Flashes - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

If Trinity lived in town, I could ride the bus to her house. But no. She has to live just outside of town, where people are dividing up old farms and turning them into these really big houses surrounded by a bunch of dead fields.

What’s with the dead field look? If I had this much land, I’d turn it into my own Giverny and paint scenes from it all the time, just like Monet. I say that, but Grandma’s backyard is an enormous, and I try to avoid it. I’ve never taken my paints out there. I’m afraid if she saw me sitting around in the garden, she’d find something for me to do. And everything to do out there includes heavy labor.

There’s a mailbox with a huge gate about every half mile on this road. I really need the next one to be Trinity’s. I need water. Bad. I think I swallowed a bug with that last mouthful of dust.

My Grandma wouldn’t cancel her golf time to drive me. She didn’t even care that I’ll be all sweaty when I get to Trinity’s. I think she might be too old to understand how important this is. I swear when I become an adult, I will never ever laugh at anything my kids’ say. And I will drive them anywhere they want to go. At any time.

But she did buy me a new swimsuit last night. She completely got that. It’s a red bikini. Very popular girl looking.

The next house has to be Trinity’s, right? Because I’ve been riding up my bike forever now. Nope. That would have been way to convenient. But at least it’s on a hill. A hill with a nice breeze and a vulture in the road.

Vulture. Vulture in the road. How did I not see this in one of my flashes?

“Moooooove you stupid thing.”

Fan-freaking-tastic. Now, I’m sweaty and I have gravel imbedded in my knees. Oh yes. I’m definitely popular girl material.

“Why didn’t you fly away you dummy?” It moved all of three feet away. “Quit looking at me. Get out of here.”

Seriously. Please don’t let anybody from school drive by right now. Clearly the number two most popular girl has lost her mind. I’m flapping my arms and chasing a vulture.

“Fly. Do something.”

Okay, that’s doing something. And now I’m gonna run away, because it’s chasing me back. Not good. It’s a lot bigger than I thought.

“Wait,” I put my bike between us, just to be safe. “What’s wrong with your wing big fella?”

Poor thing. One of it’s wings bends down in a creepy unnatural way.

“How’d you break it? You weren’t hanging out in the middle of a street eating road kill were you? Bad move.” I slowly pick up my bike and throw my leg over it. Not that I think it’s going to be freaked out by my sudden movements or anything. It seems pretty sure of itself. “You probably thought you were bigger than the car. Didn’t you?” My foot’s on the pedal, and I’m out of here.