Gas Station Breakfast: Chapter 1

The car pulled into the gas station with a small whine. The brakes could probably use replacing soon, but there wasn’t much time for repairs at least not today. Once to a full stop, two boys about 18 stepped out both stretching hard. Bones and joints cracked and popped as they yawned looking over at each other. The air was stale and dry, but it was better than sitting in that car for any longer.

          “Hey, I’m gonna go inside and grab some food.” One of the boys called to the other.

          The remaining boy simply nodded and walked to the back of the car and got ready to begin filling up the gas. He ran a hand through his sand-blonde hair as he leaned back against the gas station pump. The bags around his eyes were getting pretty bad, but they only had a few more hours to go. He leaned down to get a look at himself in the mirror and tried to polish himself up as best he could. Fidgeting with his hair and shirt nothing seemed to settle right for him.

          “Is this too casual? Maybe I should button a few up.” He muttered to himself as he did up a few buttons before the meter clicked off.

          He stood back up and topped off the gas to make the amount even. He sighed as he put the nozzle back in and turned around to go inside and pay. As he began heading in the other boy came out waving to him. After a few minutes he came back out, cramming a receipt into his pocket and holding a 1 liter Coke bottle in the other.

          “Still can’t decide on your outfit Sam?” He laughed as he leaned against the car, crossing his arms on the hood.

          “You know what Glenn you can shut up.” He began patting himself down for the keys.

          Glenn just smiled and pulled his sweatshirt up over his shoulders before opening the car door. It whined as he pulled on it and much like everything else with the car it seemed like it was about to fall off. They both slid in and strapped themselves in, hoping to finish off the last leg of this adventure in one shot.

5 months ago

          Sam lay in his bed yawning with a laptop resting on his chest. It wasn’t an exciting life he lived, but it was comfortable and easy. Before everything changed that is, but for now he was a simple 4.0 GPA, all around nerd that really didn’t ever venture out of Small Haven, the cheesiest town ever. With its Ma & Pa stores and population of around 12 it was hard to believe that anyone would be content living here.

          Small Haven was the type of town you find in a Hallmark movie. Everything is perfectly serene and in place. Nothing ever goes wrong and everyone knows everyone. The perfect type of town that is perfect for someone who just wants a safe and comfortable life with no hardships, but no excitement as well. Sam was stuck here and was completely fine with the status quo. The high school was small as well and offered little for a non-rebel like Sam. Glenn was only friends with him because they were neighbors and it seemed tradition in Small Haven that any neighbors with children were forced to co-mingle. Again this was more than a fine arrangement for Sam and Glenn seemed content as well, they even planned to go to the same college together, but Glenn had plans larger than their hometown. He had plans to move out West somewhere, he didn’t care wear, and start his writing career. Sam, on the other hand, knew he would go into IT somewhere but when asked where he drew a blank. He always thought he’d grab a map and a dart then let fate decide, but he was always scared of where it’d land.

          A small town that left little room for friends also left little room for girlfriends. Sam wasn’t socially awkward or terrible with women; he was simply disinterested and possibly afraid. The high school didn’t offer much variety either, which only helped to stunt his growth in this area. There wasn’t much point in dating for the sake of dating and by the time your graduating it seemed pointless to date because then what if you don’t go to the same college? What if we just break up? Why date for only a few months then? Or at least these are the ways the Sam always justified it in his mind whenever asked.

          These reasons and the mere shock of it are what caused Sam hesitate a moment when a new friend request popped up on his Facebook while he was lying in bed. They had a few mutual friends who were just vague faces from the cafeteria. Remi something-or-other, he couldn’t remember her last name but those were irrelevant to Sam, seemed to appear out of nowhere. The instant panic and shock set into Sam because all the logical questions like “who is she” and “why did she add me” were popping around in his head. Almost subconsciously he hit the Confirm button regardless without any real reason why, he wasn’t even aware his hand was moving at first.

          He blinked a few times at his screen looking at her picture before dismissing the pop-up. Sam quickly closed his laptop and sat up rubbing his eyes. Groaning, he shoved the PC off his lap and shuffled out of his bed. It may have been Saturday, but lying around all day probably isn’t best whether or not it’s already noon. Plans may not have been made yet, but flipping through his phone and drawers Sam could find something to do and to wear. Whichever came first. Small Haven may have been uninteresting, but there were enough surrounding areas that gave them something to do. If nothing else, Sam could wander off into the neighboring forest like when he was younger. He might have been afraid to leave town in the future, but small ventures like this were within his comfort zone.

          For a while nothing came out of the computer click and no one around him made any mention of the new clandestine friendship. After a few days Sam had almost forgotten Remi completely, that is until he noticed some recent status updates. He didn’t check it as often as other teenagers did, so it took him quite a bit of time to notice that she had become single.  It had originally made no difference to Sam because she was miles away and they hadn’t messaged each other yet. That is until a few weeks later on a particularly boring night for Sam and apparently Remi as well.

          “Hey.” Sam typed into the messenger.

          “Hey.” She responded a few minutes later.

          “Sorry, I don’t mean to bother you. We’ve just been friends for a bit and haven’t ever chatted.”

          “So how are we friends then?” he could almost hear her snap back.

          “I guess we aren’t friends then.”

          “I…guess not” Sam sighed a bit, great start on this one.

          He sat in silence for a bit watching the unresponsive Remi’s chat window. After a few minutes passed he closed his laptop, setting it on the nightstand next to him. He sighed, rubbing one eye with his palm, turning his head to check the time. 11:54PM. School was in about 8 hours, which gave him about 5 hours of actual sleep before beginning a new day. This all amounted to typical night for Sam: late nights, little sleep, and a depression growing just a little bit more with another one of life’s disappointments.