped her butt cheek playfully on the way out and blamed the worker still behind the counter.
Vince yawned and stretched when they finally settled into the hotel room. He was going to bring up the fact he hadn’t had to use the restroom all day. It was strangely nice, yet he was feeling drained, tired and what he would summarize as hungry. He sat through the bed and hit the floor, he stood up stepped out of the frame and concentrated on the object before it would hold him properly. He turned to Anna as she started speaking.
He shrugged his shoulder. How could he forget? It was sheered into his memory along with the anger and hate that was tied to it. He couldn’t believe those girls didn’t help Mira in what had to be a very trying time. He tilted his head, his black mane shifting away from his forehead. “Why would that change what I thought about you? The only people I was ashamed of was those girls, all of them. Not just the ones who took it but those who were too afraid to step in to help you. The teacher, who should have been there to stop it and do her duty to protect and inform you. Where was she?” He shook his head, touching her cheek with a reassuring smile. “No, I was not ashamed of you.”