Imperfect Life: Arc 5

Chapter 2

"Get up already!" Crys said loudly, nudging a still asleep Brandon.

Brandon stirred. "What!" He murmured angrily.

"Come on! We've got to get going if we want to get there at a decent time!" Crys continued.

Brandon groaned. "Alright!" He grumbled. "I'm getting up!"

Crys grinned. "Good, now don't make me come back here!" She said, excited. She ran out of the room.

Brandon grumbled to himself and kicked off his blankets. He got up and shuffled to his couch to grab the outfit he had picked out last night. He took off his pajamas and put on his outfit for the trip ahead of him. Afterwards, he went about his room to scour for whatever last-second knickknacks he wanted to bring along with him. By now he was a bit more awake, so he rushed downstairs to join Crys, who was impatiently standing next to the dining room table with a little bag holding her goodies for the car ride. She was glaring at Brandon as if to ask if he was finally ready.

Brandon could tell Crys was very excited. "You ready?" He asked.

Crys rolled her eyes. "Come on." She groaned. "Your parents are just finishing up packing the car."

"Perfect." Brandon said in reply. He was looking forward to this trip. He was glad to be taking a worry-free vacation for a whole week. Plus, he was just glad to be going to the beach.

Crys walked out the front door with a bit of excitement in each step. Brandon tagged along behind her.

The two friends went out to the car which was nearly done being packed. They opened up the back doors and crammed all their extra stuff in the car, then got in themselves.

Brandon's parents finished getting the car packed, then shut the trunk. After that, they also got in the car.

"Everyone ready to go?" Brandon's dad asked.

"Yep!" Crys said almost immediately with excitement.

Brandon nodded, still a bit groggy.

"Nobody forgot anything important?" Brandon's mom chimed in.

Crys shook her head with a smile. "Nope!" She said. "Already double checked everything last night."

Brandon shook his head as well. Crys had him prepare last night as well.

"Then we're ready to go!" Brandon's dad said with a smile. He started the car, put it in reverse, and drove out the driveway.

They were all off to the beach house, but first, they stopped at a local bagel joint for some breakfast, and after that little detour, the adventure really started.

The ride down was about as fun as a drive that took all day could be. Brandon and Crys mostly kept to themselves for the ride, occasionally interacting with the world outside their devices. Crys was mainly playing one of her video games on her handheld console, sometimes prodding Brandon to show him something in the game. She was enjoying her time as best she could. She didn't really enjoy how cramped the car was, but playing video games helped keep her mind off of it. As for Brandon, he couldn't quite make up his mind on what he wanted to do. At some points he'd play a video game, at other points he'd listen to music on his phone and stare at the scenery as he passed it by. The ride was quiet. Not quiet in a silent way, but quiet in the sort of sense that everything was at peace and not much was going on.

Crys prodded Brandon again. He was looking out the window with his handheld console at rest in his lap. He turned to look at Crys. "Hm?" He asked, pulling his headphones down around his neck so he could hear her better.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Crys asked curiously, noting how distant Brandon was while gazing out the window.

"Nothin much." Brandon said. "How much longer do we have?" He asked his parents.

"We'll probably get there in about nine more hours." Brandon's dad replied.

"Ugh." Brandon said. "It's going to be eight o' clock when we get there."

"Assuming we don't make any stops." Brandon's dad added on.

"I'm kinda hungry." Crys said.

Brandon gave a side glance to Crys. He wasn't thrilled to have to stop so soon.

"Well, we can take an exit up here and stop for lunch." Brandon's dad offered.

"It's only eleven something." Brandon said.

"I can wait a bit." Crys said. She heard the slight annoyance in Brandon's tone.

"So you want to keep going for a bit then stop for lunch?" Brandon's dad asked.

"Yeah." Crys said, okay with the compromise.

"I'd like that." Brandon said.

"Alright. We'll keep going for maybe another thirty or so minutes then see what's around." Brandon's dad decided.

"I'll look up if there's any good restaurants up ahead." Brandon's mom chimed in.

Crys spoke up again after a quick moment of quiet. "You still never answered my question." She said to Brandon teasingly.

"Nothing, really." Brandon said. "I'm just looking forward to getting to the beach house."

"Me too." Crys replied. She figured Brandon wasn't saying everything on his mind, but she doubted she'd be able to get much else out of him.

Both friends went quiet again after that.

The car ride continued, and soon enough it was time for lunch. They all stopped at a local restaurant just off the highway. They spent about an hour or so there in total, including their little stop at the gas station nearby to grab a few snacks and drinks for the rest of the trip. After that, they were back on the road. Things went on like they had for the first bit of the trip. Every few hours they would stop at a gas station to stretch their legs and use the bathroom, then it was back to the road. Slowly, night crept up on them. It was getting late. They were fairly close to the beach house by now, with about one more hour to go, but drowsiness took hold of Brandon and Crys, especially after how early they woke up that morning and how late they had gone to bed the night prior. Brandon nodded off fairly quickly, sort of slumping in towards the middle of the car in a very uncomfortable-looking position. Crys meanwhile could tell she was fading. She decided she'd give in, but wanted to at least be semi-comfy. She noticed Brandon fast asleep and saw how he was slumped over. She rolled her eyes, then flipped up the armrest in between her and Brandon's seat before unbuckling herself and scooting over to the center seat next to Brandon. She rebuckled herself and cozied herself up next to Brandon, letting his head rest on her shoulder, that way he didn't strain his neck as bad. She then rested her head on top of his, and with that, she dozed off as well.

Forty-five minutes later, the car made its final stop. The engine shut off and the interior lights lit up.

Brandon's mom turned back to wake up Brandon and Crys. She saw them cuddled up close together and couldn't help but take a quick picture before gently nudging Crys' arm to wake her up.

As Crys stirred awake, she caused Brandon to wake up as well. The two of them shook their heads and got out of the car. It was about nine thirty, almost ten, by now. The two friends grabbed their suitcases and dragged them upstairs to their rooms.

Brandon shook off his shoes and would've taken off his jacket as well, but he hadn't worn it for the car ride. He shut his bedroom door before he unzipped his suitcase, finding his pajamas neatly folded on top of everything. He quickly undid the tidiness of them by tossing them haphazardly onto his bed. He then got undressed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. As soon as he got out, he got on his pajamas and plopped onto his bed. He would organize all his belongings in the morning. He was too tired to mess with any of it at the moment. He shuffled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

Crys found herself in a similar situation. She took off her shoes and placed her suitcase next to the door. She then went and used the bathroom before plopping onto her own bed and falling asleep right on top of it, not even bothering to change into her pajamas first.

Their vacation had officially started.