Wonderful Technicalities

2 - The Castle

Bennet POV

So, Jessi and Ash got lost.

I knew they would, but they insisted on following behind me instead of riding in one car.

When I got the call from Ash, it sounded as if they were in a tunnel. The only tunnel around here was 30 miles south of the road they needed to be on. I swear to god they are so ditsy! Ugh, if they weren't my friends, I would leave them to rot in said tunnel. I rolled my eyes before pulling off the road at the next weathered store.

When Ash put them on speaker, Jessi told me they passed a small town called Westville. Apparently, on the GPS, which they aren't using because of their stubbornness, it says they are only an hour away from me. Somehow they got farther away from the school than when we started at my house.

I talked them through the directions and finally got them to where I was. It was almost noon by the time we were in the mountains. My GPS said that our destination would be right up ahead in t-minus 20 minutes.

When I get out of my car, I am going to rant so that they might actually have some sense knocked into them.

I focused on the road and noticed there was a curve up ahead that followed the cliff. As I was turning the corner, a massive castle loomed out in front of me. I have no idea how this is a small castle, but according to the internet, this was only a summer palace for a long dead queen.

I swallowed but kept driving because I wanted to get something to eat soon. My stomach growled at the thought of a nice lasagna or even a roasted chicken glazed in apricots.

Why would I think of food when I know that I would need to wait for lunch or even dinner depending on when food was made.

As I rolled up to the large stone gates, I saw a buzzer. My window was already open, so I pressed a button on the small metal box, and it opened the iron wrought gates. I could feel eyes on my car as I pulled through the school grounds followed by the girls.

Parking the car was easy. I just looked for the parking lot that was full of expensive cars overlooking the vast forest. My black Punch Buggy stuck out like a sore thumb. Porsche's, Lamborghini's, Mini Coopers, Jeeps, Mustangs, etc. The only other 'regular' car I saw was an older model Chevy truck.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. That was money that could have been spent for literally anything else.

Jessi and Ash jumped out of their Jeep and ran towards my car. It's final. They have way too much energy. I can't keep up with these two.

Ash knocked on my door as I took one final deep breath and swung my door into her.

"That's for standing too close to my car and knocking on my clean window." She sighed and then wrapped her arms around me.

"You know all the girls are going to chase your ass, right?" She whispered in my ear before adding, "You are going to stop hanging out with us, and we will die of malnutrition and boredom."

I laughed and turned around in her embrace. My head rested in her neck as I responded.

"I would never leave you or Jessi. You guys are my rocks. My soul sisters. I could never leave you, mostly because I know that what you say is true. You need a good meal every once in a while, or else you will wither away and deteriorate!"

Jessi joined our hug and said, "We love you, Ben, and I hope that is true."

I realized that all this time, these two were scared of me leaving them. They moved to a new school for me, but maybe they did it for themselves as well. They seemed fine with going here, but they never once told me they were frightened of me forgetting about them. They were my family, and families loved and supported each other. They are there for each other, even when they know they might fail. These two supported me, as I will them.