Chasing Fireflies

The weather in Arizona never really bothered me. But when you are in a van with five boys, you kind of hate to roll down the windows. It’s not like you have any choice in the matter; the boys smell quite rancid, and you have to get the smell out somehow, right? To be honest though, the open windows only added problems. Take for example the fact that there was absolutely no wind whatsoever, just the strong and everlasting Arizona heat flooding into the car. So while the stinky smell of the five boys left the car through the open windows, the heat came into the car, thus causing the boys, and me myself, to sweat, in turn making the car even more stinky.

Obviously sensing that the open window wasn’t going to help anything, Jared spoke. “Close the window, Laurel. We can just put the air conditioning on.”

“But you guys stink!” I whined.

“We’re guys,” John reasoned. “It’s understood that we stink.”

“Just like it’s understood that once a month you get very, very moody,” Garrett announced.

I shot a glare at him. “Fuck off, Nickelsen.”

“Fuck off, Nickelsen,” Garrett echoed. “Why don’t you fuck off, Campbell?”

In any other situation, I would have slapped the guy silly. But these five guys were my best friends, and no matter what they did or said, I’d still love their stupid asses, because they’re them. I’ve known some of them since pre-school for heaven’s sake. “If I didn’t love you as much as I do…” I said, causing Garrett to laugh. “Man. You better be glad I’ve known you since you were five.”

“You know, I don’t even remember meeting you,” Pat chimed in.

I smiled. “I remember. It was the first day of pre-school. We were three. And the only reason I remember meeting you is because later that day you threw up your lunch all over the teacher’s new rug.”

“I did not!” Pat blushed. “Okay, so I do actually remember that, but I don’t remember you being there.”

“Well I remember. You were the scrawny little kid who threw up on the first day of class. You were the first thing I told my parents about when they asked me how my day went.”

“Wow, I feel so special.” Pat laughed.

“You should. That’s one of my first memories ever. So…what’s your first memory of me?” I shifted in my seat so I could hear his response better. I wasn’t going to take my eyes off of the road, especially on this crazy Arizona highway.

Pat was silent for a minute. “We were three, or maybe four, and we both went to this girl’s birthday party.”

“Oh yeah,” I said. “Sarah Something-or-other. Yeah, I remember. She had the--”

“Bouncy house, yes.” Pat and I both laughed, causing the other guys to look at us. “Well,” Pat continued. “The girl’s brother kind of had an accident in there…if you catch my drift.” The guys grimaced. “He was two, let him live. Anyway, Laurel here was in the bouncy house when it happened and the first thing you hear after it happens is a little girl screaming, ‘He just pooped! Oh my gosh that’s so gross! Isn’t he potty-trained?’” Pat smiled, reminiscing. “So I got kind of curious and set my plate down… I was eating a piece of cake… and I walked over to the bouncy house and here’s this girl screaming about this boy going poop and these two adults trying to calm down this little boy who, quite obviously has poop smeared all over his bottom.”

“This is a weird story,” Jared said.

“I agree,” said Kennedy. “Very weird story.”

Pat laughed. “Sorry, it’s just… it’s my first memory of Laurel and, uh, I guess it’s kind of special.”

“Why?” I asked, taking a chance with the ‘crazy Arizona highway’ and taking my eyes off the road to look at him through my rear-view mirror.

“Just because we’re best friends now. And looking back at the pictures, you’re in there and it just… it makes me happy, I guess. Because we’re such great friends now. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I think I get it. Maybe that’s why I remember meeting you. It’s kind of a philosophical thought, but maybe our brain remembers only the important details of our lives. Maybe, even, we don’t remember things because we don’t want to, because we pushed those memories to the back of our brain, hoping we’d forget about them. Maybe our brain remembers that we didn’t want that and just never reminds us.”

“That was deep,” John announced. “By the way, we’re in Phoenix, and I’m hungry again.”

I looked at Garrett. “Well, does anyone have to use the restroom? Because we could stop at the next exit, hit a food chain, get some food for John, use the restrooms there, and then Garrett can drive the rest of the way.” Garrett had promised to drive after Phoenix and I certainly wasn’t objecting to that (even though he has a lead foot when it comes to the gas pedal).

“I could use a bathroom break,” Kennedy stated.

“Same here,” Pat said.

“Alright then. John, there’s an atlas in the glove compartment. Take it out and see when the next town is.” I motioned to the glove compartment with my right hand, keeping my left one on the wheel.

John sighed. “Wouldn’t it be easier to not look at the atlas and just read the road signs?”

“Whatever, John. You’re absolutely no help.” I groaned. “Does anyone else know when the next town is?”

“I think I saw a sign a few miles back. There should be a town within the next few miles,” Jared said.

“There’s a sign!” Pat pointed to a sign and I looked at it.

“Alright, there’s a Wendy’s…” I paused, sending a look at John, who smirked back. “And a McDonald’s. And a Subway. What do you want, John?”

“SUBWAY, EAT FRESH!” he shouted and we all laughed.

“You’re such a goof,” I said.

“But you love me,” John responded.

“I do, I do.” I laughed. A few minutes later I pulled into the Subway and we all piled out.

“It’s amazing what going a few miles north can do to the temperature. It feels like freaking Alaska up here.” Everyone looked at Garrett and he shrugged. “Well it is cooler, don’t you think?”

We all nodded. “Those girls are staring at us,” I told the guys as we entered the sub shop.

“Where?” Kennedy asked.

Before I could answer, said girls came scrambling over. One of them, a red-head who looked about fifteen or sixteen, spoke. “You’re The Maine! Oh my gosh I can’t believe you’re here!”

A blonde, taller than the red-head and about the same age, said, “We love your music. And, well, you guys are hot.”

John laughed. “Well thank you. I had no idea we had a fan base up here in Phoenix.”

“Oh yeah,” the red-head said. “All of our friends… we all love you guys.”

“That’s awesome,” Pat said. The blonde smiled at him, but the red-head continued staring at John.

John laughed awkwardly. “Well it’s great to meet you guys. Keep listening to our music.”

“Oh believe me,” the red-head said. “We will.”

All six of us walked away. I poked John in the back. “Hey, guess what?”

“What?” John asked, turning around.

“You’re hot.”

John laughed. “Apparently I am.”

Garrett, obviously hearing our conversation said, “Did you see the blonde girl staring at you? I mean, that girl was like glaring daggers, man. She was jealous.”

“What is there to be jealous of?” I questioned. “I’m not interested in any of you guys, nor are any of you guys interested in me.”

Garrett didn’t say anything. He just pretended to not hear me (I know he heard me, he had to of) and looked at the menu. I tapped Garrett on the shoulder. “What?” he asked.

“I don’t know what! Why didn’t you answer me?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“It’s nothing, Laurel. You’re right. None of us like you, and you obviously like none of us.” Garrett sighed and looked back up at the menu.

“Yeah.” I suddenly felt queasy. “Yeah. You’re right. Let’s just eat.”

“Let’s,” Garrett replied, not taking his eyes of the menu.

When it was our turn to order, the only people who got anything were: John (a footlong toasted ham and cheese on Italian, combo with Cheetos and a Mountain Dew) and Garrett (a medium Root Beer and a chocolate-chip cookie). We all sat down at a booth and John and Garrett ate their food.

“What time is it?” Kennedy asked.

Jared looked at his watch. “Twelve twenty-two.”

“And how much longer do we have to go?”

“About three hours,” I said.

Kennedy sighed. “This day is so long.”

I laughed. “It’s what’s going to happen when we get there that counts.”

“That’s true. Are you sure we’re going to get the record deal, though? I mean, how can be so sure?” Kennedy shifted in his seat, and I could tell that he was getting nervous again.

“Because you’re good, that’s how I know.” I said. “You guys have the talent to make it in the business. We’ve been over this, God. Just be positive and don’t freak out, okay? You’re going to do fine.”

“Yeah,” Garrett said. “We’ve been working for this for so long. Let’s not mess up now just because we’re nervous.”

“We are all good at what we do,” Pat added. “Let’s not forget that.”

“Laurel’s absolutely right,” Jared said. “We’re going to do fine.”

“Now that that moment of doubt is over,” I paused, “I’m going to use the restroom,” I announced and got up.

The restroom in the Subway was not the best, but it sufficed. I washed my hands thoroughly before exiting it. When I arrived back at the table, Garrett was eating salt. “What the heck is going on?” I asked, unable to control my laughter. The sight of Garrett pouring a handful of salt into his mouth was a pretty funny sight, and when the effects of his action ensued, it made me laugh even harder. As I looked around the table, I wasn’t the only one laughing. Jared couldn’t keep from snorting (it’s actually quite an endearing quality) and John’s smile was huge.

Garrett squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, he softly said, “John bet me that I couldn’t eat a handful of salt without taking a drink of my root beer… Can I have a drink now?”

John laughed. “Yeah, go ahead.”

As Garrett gulped down his root beer, I rolled my eyes. “You guys are so weird. I know I’ve known you for over twelve years, but I’ll never understand your logic.”

“No one ever will,” Jared said, laughing. “That’s the beauty of it.”

“I’m done,” John announced. He got up and threw his trash away, and after all the guys went to the bathroom, we all piled into the car, Garrett and I switching places.

As we drove off, Pat turned to me and asked if I wanted to play tic-tac-toe. “Sure,” I answered.

Then we were on the highway again.