The Fragmented Luna

High Stakes High Rewards

I cringed in my seat as Nixon pulled onto another side street like a crazy speed racer. I worried that a police car would appear at any minute to take us away. When none arrived I silently begged for him to stop risking our lives by driving his vehicle so erratically.

It began to downpour with the rain sloshing against the car windows violently. If anything the rain seemed to fuel Nixon towards this location at a higher speed. I was thankful that I did not eat anything this morning. The ride made my stomach uneasy as the world spun around us at a dizzying speed.

After what felt like an eternity Nixon pulled off onto a bumpy dirt road. It was an off the beaten path type of place that screamed danger. Valerie yelled in the background excited by whatever was about to happen. I shrank back further into my seat as I held onto the door handle for dear life.

 I felt utterly confused as to the reason we were here but I didn't dare to open my mouth. I felt the tires bouncing as we made our way through the muddy track of ditches, twigs and rocky terrain. The rain filled the holes with water so that the tires skidded roughly along them. 

The car shifted making me feel like a container of thoroughly mixed shake n' bake. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time. Nixon opened both the front and back seat windows for the full effect. He stuck his arm out into the rain with a serene smile on his face that captivated my attention. In my hazy state I loosened my grip on the roof handle which caused me to nearly hit the dashboard. If felt like Nixon didn't care for anyone's safety because of his carelessness. 

"What are we doing", I hissed out in a loud tone. Nixon responded to my yelling by smiling with a smug expression on his face. He kept his gaze turned away from me to accelerate the car even faster. When I looked over at the dashboard I saw the speed was close to 65 miles per hour. "Isn't this dangerous? ", I asked tautly. I wished I put my long red curly hair in a ponytail because it kept slapping my face. The wind made my scar burn from its brutal force on my sensitized skin. 

"Live a little" Valerie yelled from the back. "You never have fun and it's about time you tried", Valerie stated in a serious tone. She was right that I was inexperienced in many areas. My whole life everyone sheltered me because I was fragile. Thanks to Valerie I already changed in dramatic ways over just a short period of time. However that didn't mean I willingly wanted to risk my life for a few minutes of fun.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to just close the window", I stated anxiously. I went to close the window but we hit a road bump into a pile of mud. The mud shot up into the air then landed on the front of my face. I felt the mud drenching my clothes in that gritty mixture of sediment. Oh my god I needed to take a nice warm bath to wash away the traces of dirt that covered my entire face and scalp. 

I heard a mysterious noise from my side that genuinely surprised me. I wiped away the sludge from my eyes to see Nixon laughing hysterically while clutching the steering wheel. Valerie soon joined in on the laughter at my expense. 

"That's what you get for being a party pooper", Valerie stated in a joking tone. I turned around in my seat to give Valerie the stink eye. She was too busy searching the car for something to even look my way. "AHA!!! Here it is!!!", Valerie stated triumphantly. In her hands she held a faded green towel tightly. She turned towards my direction to hand me the towel so I could wash my face off.

"Thanks for the towel", I stated as I took the towel from her. I wiped the towel over my face to clear the dirt off of myself. The brushing of the towel over the scar area caused the dirt to make it feel like it was on fire. It hurt extremely bad but I wanted to make sure I removed the griminess from my skin. I finally relaxed again in my seat when Nixon hit another large puddle. I threw the towel over myself for protection against the dirt that I knew would make me dirty again. 

"Nice", Nixon remarked. "Too bad you didn't cover your legs instead", he stated looking downwards with a wide smirk. I wished he would keep his eyes on the road to focus on not getting us killed. I focused on the direction of his gaze to see that there was more mud sloshing onto my pants. The situation cued both Valerie and Nixon to start laughing at me again.

"Real Funny guys", I said bitterly. "I don't even know what to do about this. Its everywhere." I responded. A clump of dirt slopped from my pant leg onto my shoe soaking everything in its path. I wondered if I was better off staying at home than hanging out with this riled group. 

"Cheer up buttercup. I'll get you some new clothes", Valerie stated as patted my back from behind. "At least now we can get you some more flattering clothes so that Nicky boy here can realize he's in love with you", Valerie joked loudly. She winked her eye towards Nixon who shook his head in disgust. I knew that never in a million years would a guy like Nixon ever be with a girl like me. I didn't want him to like my anyway because I wasn't comfortable with guys at all. 

"Our exit is here, Val. So sit back and shut up", Nixon bellowed. Valerie released me from her grip to put her seat belt on rather quickly. I relaxed into the seat when I saw that we reached the paved road again. However I still had no clue about any of the destinations that we were headed towards. I stared in confusion as Nixon pulled into the parking lot in front of a rather dour looking building. As soon as we parked the two of them seemed eager to enter the rundown building. 

"Hey Nicky boy. Do you think Denver and Rocky might like a chick like Rowen", Valerie asked him with a curious expression. Nixon shrugged his shoulders in response but stepped out from the car. Valerie stepped out of the car but I remained seated in front unsure of myself. I wanted to stay in the car but someone ripped open the side door. 

"I think Denver and Rocky are going to eat her right up like the scrawny little girl she is", Nixon stated as he stood outside the passenger door. I squirmed in my seat feeling awkward under his penetrating gaze. I remembered my statement from earlier 'I can spend the day getting to know you for the English assignment'. It was that statement that helped me take that first step out into the unknown. If I didn't take any risks I might miss out on something special without knowing it. 

"Don't listen to him. Denver will love you. He's my stud muffin", Valerie said while swooning about the room. I wasn't really interested in boys so I didn't understand Valerie's obsession with them. I could tell that Denver was someone who Valerie loved unconditionally just by her reaction to his name. I never felt that kind of unconditional love except for when my parents were alive. It made me jealous of Valerie for being lucky enough to have anyone that made her feel unconditional love. I looked towards Nixon thinking about what it would be like to have someone like that focused on me. 

"Stop staring ugly weirdo", Nixon stated as he caught me staring into his eyes intently. I turned away from him wondering how I ever thought Nixon might be able to love someone like that. "Hey, Airhead are you ever going to move or are you just going to stand there catching flies", he stated rudely. I recollected myself to focus on making my feet move forward. I walked silently behind Nixon and Valerie into the building of unknown possibilities.