I posted two chapters to keep you all from going crazy :).
Chapter Ten “I’m poor, I’m starving, I’m flat broke, I’ve got no cash to spend...” --Reliant K The next day was rather fabulous for Cody and Georgie, but a little boring to be told in story form. So I shall summarize and move on to more interesting (for us) events. They woke up at 10 a.m., enjoying their laziness quite thoroughly. They bought some donuts from a Casey’s and ate the whole dozen. After that, they just walked around, shopping occasionally, and talking a lot. Their ‘date’ seemed to have opened up new doors of conversation for them. They walked for the whole morning, ate lunch, and finally, and 1:47 p.m., things got very entertaining, because Georgie and Cody had their first real argument since running away. “I don’t think that’s true,” Georgie said as they walked along sipping smoothies. “I think if a guy likes a girl, he should tell her!” “But what if he stops liking her?” Cody asked. “Then he never really liked her in the first place,” Georgie said, as if this question weren’t worth even considering. “But what if he just likes her as a friend?” “He should tell her that,” “Why does he have to tell her everything?” “Because he likes her!”
“What if he doesn’t even like her?” “Then he should still tell her that!” “Why?” “Because…he just should,”
“Why do guys have to tell girls everything in the first place?” “Girls tell guys everything most of the time!” “Guys don’t even want to hear everything!” “So?” “So…what does a guy get out of all this?” “Undying love,” “No,” Cody said. “All the guy gets is flack!” “Not true! Do you know how insensitive you males can be!? “Girls never listen so how would you know?” “We listen a whole lot better than guys do!” “No way! Girls just yammer on and on!” “You yammer quite a lot,” “I do not!” “Do so,” Georgie said. “Anyway, it only applies to guys who like girls!”
“But I don’t think he should have to tell her,” “Why not?”
“Because…it’s awkward,” “So?” “So…relationships aren’t just about girls getting everything they want!” “I know that,” Georgie said. “But guys are supposed to do more of the work. It’s your job,” “What makes you think that?” “I mean…look at what my step-dad does. He does all the work, makes all the money, and makes all the rules,” “Look at my dad. He used my mom, bailed on us, and is off doing who knows what as we speak!”
Georgie let out a much exaggerated sigh. “Your dad does ruin a lovely demographic.” “That’s probably the least annoying thing he’s done,” “See? Guys are always being jerks, so they like, owe it to us girls to do everything!”
“What!? That’s just…dumb! And sexist!” “I am not being sexist!” Georgie shouted. “That’s like…the most insulted thing anyone has ever said to be! Gosh! What the heck? What did I do to get labeled sexist!?” “You think girls are superior to guys,” “You think guys are superior to girls!” “No way!” “Oh, yeah! Whose sexist now!?” “You’re a feminist on the loose, girl!” Georgie smacked Cody. “I am not! I put up with you!” “I put up with you! I should get a medal or something!” “Oh, like I’m such a pain!” “Yeah, you are!” “So are you!”
“You’re a bigger pain!” Georgie snorted. “Yeah right…whatever,” “Can’t think up a comeback?” “Can’t think?” “Got issues?” “Got brains?” “Why do you keep insulting my intelligence?”
“What intelligence?” “Now you’re just being a jerk,”
“I’m being the jerk!?”
“Whatever! Just quit being so egotistic!” “You’re the one with the ego problem!” “Too egotistic to even admit your head is big?” “Stop it!” “You started it!” “Just…just…” Georgie was rather mad for no reason at Cody. This happens a lot when you love somebody and spend a lot of time with them…you can’t stand them sometimes. “Just shut up!” And she dumped her smoothie down Cody’s shirt. My first thought on recording this is: Ach! She wasted a perfectly delicious smoothie! My second thought is: It would have been so, so fun to dump down Cody’s shirt myself! Cody’s reaction was a very unmanly squeal: “Giiiiiiiiyyyyaaaaaaaaaaa!!” Georgie gave him a satisfied grin and flounced off. And somehow, that solved everything. After three days of even crazier and more random fun (which really doesn’t seem possible, I know), Cody and Georgie found themselves at a bus station once again. Georgie went into her second ride on a bus much less enthusiastic than the first time. And forking over another $300 for tickets was a sore wound. But they seemed to have worn Minnesota out, for all its charms, and for some unexplainable reason; the unknown beyond of Iowa called to them. They busied themselves with DS battles until the batteries were worn down. Cody had, unfortunately, forgotten his charger, so even if they somehow found an electric outlet to charge them in, it would be impossible. Thus the two DS players were mournfully placed in Georgie’s backpack to wait until another time. They slept on the bus through the night as they road through Minnesota, getting closer and closer to Iowa. The next morning, when they woke up, the bus driver informed them that they were less than five miles from entering Iowa. Cody knew Georgie would be breaking into the Field of Dreams quotes any minute now, so he grabbed a pack of Oreos and shoved them at her with cheerful gusto. Georgie loaded her mouth with cookies, saw the Welcome to Iowa! sign, and immediately blurted out,” Ifs thish heaven?” Cody moaned. Georgie swallowed. “Finish the quote! Finish it!” “Fine! No! This is Iowa! Happy now?” Georgie handed him an Oreo, and peace was made. After finishing the Oreos, they started to notice what they were driving past. “Cows!” Georgie cried, ecstatic. “And holy moley what a lot a’ corn!” “Sheesh…yeah,” Cody said. “I knew they grew a lot of corn around here, but this seems a little much,” “I guess corn and cows go nicely together,” Georgie replied. “Although you know---” “Don’t say it!” Cody shouted, clapping his hands over his ears. “La la la la!” I can’t hear you!” Georgie stood leaned over and shouted at his hand over his ear, “Happy cows come from California!” About half an hour later, they came to their stop. Mason City. They looked around like they had when arriving in Minnesota. “Hm. Not bad,” Georgie said. “Though I must say Minnesota is flashier,” “Iowa has a rustic charm to it,” Cody decided. “Though whether it’s more rustic or charming, I have yet to conclude,” They walked around a little while, waiting for the other bus passengers to finish their leg stretching and breakfast buying. Even though they had downed a whole package of Oreos, Cody and Georgie decided they were hungry enough for more food, and went and bought Egg McMuffins at McDonalds. “Yum!” Georgie mumbled, savoring large bites of sausage and melty cheese. “Junk food is amazing!” “Indeed,” Cody said, having finished his first McMuffin and starting on his second. After breakfast, they got back on the bus, ready to get all the way to Des Moines already! Georgie commented that it was weird a state like Iowa had a capital called Des Moines. “It looks Spanish. And how do you pronounce it? D-E-S M-O-I-N-E-S…it looks like you say it dess mo een ess,” “Or maybe its dees minus,” Cody said. “Or desh maynos,” Georgie replied, giggling. “Desim oins!” “Maybe the D is silent? Es moyness!” “Das meanness,” “Dissed mayonnaise,” They sat trying, though not very hard, to figure out how to pronounce Des Moines for about half an hour before a man in the row across from them finally shouted, “You pronounce is duh moyn! Now shut up!” Much humbled, Cody and Georgie slumped in their seats. “Dissed mayonnaise sounds way better,” Georgie muttered. Cody frowned. “Tell me about it!” Des Moines is a pretty big city. It would have been pretty impressive to two small-town Wisconsin kids, if they hadn’t seen St. Paul and Minneapolis first. However, they could see it would suit their needs (and wants) nicely. They had a blast. They went to the Des Moines Art Festival and did every last free activity and bought popcorn and fudgecicles and sugary drinks. When they were standing nearby a maintenance worker opened a fire hydrant to clear the lines, they played in the water until the sun went down. It was still gushing steadily when they fell asleep on the steps leading up to a bakery. In the morning, they went into the bakery as soon as it opened and bought donuts. They lived without a care in this way, positively owning the streets of Des Moines, Iowa. It was all so fun, they didn’t think about anything else. They got rather selfishly caught up in themselves and the pure, uninterrupted fun they were having, that they were totally unprepared for the lightning strike. It was a week after they’d arrived in Iowa…fifteen days since leaving home. They came to a Quik Trip advertising two-for-one-dollar 44 oz slushies. Cody grinned in a greedy manner at the sign. “Hey, G-girl…grab a dollar out of my wallet! Ice cold goodness for breakfast!” Georgie looked down into Cody's wallet. She blinked.
“Cooodyyy...” She said, her heart leaping into her throat.
“Yes, dear Georgie?" Cody said. "Come on...all I need is a dollar!"
"We're out of ones, Cody," Georgie said, her voice trembling.
"Ok, give me a five and I'll find a change machine,"
"All we have left is...is...one five."
Cody gave Georgie a scrutinizing look. "Ha ha. Very funny."
"We're broke."
Cody stared at her. "What!? You're joking!"
Georgie started to cry. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! Hundreds of miles from home!"
"We had over eight hundred bucks in there!" Cody cried, grabbing the wallet from her. "Oh, no." They simultaneously slumped down onto the sidewalk, leaning against the side of the building.
"My mom is going to horsewhip me," Cody said. "With both a horse and a whip. Than Aunt Jody will use me to mow the lawn. If I don't die, first,"
"My parents will sign me on as their personal slave for the rest of my life...yeah...if I don't die, too."
All light in their lives seemed to slip into an abyss of no return. "How? Why?” Cody mumbled forlornly. “Why?”
Georgie wondered the same thing. "I never thought this was the way I’d go. I knew it would be your fault, but I never thought it would happen this way."
"No, I said I was only taking credit for what went right, remember?" “How is that fair, Cody?” “I never said it was fair,” Cody said defensively. He was near panicking inside. He’d never imagined life on the road without money…it had never even occurred to him!
Georgie took a deep, shuddering breath, and rested her head on Cody's shoulder. "I trust you, Cody. You'll get us out of this. You'll get us home."
Cody felt the weight of the world come crushing down on his shoulders. But he knew one thing. He wasn't going to let anything bad happen to Georgie. Looking up, he saw, like a beacon of light in a hurricane, the most glorious thing ever. A McDonalds.
"I'm hungry." He said.
"Me too." Georgie said in total agreement.
And so, hundreds of miles from home, the two of them crossed the street and spent the last five dollars to their name on breakfast at McDonalds. Georgie was disappointed that McDonalds does not, in fact, have CiniMinis. Those come from Burger King. But she tried her best to de-stress with an apple pie and an egg McMuffin. Cody had a medium coffee, an egg McMuffin, and two apple pies. They sat, chowing down on the fatty, sugary goodness, mostly in silence, until Georgie was down to only half a pie and the remains of her egg McMuffin biscuit, which she didn’t intend to eat, and Cody was finishing his second pie. “Want some of this?” Cody asked, holding the cup of coffee out to Georgie. “I usually hate coffee,” Georgie said, but didn’t hesitate in taking it and swallowing a large gulp. She immediately stuck out her tongue. “How can you drink that!?” “Caffeine,” Cody replied. Georgie picked up her half an apple pie and sighed. “Cody…” she said hesitantly. “I…I think we’re in trouble,” Cody gave her a look. “Y’think?” he asked sarcastically. “Broke and hundreds of miles from home…yes I would say we’re in trouble,” “Cody, I’m serious,” Georgie said, her voice suddenly shaky. “And…” “What?” Cody asked, realizing he’d hurt her feelings. “You can tell me,” “I know,” Georgie said, squishing her apple pie so the filling oozed out of it. “I’m scared,” Cody frowned. “What do you mean?” “I mean we’re in trouble…I mean big trouble…not like blow up Mrs. Crabapple’s flowerbed trouble…huge trouble. And I’m scared…something bad is gonna happen. So I’m scared.” Cody smiled reassuringly at her. “Eat your pie, G-girl. You don’t need to be scared. I promise I’ll take care of you,” Georgie smiled, brushing her hair out of her face. “You’re the best, Cody. Want my McMuffin biscuit?” “Absolutely,” Cody replied. Chapter Eleven Next course of action? Battle plan. They were broke in Iowa, over 200 miles from home. They were both too young to get jobs. Cody refused, as a matter of pride, to run crying to the nearest social worker. Begging seemed a little too desperate to both of them. That left only two options remaining; steal, or starve. “We’re not completely out of money,” Georgie said. “We’ve got…5.67 in change. That will feed us for a little while. We’ll just have to buy really big stuff,” “Yeah,” Cody said. “But what are we gonna do when we run out?”
They were silent. What could they do?
“No!” Cody said, reading Georgie’s mind. “No, no, no!”
“Well, do you have any other ideas?” He was silent. “So…I guess we’re going home,” Georgie said. “Ugh! We can’t go home!”
“So you do have another idea?” she asked excitedly. “Well…no.”
“Oh.” Cody sighed. “Look…let’s…not worry about it, ok? Let’s lay low and just…chill for today,” “Ok,” Georgie replied. “Fine.” ‘Chilling’ is easier said than done, especially when you are technically broke. So Georgie and Cody did a lot of walking. And resting. And talking. Which meant they started fighting once every hour or so. No matter how good of friends two people might be, when you have to be together all day and you have been together almost nonstop for the past two weeks, things get a little tense. Two days later, they were almost out of food entirely, and were even closer to being out of patience with each other. “Cabbage is gross,” Georgie said, slumped down on large decorative rock outside of a bank near one of the many Walmarts in Des Moines. “And it smells funky,” “Lettuce is weird,” Cody replied. “It’s droopy and it doesn’t have any flavor,”
“Whatever,” Georgie replied. “I’m bored.” “Well, we need to do something,” Cody replied. “I’m getting hungry, and its late,” “Great,” Georgie replied. Cody pulled out the small map of Des Moines they’d purchased before the money ran dry. “Um…sheesh this thing is detailed…we are…here. There’s a Casey’s like five miles that-a-way,” he said, pointing past the bank towards the main road. Georgie sighed. “Ok. Fine.” The walk was miserable. Five miles of car exhaust, sore feet, and bitter silence was almost enough to drive them over the edge. It seemed they would never come to the Casey’s gas station the map promised them. But finally, they reached it. Scoping out the land around it, Cody found that a little ways behind the station, there was a small, unused burning dump. He took Georgie there and commanded her to stay by the barrel he indicated. “But Cody,” Georgie said. “I’m already bored!” “No,” Cody said. “Just stay here. I’m gonna go get us some food,” He headed back in the direction of the gas station, and Georgie slumped down on the cement. The burning dump was a large, flat rectangle of concrete squares, most of which had either moved upward over time or had plants growing through the spaces between squares. There were bricks piled all over, and at least a dozen burning barrels. Cody said it had been originally used to go and burn paper and cardboard and stuff. Apparently recycling those things was more popular nowadays, and the burning dump had gone out of business. It didn’t take long for Georgie to realize she wasn’t alone. She saw several other people; clearly homeless people, wandering through the barrels. They had all come on so suddenly, maybe they hadn’t been there when she first arrived. In a short time, Georgie counted eight other strangers; one grown man, one old man, two woman, a couple teens, and two little children. None of them paid any attention to Georgie. One of them started a fire in a barrel, and they stood around it, laughing and talking like they were gathered around a fireplace in a mansion. Georgie smiled. These people were having an adventure, too. “I have returned!” Cody announced. He was holding something behind his back. “Whoa…what’d I miss?” “Those people are just chilling,” Georgie said. “None of them even said hi to me. But I don’t think they look mean,” Cody agreed. They looked harmless, in fact. It was just their sheer number that worried him. “We can go somewhere else if you want,” He said to Georgie. “No, I’m fine,” Georgie said. “So, what are we having for supper?” Cody grinned his fiendish grin, and pulled out from behind his back a pack of hotdogs and a pack of marshmallows. “IMPROMTU WEENIE ROAST!” Georgie squealed so loud, those standing around the fire turned to see if she’d been bitten by snake or something. “Weenies!!!” Georgie cheered. “Yee-haw!” Cody pulled out his book of matches, and with some old wrappers from past snacks and paper, he soon had a fire going in a barrel, too. There was plenty of left over cardboard in the barrels, too, so Cody had no fear of running out of fuel. He pulled out found two sticks and shaved down most of one half with his pocket knife, that stuck it in the fire. “Weenie roasting sticks,” He said. “You’re amazing,” Georgie said with adoration. Anyone who could pull together a weenie roast in the middle of nowhere was worthy of great respect in Georgie’s book. Soon, they were roasting cheap hotdogs over a small fire. Never before had Georgie been so excited about roasting a hotdog, which is saying something. She spazzed whenever a cookout was mentioned, but this one had been such a surprise, her toes were curling into the bottom of her feet. They’d been roasting a little while, when the man came over from the other fire. “Hello,” He said. “Hello,” Georgie said, smiling. Cody was less eager to be friendly. “Can we help you, sir?”
“I was just wondering if you have enough hotdogs to share one,” He said. Cody and Georgie looked at each other. Cody had bought an 8-pack, meaning four for each of them. Georgie shrugged. “He can have one of mine,” “Ok,” Cody said. He got the package of hotdogs and handed one to the man. The man smiled so wide, it turned Georgie’s reaction to a weenie roast into ho hum. “Thank you,” They watched him go back to his fire, where he picked up a stick, stuck the hotdog on, and began roasting it. The people around the fire cheered. When he finished roasting it, Cody and Georgie were eating their first ones, but they were gazing intently on the man. He pulled it off, broke it in half, and gave it to the two little kids. Cody and Georgie looked at each other. “I’ll be right back,” Cody said. He raced as fast as he could back to the gas station, and returned with two more packs of hotdogs. “Weren’t those expensive?” Georgie asked. Money was a concern. “Are you kidding me?” Cody asked. “They were $1.50 each!” “Why didn’t you get more?” Georgie giggled. “Excuse me!” She called to the people. Eight heads turned and looked at her. “We have plenty more hotdogs, if you’d like some,” Soon, they were in the middle of the biggest and best impromptu-weenie-roast-in-a-burning-dump ever. The two teenagers were Justin and Julia. They were siblings whose parents had died a while back, and they said living on the street was better than foster homes. The two little kids were Nora and Hannah. They were simply adorable, and Georgie was happy to learn that their parents were both with them. Their father was the one who’d asked for the hotdog, Max, and his wife’s name was Gloria. The old man, Gregory, was with his daughter, Sharon. “You guys seem so happy!” Georgie said as she finished her third weenie. It actually tasted just fine with no bun or ketchup or anything. “I thought homeless people were always sad,” “We are happy,” Gregory said, smiling. “We have each other, and someone to help us always comes our way. Like you two. I don’t remember the last time we ate so well,” “Aren’t you two down on your luck?” Sharon asked. “I mean…you look just as homeless as we do,” “We kind of are,” Cody said. “But we’re…voluntarily homeless,” Julia snorted. “What does that mean?” “It means we ran away from home,” Cody said, smiling a little. Gloria frowned at him. “Why on earth would you ever do that?” Cody just kept smiling the more he thought about it. He shrugged. “You know, I have no idea why I wanted to run away…I just did. My home situation isn’t…ideal,” “I ran away because Cody is my best friend,” Georgie said. “And I wanted to have an adventure,” Their eight new acquaintances were all quiet for a moment. “Was it worth it?” Justin asked. Georgie and Cody both smiled. “Yes,” Georgie said. “It was so, totally worth it,” “Who wants marshmallows?” Cody asked, holding up the bag. A cheer went up, and soon they were all covered in gooey white mess. Georgie started giggling and couldn’t stop as Nora and Hannah started sticking leaves to the sticky marshmallow patches on each other’s faces and clothes. The marshmallow supply held out until long after dark, and soon, exhausted and happy, Hannah and Nora fell asleep on their mother, and Georgie fell asleep resting on Cody. Finally, Max stood up. “Well, everybody, we should turn in. Thank you so much, Cody. I wish you two the best of luck,” “Yes,” Gloria said with somewhat worried smile. “Good luck,” The others said goodbye and wished them well. Julia went last, and leaning forward, she whispered in Cody’s ear. “You have an amazing girlfriend. Treat her right,” Cody laughed. “If any more people think she is or should be my girlfriend, we might have to start dating,” Julia smiled. “So…she’s your sister?”
“Nope,” Cody replied, putting an arm around Georgie, who had started to mumble in her sleep. “She’s a lot of things. My reality check, my nervous breakdown…but really, she’s just my best friend,” “That’s awesome,” Julia said. “Bye, Cody. I’m so happy you have a home to go home to. We’re still trying to find one,” Cody watched as she started to leave, following the others, who were setting up cardboard boxes to sleep in or under. “Julia?” She turned back. “Yeah?” “Why do people think she’s my girlfriend?” It was something that truly confused and irritated Cody. Julia smiled. “Because you two obviously love each other,” she replied. “That’s not something you can ignore. Goodnight,” “Night,” Cody said. He looked down at Georgie, her hair falling down into her face. He pulled out a blanket and a mini pillow, and picking her up, he laid her down on the makeshift bed. “Night, Georgie,” he whispered. He pulled out his own blanket and pillow and lay down a little ways off, where he could keep an eye on the holy terror. He listened to Gloria singing her daughters a lullaby, until finally, he fell asleep, too.
Genre
Comments
AAHHHH!!!! So sweet. I love
AAHHHH!!!! So sweet. I love all the great lines in this story, and the sweet ones. It's so cute. I hope this is published someday, so I can read it and laugh. Your characters are so endearing.
"You were not meant to fit into a shallow box built by someone else." -J. Raymond
Hey! Love, love, love this!
I love this story so much! Is it possible you could publish the rest by the end of October? Ben is approving things more quickly now, I believe. I just love this. I commented on the other chapter without reading the comments on this one first, so I didn't know you already knew AP was closing down. It's so sad. :-(
I will certainly try! BUT, if
I will certainly try! BUT, if i don't get it all up, i can e-mail it to people. No problem. And i don't mind...i know you guys loved it! Very very VERY sad :(
WOW!!!
Totally broke! *rocking back and forth on feet* oh dear whats going to happen!
What is the "Holy Terror"?
I LOVE THIS BOOK !
"Here's looking at you, Kid"
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Write On!
ANNOUNCEMENT:
If anyone is DESPERATE to read the rest of this story, as AP is closing before i'll be able to post it all, simply request, and i shall e-mail it to you!
Thank you.