Hannah's Story

Chapter 25 - Hannah

Hey.  I'm still slow, but I've been working on this a little each day.  I know where I'm going with this story, and I don't want to leave anything out.  I hope you like it!

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HANNAH

It was finally time for vacation.  The last few days had been a whirlwind of packing and preparing for my interview.  Now, half my bags were on the way to the beach with my family and a few were waiting in the trunk of my car to transfer to the Malicks' Tucson that Jesse would be bringing to my house very soon.

I couldn't wait. It had been a long year, between student teaching, graduating college, then subbing. I was ready to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Hopefully, the interview I just had would lead the way to a teaching job. If not, I would try again at a different school
district. Either way, I was hoping the next week would be stress free.

I sat on my porch waiting for Jesse.  Originally, Ethan was supposed to be my traveling companion.  Thankfully it worked out otherwise.  I'd been getting some needy vibes from Ethan lately, and I was afraid of what might transpire during a long drive with him.  I was shocked that Mr. Shank was strict enough to make Jesse take his final today, but I was thankful as well.  It would be comfortable traveling with Jesse.

"I'm here," Jesse said a few minutes later through the open car window as he pulled in between my car and the porch where I'd been sitting.

"I see that," I replied. I stood up, heading to my car's trunk to retrieve my luggage.

He hopped out of the car and followed me. I took out two bags and he grabbed the third.

"I can take one of those if you ....,"
he began, always the helpful friend.

"Thanks, but I can walk five feet to your car with them," I answered, smiling.

"Just thought I'd ask," Jesse mumbled, acting hurt.

I reached over and ruffled his hair after setting the bags on the ground by the vehicle. He ducked away from me and placed the bags in the back.

"I just have to run in and pee, grab my purse, and lock up," I stated, heading up the porch stairs.

"I think I'm going to make a pit stop, too, if you don't mind," Jesse said.

"Follow me," I responded.

***

A few minutes later, our bladders were emptied, my front door was locked, and we were ready to go.

I slid into the passenger seat and clicked my seatbelt in place.  Jesse did the same on the driver's side.

"I'm guessing we'll get there around one a.m." he said after glancing at the dashboard clock.  The clock read 1:05 pm. 

"Unless we stop to eat," I added.  "Then we'll be later."

"Text our moms and let them know we're leaving," he said.

"Already taken care of," I said, holding up my phone for proof.

He laughed as he backed out of my driveway and onto the street.  In that moment, I felt free.  I couldn't wait to get to the beach. 

***
I played DJ with Jesse's phone for the first half hour or so of the journey. Once we were traveling on the interstate, we put the radio on as we used the map app to help us find our destination. Both of us had been to the beach many times, but neither of us had ever driven there. We just wanted to make sure we got it right.