Snippet #1503013

Ashley was both surprised and relieved that Tessa had arrived first. She was early, and to be honest, Ashley had been silently wondering if she should have told everyone to get here at 7am, just to assure they’d actually arrive on time. She had already made a bet with herself that Beau would be the last to arrive, and late. But that surfer-looking boy proved her wrong by showing up second, and dumping his bags into the trunk.

“No, no one’s called me this morning,” Ashley answered Beau’s question, glancing back at him through the rearview mirror while she folded the map back up neatly in the same creases that they had already been folded in. “So, I think it’s safe to say everyone’s still coming.” With a nod, Ashley leaned over and tucked the map into the glove box, hoping to not have to use it for a while. Her whole life she had grown up in this area and she knew most of the major highways out of here. So if she couldn’t find her way to St. Louis, only nine hours away, this whole road trip would be doomed from the start.

Opening her side door, Ashley stepped out of the van, knowing that the trunk was probably a disaster after Beau had stuffed his bag and tent back there, and especially seeing Evan had arrived as well, throwing his bag into the mix. “Sure, just throw it in,” Ashley mumbled under her breath from behind the van as she shifted and moved some of their bags around. She smiled as she felt Tessa’s bag, which was heavier than all of them. Candy, mostly. She guessed.

”Keys, A familiar voice spoke out, and Ashley spun around to look back at AJ, his palm raised expectantly. At first, Ashley could only look back at him with a raised brow in confusion, until it was finally clear to her that he intended to drive. Ashley laughed loudly, as if the thought of AJ Durham driving her family’s minivan was the most ridiculous idea in the world. And it was. When she saw that he was serious, Ashley swallowed hard and slowly shook her head. He didn’t need to know that the keys were still in the ignition.

“Sorry, but I think my dad’s exact specific instructions were, ‘Do not let the Durham kid get behind the wheel’. Yeah, that’s exactly what he said.” With another firm nod, Ashley turned back around to realign the stack of bags while motioning for AJ to set his inside as well. She knew it would bother the hell out of her if she couldn’t see out of the back windows of the van while driving, but it seemed to be an unavoidable task at this point with the amount of stuff they had back there now with all the bags, blankets, and few tents. When Gretchen arrived, looking as beautiful as ever, Ashley waved and motioned for her to bring her bag around to the back, too.

“Ready to go when you guys are!” She said excitedly, slamming the back doors of the trunk and practically tripping over her own feet as she walked back to her door. “Gretch, you want to sit up front?” She offered, not sure if she’d like the idea of AJ being her ‘navigator’. The further away he was to make fun of her driving, the better. Maybe Evan could shut him up with his peanut butter. Or Tessa, with her candy.

“You’ve all went to the bathroom first, right? Got your tickets? IDs?” Ashley asked as she turned around in her seat to look back at her friends, going over a list that they may have already gone through ten times this morning like she had.