Logan - The Road Trip Max Wanted

Friday flew by quickly.

For students at Woodlands, it ended around their lunch break. Both afternoon classes and club activities had been cancelled. The faculty and the staff would hold their monthly meeting. The students would go home after morning classes ended.

It was almost like they left as soon as they arrived.

Max parked his car at his house's garage. He ran up to his room for a quick change of clothes. He dumped his school bag near the door and pulled off his shirt. Passing by his mirror, he made a quick stop. He raised his arms and flexed his muscles.

He blew his reflection a kiss.

It didn't take long for him to get ready. He had his essentials in his pockets. There were two of them, his phone and his wallet. The gang would come by anytime soon. He decided to wait downstairs.

His feet thudded on the stairs, echoing through the air.

He jumped over the last 3 steps.

The sun shined brightly in the sky.

Once out of the front door, Max shielded his eyes with a hand. His other one fished out his phone and dialed Lauren's number. She didn't have a car so she didn't need to stop by her house. She already brought her own clothes and changed in the girls bathroom.

She also went with Colin who was bringing the van.

Unless Max wanted to distract the driver, he should call the driver's girlfriend instead.

"Hello?" Lauren answered. Her voice sounded far away. The car air conditioning hummed in the background faintly.

"Hey, guys. Where are you?" Max asked. He figured that he was on speaker. His violet eyes checked down his street. He saw no sign of the van.

He glanced on his phone, checking the time. He knew enough Math that the van should have arrived by now.

Where could it be?

They couldn't have left without him.

Right?

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Five teenagers occupied a black SUV. The wheels rolled down a street. Barren tree branches shaded the vehicle from the hot sun.

Colin held onto the steering wheel. Lauren sat on the passenger seat. The seat behind them had Logan in the middle. Jae took his right while Carla positioned herself on the left.

They all wore their seat belts.

Max's voice blasted out of the car speakers.

The phone had been connected to the bluetooth.

"Huh?" Jae replied this time. He unbuckled the seat belt and stood up. Leaning beside Lauren's seat, he focused on the phone screen. "Who said you were coming?"

He pressed his lips together, waiting for the response. The rest followed his example and stayed quiet. They held in their laughter. The van continued to move under them.

For a moment, the line stayed silent.

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"Guys!"

None of them replied.

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"GUYS! Don't do this! This was MY idea!" Max yelled, "Come on! You can't go to Freccia Prep without me! This is betrayal!"

Back at his house, he fumed. He believed that he doomed himself with his thoughts. He had wondered if they left and now they affirmed it. Still, it could all just be a joke.

What kind of sin did he commit to deserve this treatment from his friends?

"No, this is justice," Carla pointed out. She smirked from her seat. "Didn't you cause an explosion at the lab?"

She hadn't seen it herself but the incident was all over the school. Smoke still filled the air when the next class attended. Their tables had been wiped clean. Only Professor Crouton had the set up.

He merely instructed them to write down their observations.

"That was an accident!"

"Then, why do you cause so many of them?" Lauren cut in. She had to cover her mouth. She didn't know how long she'd last. It was just too funny.

Jae pressed a finger to his lips, reminding her to pull herself together. Her amused expression wasn't helping him either.

"I don't know! If I knew, the accidents would stop." Max exasperated a sigh. He began to whine, feeling helpless. What were they worried about? He'd explode a car? He had been in one for years and he hadn't caused any accident—whether as a passenger or a driver.

Except, he almost did that one time he and Jae drove up a mountain. He had stowed away that memory forever and never opened it again.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," Logan wondered out loud. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the backrest. "We're already too far away plus Max would just keep asking for detours."

"No, I won't. I'll be on my best behavior."

Colin shook his head. "I don't believe him."

"I swear it on my gorgeous hair."

"Wrong answer!" Logan imitated the sound of a buzzer. "You already dyed it once because of a bet. It doesn't count."

Max cursed under his breath. He mumbled more profanities, too low for them to hear. Then, he exhaled sharply. "How can I make you believe me then?"

Lauren could imagine with one hand on his hip. He would also be glaring into space. The rigid stance made it seem as if he was about to do a business transaction.

She narrowed her eyes. "Swear it on Felicia."

Her demand met with silence.

"..."

"Who is Felicia?" Carla asked, scowling.

The group answered her in unison. "It's Max's car."

She jumped in surprise. Except for Colin, she swore that all of them turned towards her. Then, they all went back to Lauren's phone. She shook her head at the experience.

Carla paused for a while. Felicia? She thought. Max named his red sports car… Felicia?!

As if he could hear her question, Max sent out a response. "Fine! Okay, okay. I swear it on my beautiful baby car, Felicia. Now, will you come back for me?"

"Nope." Jae said, popping out the 'P' sound. He sat back on his seat and buckled in.

"But I swore on Felicia!" Max exclaimed.

"We refuse to go to you." Lauren rolled her eyes. A tiny smirk tugged on the corner of her lips. "It has to be you who walks down your block until you reach the corner of your street."

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"Why you guys—"

"See you, Max!" She said, ending the call. She put it back on their track list. Road music floated out of the speakers.

"That's the last of it!" Jae declared. Reaching for the backseat, he stretched his back. It arched for a bit. "We're ready to go!"

About two minutes later, a knock came from the door. The older Parker twin opened it and got out. "Hey, Max! Wow, I didn't know you were coming with us."

His best friend had his hands on his knees. He panted from the run. At first, he had the wrong corner in mind. And so, he had to turn around for the correct one. It was a tedious exercise.

The latter was also farther away from his house.

He rolled his eyes at Jae's cheekiness. "Very funny. "You guys are mean! I can't believe you made me swear on Felicia!"

He clutched on the lever and folded a part of the car seat. He climbed up, heading for the back.

He loved it.

He had it all to himself.

"Sorry, Max." Jae apologized. He unfolded the seat and hopped on. "Although, I really am not. We just promised dad that there would be no detours."

"You also made me walk!" Max added. He huffed and sulked against his seat. "We would pass by my house anyway to get out of town."

"Is it too late to put him back?" Carla moaned. It hadn't been a minute yet but her head began to hurt. How did she survive dating this guy?

"Unfortunately, no." Lauren chuckled. She pulled out a pair of earphones. "But I do have this. Just block him."

"Thank you."

The head cheerleader put it on and opened a streaming app. She checked on the latest series that she watched. The rest of the world drowned out as she entered a new one. The video went straight into the action.

Colin put the vehicle on drive.

He turned around the corner, entering Max and Lauren's street. The rest settled in for the long drive ahead. They had prepared snacks to munch on. They had their phones charged.

They could do this.

Logan opened a chat app. He flooded Alex's phone with messages, bragging about their free afternoon. He filled her in with the details on their prank—changing their destination to the amusement park.

Jae took out a tablet from his bag.He scrolled through his digital comic book collection. He had downloaded new ones and this was the perfect time to read them.

Max pouted. All of his companions had something to do. He had expected more from this trip. Where were the loud conversations? The road games? The sing-along with the music?

They should have group activities! Not pass the time with their mobiles. If anything, he expected some carpool karaoke, at least.

No one shared his sentiments.

The drive went one, continuing their journey.

As they headed for the town exit, a yell came from the backseat.

"Bye, Felicia!"