Polaroids and Postcards | ✔️

Chapter 11: Anime & Rude Awakenings

"To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world." —Freya Stark

•••

Have you ever fallen asleep, and the deep, undeniable sensation of something being wrong is the very thing that woke you up? For instance, say you fall asleep in the back of a certain Volkswagen Beetle in the darkest hours of the night, only to stir from said sleep when you remember where you crashed for the night, simultaneously realizing that the previously mentioned vehicle is actually moving. And you are still in the back seat.

My first words of the morning were creative strings of shocked curses as I floundered in the back seat, trying to stop whoever it was who was stealing Della's car. My still half-asleep attempts were met with a high-pitched scream and a blur of lavender and glitter.

"Jason I-Don't-Know-Your-Middle-Name Lovett!!"

Oh... crap.

"DELLA?"

"I'm gonna wash out your mouth with soap if you say anything like that again!" she snapped. Through my sleep-blurred eyes, I could just make out the stern and slightly-terrifying expression on her face. A secret part of me decided right then to never cross Della Rae about anything. Seeing her angry, while probably amusing, would be very scary—like a train wreck you can't stop watching.

"So sorry for thinking that your car was being stolen," I huffed, falling onto my back in the backseat.

"Well, you would've been a little too late to save it anyway," Della snorted, pushing her sunshades up the bridge of her nose. "I've been driving for over an hour."

My eyes popped open. I was fully awake. "What the—HOW??"

"I've already done my errands I mentioned last night, stopped at a drive thru, and picked up more snacks. By the way, here's your breakfast sandwich!"

She handed back something warm and wrapped carefully in paper. The scent of maple syrup, eggs, sausage, and melted cheese met my nose. My stomach began to gnaw a hole in itself. I didn't even say thank you to Della... my mouth was already full.

The bread wasn't just bread. It was freaking French toast! And there was maple syrup. And cheese. And meat. And eggs. And melted butter-sauce. And did I mention the French toast??

As I devoured the sandwich, my attention turned to the songs Della had playing on the radio. They were different. Peppy, bright, bubbly... What were they saying though? I couldn't quite catch—? It was jumbled and—the songs weren't even in English!

"Della...?" I questioned, cautiously. "Are you listening to—?"

"Anime theme songs? You'd be correct, Lovett."

Anime. Go figure.

"So you like Anime then," I stated as I swallowed the last of my sandwich.

"'Like' isn't a strong enough word, honestly," Della giggled, "I freaking ADORE Anime!!"

I blinked. "Cool."

"Don't tell me you aren't an Anime fan," she whined, staring me down from the rearview mirror. "Anime is awesome."

"Never got into it," I shrugged, quietly wishing Della had purchased another sandwich. "Just not my thing."

"Aww... well, that just means I get to introduce you to it!"

"Um, no thanks."

"Why?"