Grandma and Google

Chapter 2 (Sara POV)

This is Google. I can't process this. He's about five-foot-ten and has dark brown hair, almost black. He's lightly tan, and has green eyes with brown flecks. This is Google.

Google approaches the car, stops on Grandma's side. Grandma rolls down the window.

"Hello, Jacqueline."

His voice is deep, but not extremely deep. It sounds smooth. I imagine he'd be a good singer.

"Sara, go help Google load the car with gas," Grandma says to me.

"Okay."

I step out of the car. Google meets me on the other side.

"Okay, I have to warn you, the individual gallons of gas were never intended to fill up a car, so it's going to take a lot of time. I honestly have no clue why your grandmother asked us to fill the car with individual gallons, but I guess we'll have to do it," Google says.

"How many gallons does it take?"

"Around fourty. Luckily, for you, my parents buy a few gallons of gas whenever it's available, so I had no problem finding fourty gallons. I'm pretty sure my family must have over two-hundred."

"Do you have a room dedicated to gallons of gas or something?"

"Surprisingly, yes. Ready to fill up the car?"

"Sure."

Google's phone chirps. He looks at it. I notice a glimpse of alarm on his face, but it quickly disappears. He puts his phone back in his pocket, and I see what kind of phone he has.

"Android?" I laugh.

"Yeah."

"Was that intentional?"

"When you're cursed with a name like Google, you've got to make the most of it."

We begin filling up the car while talking. Google keeps nervously checking his phone. I wonder why he's so bothered by what's on his phone.

Before we know it, we're done filling up the car. I say goodbye to Google, and begin climbing into Grandma's car. She stops me.

"You don't have to ride with me. Go with Google."

"Are you sure? I can ride with you if you want."

"No, Google was deprived of social interaction for the whole hour and a half he was driving up here. He shouldn't have to go through that again," she smiles, "go with him."

"Alright, if you insist." I climb out of Grandma's car. Google is standing outside.

"She insisted on you riding with me, didn't she?" He asks as we walk out to the car.

"Yeah. She really wants me to talk to you." I sit down in the passenger seat of his car and close the door.

He climbs into the driver's seat. "You should have been on the other end of the equation. She was constantly telling me how much I'd like you and how excited she was for me to meet you."

"She was telling me that earlier." Just then, I notice something. Why would his parents let him be gone from the house for more than three hours? I ask. "Why didn't your parents come with you?"

He hesitates, like he is contemplating his answer. "They're really busy with their jobs and stuff, and they trust me a lot, so I told them where I was going and they just told me to let them know when I got back. Where are your parents? Your grandma just told me you were coming, not why."

"They are doing a scientific study in Des Moines. I really wasn't thrilled with that idea, so they told me I could stay here with my grandma for the summer. My house is in Rigby, Idaho. I still don't understand why my mom moved there from this beautiful city."

"Probably because she wanted some peace and quiet after being raised in a jumble of people.  I know I want that sometimes. "

"Why did your parents name you Google?"

"Well, I guess I displayed higher intelligence than most babies at birth, so my parents decided to give me a name to match the status," he laughs.

We pull out of the parking space. Google's phone chirps one more time. He pulls back in to the parking spot to check it. He looks even more panicked. Wordlessly, he pulls out of the parking lot and begins to drive back to Grandma's neighborhood, with the look of panic never leaving his face.