The Second

            Deafening music blasted from Jack’s alarm clock. Rolling over, she smacked her hand down on the off button. Groaning, she sat up and turned her light on. Jack slid out of bed and crossed her room to the closet. She pulled out the clothes she picked for the day and threw them on the bed. She pulled on the grey faded skinny jeans tucking them into her other pair of cowboy boots; she put on the blue button up shirt and buttoned it up. Over top of her shirt she pulled on her black vest and buttoned it up.

            Finished, she stepped into the bathroom and brushed out the lump of hair on top of her head until it was smooth. Her hair hung long down her back. Its rich red auburn color hung limply around her face, framing her jade green eyes. Smiling, she brushed the hair out of her eyes and crossed back to her bedroom. The clock read 4:15. Grabbing it, she clicked open the message from Bennett. ‘I’m ready,’ it read. She smiled quietly to herself and snapped her phone shut. Sliding it into her pocket, she grabbed her small wallet and iPod. Sliding everything into her small leather shoulder bag, she jogged around her room throwing in two different books, a couple magazines, her laptop, a small sketch pad, and several different pencils with a sharpener.

            Zipping the bag shut, she strung it across her chest. Turning out the light, she grabbed her two bags and scurried down the stairs. She climbed out the front door, nearly impaling Bennett with all her suitcases.

            “Oh. Hi there,” Jack wheezed. Bennett smiled at her surprise. She hadn’t been expecting him to be waiting on her porch.

            “Hey. What’s up?” he chuckled.

            “Nothing, I could really use a coffee though,” she laughed as she struggled towards the car. Bennett followed her silently. He helped her as she started loading the car. She fit their four bags in the trunk without issue but she knew that Amity was going to pack a lot more than just two bags. Bennett circled the car and got in next to her in the car. Jack shivered and turned up the heat as they drove. The radio filled the silence that was taking up all the space in the car.

            “Are you excited for your graduation?” asked Bennett quietly.

            “Yeah, I think it’ll be a little sad though. Everybody there will probably never see the person sitting next to them ever again,” she murmured.

            “I know how you feel. I sat next to my friend Grayson Salmon for my graduation. I haven’t talked to him since the after party,” he said. Jack nodded and stared blankly at the road. His graduation after party was one of the strangest parties she’d ever been too. People were slithering around each other, getting as close as possible. She’d moved around them, trying not to get too close to anybody. The summer heat had forced her into a pair of shorts and a thin shirt. Forcing her way out of the crowd and onto the back patio she’d finally been able to take a breath that was not saturated with perspiration. Why did she even go? She’d barely known anybody in that graduating class but Bennett had asked her to go. She never saw him there that day, so she’d left early.

            “Do you want to stop for coffee?” Bennett asked.

            “Yeah, once we get Amity we can stop for coffee,” she replied. She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. She smiled as they pulled into Amity’s driveway. Amity’s dad was standing with her on the porch as they rolled up.

            “Wait here,” Jack mumbled to Bennett as she jumped out of the car.

            “Hey. I got your text right as my phone died. Sorry. I hadn’t even thought about that. It makes a ton of sense though, to pick him up first,” Amity said as the three of them struggled towards the car. Jack popped the trunk and helped to fit most of Amity’s suitcases in to the trunk. When nothing else would fit, they opened the back seat and slid the remaining two suitcases in next to Amity as she slid onto the soft leather seat.

            “Bye Sweetheart!” smiled Amity’s dad as he shut the door behind Amity and backed away from the car. “Bye Jack,” he said as she slid into the driver’s seat. Giving a small smile, Jack started the car and pulled out. Amity waved good-bye to her dad as they sped off down the street.

            “We have extra time so we are stopping for coffee and going to the ATM,” announced Jack. She did wait for an answer before turning into the nearby Starbucks. Her passengers shouted out their requests as she pulled into the drive-thru. “We’ll get breakfast from McDonald’s, okay?” Mutters of agreement came from Bennett and Amity as Jack rolled the window down.

            Loudly speaking their order into the microphone, she waited for the prices to appear on the screen. As they did she shouted them out to each of the people in her car.

            “Thanks, please pull around to the first window,” burbled a nasally voice from the speaker. Jack slowly crawled forward while she pulled her wallet out of her pocket. She flipped her money from the fold and collected cash from her passengers. She shivered while she waited for the employee to open the window.

            Finally he did collecting the money, exchanging it for their drinks. Carefully she handed the carrying to Bennett as she thanked the man and pulled out. Bennett passed out their drinks, setting Jack’s in the cup holder. Putting the cardboard holder on the floor between his feet, he sipped lightly at his coffee.

            They drove quietly, the early morning radio playing softly through the speakers. They stopped at McDonald’s, ordering three McGriddles. The employees didn’t seem to mind the time, fueled by coffee and energy drinks. The hot paper bag filled the car with the sweet smell of syrup and hash browns. Bennett handed Amity her sandwich and unwrapped Jack’s before handing it to her. She mumbled thanks over her rumbling stomach.

            The soft, sweet pancake, egg, cheese, and sausage mixed with delicious perfection in her mouth. She never got McDonald’s unless it was breakfast. Bennett chuckled at her obvious satisfaction over the small sandwich. Jack shook her head in protest but continued eating. Amity finished her sandwich, balled up the paper it had been wrapped in, and threw it at Bennett’s head. And missed, by a long shot; the balled up paper flew past his head, bounced off the window and landed in his lap.

            “Nice shot,” he mocked. He picked up the paper ball and threw it in the abandoned bag their food came in. Jack finished her sandwich, washing it down with a gulp of iced coffee. Wiping the excess grease off on a napkin Bennett handed her. Thanked him and threw the napkin in with the rest of the trash.

            “Officially, what are we doing first when we get there?” asked Bennett, looking over at Jack.

            “Well, I have booked our hotel so we will stop there first. Then we will freshen up,” she said giggling. “And go see whatever we can see. There are supposedly street markets that we can see while we are there and we will of course have to exchange our money for the currency there, pounds.” Both Jack and Bennett listened absently to what Amity was talking about. She continued chattering on, occasionally stopping to yawn.

            As they arrived at the airport, they checked in for their flights and sat down to wait. The waiting area started to fill with tired people. There weren’t very many people there with small children, much to Jack’s relief. The only thing worse, she thought, than having a baby crying on a plane ride was having a baby cry the entire way on a 13 hour plane ride. Leaving them for a while, Bennett came back with two heavy paper bags. Ignoring their curious looks, he shoved the bags into his carry on and zipped it shut.

            “Now loading the flight from Columbus International Airport to the Heathrow International Airport in London,” buzzed the chirpy flight attendant. Standing up, the three friends grabbed their carryon bags and waited in line to board the plane. Their senior year spring break was going to be great.