WANT TO TRAVEL CHEAP? TRY A DRIVEAWAY!
That’s what the advertisement said, and when they said “cheap”, they meant it. This isn’t a paying gig, but the car is free and they even sprang for the first tank of gas. Everything else you have to pay for. That’s what a driveaway is all about, though, right? A way to travel without needing a lot of cash, save for food and fuel.
And the car is nice, that’s for sure: a brand new Thunderbird convertible, cherry red, and all the options. The owner even sprang for a $50 gas allowance, so there’s been no real need to take it easy on the accelerator. On the long stretches of open road, you’re able to open her up and tear down the asphalt. With the top down and the sun blazing, it feels as though you’re traveling at the speed of sound.
You’re on the interstate headed west out of Texas. The big cities are far behind you, and now it’s just long stretches of flat, dry land…and no cops to enforce the already high speed limits.
The hammer goes down and soon the speedometer’s crawled up over 100. There’s not much to see out here anyway except rocks, scrub and the occasional tree. All of that turns into a blur as you let the powerful V8 under the hood have its freedom. You almost don’t even notice the figure standing on the side of the road: first it’s just a blotch, but it quickly resolves itself into the shape of a woman holding a cardboard sign.
As you draw closer, you instinctively slow down to get a better look. You can see she’s slim, wearing bell-bottom jeans and a white tank top stained with sweat. A straw cowboy hat shades her face. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She has a guitar case on the ground next to her, along with a small, green canvas bag. The cardboard sign she’s carrying says SAWYERVILLE. You have no idea where that is.
The T-Bird cruises by her, and you catch a glimpse of the girl raising a hopeful thumb your way. Visible in the rear view mirror, she still has it up.
All the usual clichés pass through your mind: my mother told me never to pick up hitchhikers, and so on. But this girl is all alone and it’s hot out. It might not be such a bad idea to pick up someone for conversation and company. After all, you’ve been driving alone for a couple of days now, and it’s a long way to your destination. Playing CDs in the stereo is great for a while, but…oh, what the hell, just do it. |