Chapter 9

Throughout their ride home, they talked about the camping trip, making new plans while canceling the old ones.

"How long would you spend on the mountain?"

"I'll be back the next day mum. I'm not the historical kind."

"Oh," she sighed, disappointed in his words.

"What is it?" He noticed her low tone.

"Nothing important. We're almost home."

Flooring the car down, she blitzed through the empty street, screeching to a halt in front of the house.

"Woah! Mum! Are you trying to kill us?!" Carter yelled holding onto the dashboard with his right hand while his left held his chest. He was visibly terrified.

"Hahaha!" Mary laughed as she turned off the car, unbuckling her seat belt. "You should see the look on your face. You were like, 'Waaahhhh, help me mama!'"

"I did not say that," he retorted, getting out of the car with his school bag.

"Whatever."

***

The night flew by with the speed of mercury as the morning showed up without a hitch.

Carter had finished dressing up for school when the doorbell shattered his quiet morning.

"Someone's at the door!" yelled Mary as she had her morning brush in the bathroom, leaving a groggy Carter to struggle with his clothes while opening the door.

"Mary?" someone called at the door.

"I'm coming!" yelled the boy who finally got hold of the door handle, yanking it open.

A middle aged man stood before him with a black bag in his hand. Carter could recognize the bag as his mothers work bag.

"Hi," the man smiled, stretching his hand to shake Carter's. "You must be Carter. Your mum has told me so much about me."

So have I, Carter wanted to say.

He sized the man up, taking in the minute details which would be missed by many. His hair was gray from aging which had the same color as his beards. The clothes he had on screamed that he was a medical doctor. His teeth was stained from the numerous work coffee he must have drank to stay awake during surgeries.

So mum had been on some hospital romance trip for awhile, he thought with a sly smile creeping on his face.

Looking past the man, he could see the old red Volvo parked in front of his mom's minivan. He had no style like his mother.

"Gary," a voice called behind him, startling him. He turned around to see his mother in an alluring nightgown. "I didn't know you were going to show up this early."

"I wasn't," the man smiled, taking in the beautiful sights before him. "You left your bag in the restaurant. Seems like you were in a bit of a hurry yesterday."

"Yeah. I had to attend the PTA meeting at Carter's school. Something about the end of the year party."

"That's great."

The two adults stayed in their spots smiling at each other while Carter felt disgusted at his mother being flirted with.

"I'll be right back," he dropped, excusing himself to get back into the house while the adults continued their conversations at the door.

His phone vibrated on the dining table prompting him to take up the call.

"Hello," he grunted after seeing who the caller was.

"Who's the strange man in front of your house?" Ashley's voice squealed into the receiver.

"Some loser who wants a shot at my mum. Where are you?"

"I'm about to leave. You?"

"I'll meet you at your door."

"Great."

Dropping the phone into his bag, he started towards the fridge to take up a sandwich which had been prepared for him as he sped towards the door.

"…through the next hospital. So I told the man to wait for… Where are you going?" Mary halted her conversation, now noticing her son about to leave the house.

"School of course," he responded coldly, not glancing back to see his mum wave at him.

"I'll see you at dinner time!" she yelled back, but he was out of earshot, heading for Ashley's house.

***

Just as he was about to knock on the door, she opened up with a huge smile on her face.

"What's got you into this happy version?"

"My mum agreed to let me go camping!" she yelled. "I didn't even have to lie."

"That's awesome."

"What about you?"

"Yeah, my mum did the same. God I can't wait for Friday to show up already."

That was all she needed to say, for soon enough, the week ran by until Friday evening appeared like a granted wish.

"Are you packed?" Mary asked, helping her son with his tent.

"Yes mum. The clothes are in my backpack," Carter replied while Ashley, who was ready, shook her feet impatiently in the sitting room.

"Where would you guys convene to go to the camp?"

"Mum! I've told you a million times already. We will join the others at school and go to the camping site together."

"It's five o'clock already," the woman sighed, standing to her feet to admire the tent she had rolled up into a moveable object. "Alright. You guys should start going. Should I drive you there?"

Carter just like Ashley carried his tent, running down the stairs for the door.

"I'll see you on Sunday mum! Bye!" And with that, the two children sped out of the house, running towards school.

"Make sure to call me when you're there!" yelled Mary after her son who was out of hearing range.

***

Within minutes, Ashley and Carter were in school, ready to head for the camping site with Jake.

"So… how do we get there?" Ashley asked, chewing on a candy bar.

"Harold offered to drive us there," Jake replied after texting his location to the boy.

"Carter, are you okay with that? I know you and Harold" sighed Ashley

"I'm cool with it"

Ashley stole a glance at Carter just as he did the same to her.

"Tell him," she mouthed.

"Hey buddy," he began, getting Jake's attention. "Don't you think Harold and Catherine should treat you with some kind of respect?"

"What do you mean?" he laughed nervously. "Of course they treat me with respect."

"You know what he means Jake," Ashley dropped.

"Both of you know nothing of how nice Harold and Catherine have been to me. We are friends. I help them and they help me."

"What do you help them with?" Carter asked, trying to get an answer.

"Well, I do their assignments, help with their tests and finish their projects just like other humans do for their fellow human friends," he replied with excitement in his voice. "They called me smart. That's a great nickname for me."

"And what do they do for you in return?"

"We hang out at the gym. I mean all they do is kiss while I sit in the bleachers waiting for them to finish, but we still hang out together."

Carter exchanged glances with Ashley knowing that he was being used but he was too blind to see it and too stubborn to acknowledge it.

A horn blasted away from there as they turned to see a black off-road jeep speeding towards them.

"I think that's him," squinted Jake until he caught Harold's frame in the driver's seat. "Yup, that's him."

The jeep pulled to a halt as the trio got into the backseat with Catherine singing to the rock music in the front seat.

"Hey Harold. Thanks for coming through," Jake said as he rolled down the window on his side with Ashley and Carter getting in.

"Anytime nerd," chuckled Harold who had a lollipop in his mouth. Immediately the door had been slammed shut, he floored the steaming vehicle into the road, heading for the highway.

Carter looked out of his open window watching the evening sun go down. The birds flew in the skies heading home for the evening. It was aesthetically pleasing. He wondered if this was how artists got their inspirations to paint their pieces.

"I like this song!" exclaimed Ashley just as she started to sing out loud with Harold and Catherine.

They were singing to Shania Twain's you're still the one I love. It was an old song and he couldn't help but hum to the rhythm with the group.