CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, the time between midnight and six in the morning is the best time to roam the streets of your town, especially if you live somewhere small and somewhat interesting. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, there's less people. Long lines, loud chatter, random assholes - forget it. You won't have to worry about any of that. Not to mention, most movie theaters, bowling alleys, and arcades are open pretty late into the night and early in the morning, giving you more time to have fun and less time to wait.
And there is no chance that a boy like Kody Vandal would miss out on an opportunity as golden as this one.
It isn't like Kody had never snuck out at home during the middle of the night to walk around town back when he lived in Clovis. In fact, that was his most preferred pastime. He usually did it when he couldn't sleep, which was most of the time considering his sleep schedule was as fucked up as it gets. So, he would often find himself climbing out of the window of his two-story home, carefully walking along the hip of the roof that stuck out from it, and shimmying down the side of the house to jump onto his bike and begin his travels.
His rides around town typically started with quick trips to the Happy Trails Convenience Store that was just around the block from his old house, where Madison, the blonde, bubblegum-popping clerk that would always take the night shift for some reason, would check out the same two items he always grabbed: a can of Sprite and a Snickers Bar. His two favorite snacks. Then, he'd watch a movie if the theaters were still open (he watched Halloween II there and he absolutely loved it) and, if not, he'd even sneak into Max's bedroom sometimes, which was fine since she never slept during the night either.
But Kody can no longer go to the liquor store to buy candy and soda, or watch a horror movie when it was way too late, and he definitely couldn't hang out with Max, because Kody doesn't live in Clovis anymore, and chances are, he'll never see the town again. Some part of him wishes he could just accept that and be okay with the daily phone call from his friends, but the other half wants to hold on as if his life depends on it because he just isn't ready to let go yet.
