The Mystery of a Heart
01. Adventure
I was in the middle of an intense hour-long run on my treadmill when my phone rang. When I saw the caller, I smiled and paused my exercise to answer.
“Whaddup lady?” I smiled into the phone.
”Oh nothing much, I’m only on my way to pick you up with our four favorite boys to go on an adventure!” my best friend Mixi sing-songed on the other end. The first emotion that crossed my mind was confusion. If she was with the guys, it meant that she was six hours away. The second was excitement. Not just about this “adventure,” which could mean literally anything knowing the boys, but because I’d be sharing a bus with who I thought was the love of my life. I hadn’t seen Jonnie in nearly a year, but we still talked on occasion and the feelings I had for him when I was younger were just as strong.
“Uh, how long until you’re here? And what do I have to bring? Do you have any idea what we’re going to be doing?” I spoke, trying not to jumble my words.
”Two hours, anything you want but you can’t be naked all the time, and of course I don’t. Pack for the rest of your life, you never know how long we’ll be gone for.”
“Sounds good to me, I’ll see you in two hours! Except I’m supposed to work in three…” I trailed. My job. I couldn’t let go of my barely above minimum wage job at Starbucks, there weren’t that many available and it wasn’t a bad gig at all.
”You’re quitting. I’m quitting my job, too. You’ll find another one when the adventure is done. I’m hanging up now, see you soon!”
Sighing, I cut my hour workout short then got in the shower. I threw my biggest and only suitcase on my bed and began to shove every article of clothing I owned into it. When That idea didn’t work, I decided on only a few pairs of jeans and sweats, and roughly twenty shirts of every different color. I found a dress that might come in handy, a few pairs of shoes, underwear, socks, and finally toiletries. I packed one extra bag with my laptop, movies, and iPod dock, as well as many books so I wouldn’t be bored when technology failed me.
I settled into the couch, debating whether or not I should go into work before my shift started to let them know I wouldn’t be back. Deciding on no, I quickly texted my coworkers to find someone to cover my shift for the day. In two minutes, a 16 year old named Robin responded and I informed her that she could have all my shifts for the next two weeks if she wanted. I selected a movie to watch until the five crazies showed up.
-
Before I knew it, my door sounded like it was being bulldozed in. Bracing myself for an attack, I quickly opened the door and was tackled to the ground.
“BRIANNA! WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” Duncan yelled. I noticed that he was the one directly on top of me. I gave him a nod of recognition before squirming my way out from underneath the pile of boys.
“Before we can leave, Brianna and I have some unfinished business to attend to,” Mixi announced, receiving looks of confusion. “We need to go quit our jobs!”
“Mine will be easy enough, I have someone covering my shifts for the next two weeks,” I stated.
“Of course you do, you always have a plan. Well, I need to go quit my job then,” Mixi said while rolling her eyes.
“Let’s get on it! I wanna set off sooner than later!” Jonnie exclaimed. “By the way, we all really have missed you.” I almost melted at that. He gave me a quick wink before picking up my suitcase and leading the way to the bus. It was going to be a long and fun roadtrip.
“Whaddup lady?” I smiled into the phone.
”Oh nothing much, I’m only on my way to pick you up with our four favorite boys to go on an adventure!” my best friend Mixi sing-songed on the other end. The first emotion that crossed my mind was confusion. If she was with the guys, it meant that she was six hours away. The second was excitement. Not just about this “adventure,” which could mean literally anything knowing the boys, but because I’d be sharing a bus with who I thought was the love of my life. I hadn’t seen Jonnie in nearly a year, but we still talked on occasion and the feelings I had for him when I was younger were just as strong.
“Uh, how long until you’re here? And what do I have to bring? Do you have any idea what we’re going to be doing?” I spoke, trying not to jumble my words.
”Two hours, anything you want but you can’t be naked all the time, and of course I don’t. Pack for the rest of your life, you never know how long we’ll be gone for.”
“Sounds good to me, I’ll see you in two hours! Except I’m supposed to work in three…” I trailed. My job. I couldn’t let go of my barely above minimum wage job at Starbucks, there weren’t that many available and it wasn’t a bad gig at all.
”You’re quitting. I’m quitting my job, too. You’ll find another one when the adventure is done. I’m hanging up now, see you soon!”
Sighing, I cut my hour workout short then got in the shower. I threw my biggest and only suitcase on my bed and began to shove every article of clothing I owned into it. When That idea didn’t work, I decided on only a few pairs of jeans and sweats, and roughly twenty shirts of every different color. I found a dress that might come in handy, a few pairs of shoes, underwear, socks, and finally toiletries. I packed one extra bag with my laptop, movies, and iPod dock, as well as many books so I wouldn’t be bored when technology failed me.
I settled into the couch, debating whether or not I should go into work before my shift started to let them know I wouldn’t be back. Deciding on no, I quickly texted my coworkers to find someone to cover my shift for the day. In two minutes, a 16 year old named Robin responded and I informed her that she could have all my shifts for the next two weeks if she wanted. I selected a movie to watch until the five crazies showed up.
-
Before I knew it, my door sounded like it was being bulldozed in. Bracing myself for an attack, I quickly opened the door and was tackled to the ground.
“BRIANNA! WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” Duncan yelled. I noticed that he was the one directly on top of me. I gave him a nod of recognition before squirming my way out from underneath the pile of boys.
“Before we can leave, Brianna and I have some unfinished business to attend to,” Mixi announced, receiving looks of confusion. “We need to go quit our jobs!”
“Mine will be easy enough, I have someone covering my shifts for the next two weeks,” I stated.
“Of course you do, you always have a plan. Well, I need to go quit my job then,” Mixi said while rolling her eyes.
“Let’s get on it! I wanna set off sooner than later!” Jonnie exclaimed. “By the way, we all really have missed you.” I almost melted at that. He gave me a quick wink before picking up my suitcase and leading the way to the bus. It was going to be a long and fun roadtrip.
♠ ♠ ♠
Co-author Brianna here, thanks for reading/commenting/subscribing! :)