Chapter Nineteen

      “John! Nick!” I called, entering the condo, slightly confused with the sight my eyes had viewed moments before.

      “What?” John yelled back.

      “Coming!” Nick shouted. The clatter of feet, much resembling that of elephants, stomped down the stairs. A few seconds passed, and then both Nick and John were standing in the front room, opposite me.

      Nick was dressed in a pair of jeans, and a T-shirt, but something about him told me he wasn’t planning on just hanging out. John was in sweats and nothing else, his pale stomach fully exposed. Though it pained me to admit, between Nick and John, Nick had the better body. Nick was more toned and tan, whereas John was slimmer and paler. Not that I’m physically attracted to either of them in anyway- but factually speaking. 

      “So, what’s up?” John asked.

      “Did you happen to have the spontaneous urge to buy a sports car?” I asked John.

      “No…” he shook his head, “why?”

      “Because parked outside our building, in one of our parking spaces is a red Corvette. Nick, did you happen to get a paint job on your car in the last twenty-four hours?” I questioned Nick.

      “No,” he replied.

      “Okay, so then who can explain why the hell there’s a car there, and who it belongs to?” I said, frustrated with the lack of information I was receiving.

      “Well the car’s yours,” Nick said, running a hand through his hair.

      “What do you mean?”

      “It belongs to you,” he said.

      “No, it doesn’t,” I objected. I had my small, little Smart Car, which was at home. I did not have an expensive Corvette, nor want one.

      “Yeah, it does.”

      “Why is it there?”

      Nick thought for a moment, before responding, “As a pre-apology present.”

      “A pre-apology present?” I repeated, not having the slightest clue as to what he was indicating.

      “Yeah,” he nodded.

      “Who’s apologizing, and what for?” I asked, concerned that something in the house may have broken, or that something catastrophic had happened in my life that I wasn’t informed of.

      “I’m apologizing,” Nick proclaimed.

      “For what?” John snorted, walking over to me, and propping his elbow on my shoulder.

      “Oh ya know…” Nick stalled, evading the answer to the question he had been asked. He mumbled something under his breath, inaudible to anyone with ears.

      “What was that?” I asked.

      “I’m going with Aspen and Lexie to…” he said, muttering the last part. So, he was apologizing for going with two of the people I hated somewhere that I most likely also loathed. Cool. Nick really is the perfect example for how not to be a good friend.

      “Seriously, Nick, where are you guys going?” I prompted.

      “Colorado,” he blurted. I thought for a moment, before his words sunk in.

      “You suck!” I screamed, brushing John’s arm off, and running past Nick to the stairs.

      “I’m kidding!” he called after me.

      I turned back, my mind in a frenzy of confusion. “Really? Well it was a pretty crappy joke. Where the hell are you going, and why the hell is there a car parked outside?” I said, not a trace of joy passing through my words.

      “We’re going to Switzerland for the weekend,” I exhaled a bit, still not happy, “and the car is for you.”

      “Firstly, I don’t really care where you go, and secondly, I can’t accept the car,” I said.

      “Sure you can; it’s a gift. A gift from a friend,” he reasoned, as if it was no big deal, not realizing the conflict that would come if I were to actually take the car… unless of course that was his intent.

      If I were to take the car, it would add so much chaos to my life. Jake would probably dump me, seeing as how I accepted a very err… generous gift from another guy who happened to be my ex-boyfriend. Nick would also possibly take it as a sign that I had forgiven him completely, and was ready to get back together- something that is never going to happen. It would all be a big mess.

      “Or a gift from my creepy ex-boyfriend,” I replied.

      “I’m not creepy!” he objected. “Sure, I know where you live, your phone number, what you ate for breakfast, and a number of other stalker-y things, but I’m not creepy!”

      “You keep telling yourself that, bro,” John said, stretching his arms over his head, so his muscles flexed out.

      “You know what, Nick, I hope you have a great time in Switzerland with those two… lovely girls. Don’t do anything illegal, I’m not bailing you out, and neither is John,” I said, trudging up the stairs, wanting to fall into my bed, and forget this ever happened.

      “Bye Elle! I’ll bring you back a snow globe!” I heard Nick call. I ignored his comment, and walked straight into my room, slamming the door behind me, and partially forgetting why I was ticked off. Nick was going to Switzerland. So what? What did I care? I had Jake, and my life was moderately perfect. Nick going across the Atlantic shouldn’t even puncture, let alone burst my bubble.

Nick

As I closed the door to the condo, I thought about what I was doing. Would I regret it? Probably, but it didn’t matter. Elle’s mind was wrapped around her fake relationship with Jake, so I was entitled to do something fun once in a while. Sure what I was going to do had been the main reason behind our “breakup”, but keeping me away from skiing is like telling a fish it can’t live in water anymore.

      “Nick!” someone said. I looked up, and smiled at Lexie. Her hair was stick straight, and rested over her shoulders in a neat way. She was wearing a thin, mint green jacket, and jeans. She looked pretty. “Where are we going, and why do I need my passport?”

      “We’re going skiing,” I answered, walking a few feet over so I faced Aspen’s door, as Lexie joined me.

      “Where?”

      “Switzerland,” I replied casually, knocking on the door.

      “Oh. I like that country. They have cute vests,” she said, as the door opened up. And here comes the moment of truth… I watched as Aspen looked at Lexie, not saying a word. Lexie too was staring at Aspen.

      “Aspen Ricci,” Aspen said, sticking out her hand, and smiling.

      “Lexie Hunter,” Lexie said, grinning back. They liked each other… I think.

      “So, you ski?” Aspen asked.

      “Yeah,” Lexie said, as Aspen nodded her head approvingly.

      “Let’s go,” I said.

      “Okay, my bags are the trunk of my car, so do you guys just want to take my car to the airport, or what..?” Lexie said.

      “How many bags do you have?” I inquired, stressing that there was a slim possibility that we would miss our flight.

      “Five,” she answered simply. Five. When I had called her earlier, telling her a few details about the trip, I know for a fact that I mentioned we were going for the weekend. Two days. How can a person need five suitcases full of stuff for two days and one night? I will honestly never understand the female gender…

      “We’re taking your car,” Aspen said, stepping out of the doorframe, a single bag in hand. As I’ve learned, Aspen isn’t as delusional as most of the girls I somehow manage to come in contact with. She’s grounded to reality, and doesn’t have her head in the clouds.

      We stomped down the steps, and came to a silver BMW. It was a nice car. Not too big, and not overly small. From the outside it was appealing to look at, and on the inside clean and expensive. It fit Lexie well.

      After stowing away Aspen’s belongings in the trunk, Lexie slid into the driver’s seat. Aspen sat beside her, in the passenger’s seat, and left me all by my self in the back. I put the single backpack I was bringing in the empty space beside me, as Lexie turned on the radio to some familiar song that was about the sun going down, and stars or something, that I was having the memory lapse of forgetting its name. She started the car, and drove off.

      On the ride to the airport, Aspen and Lexie chatted away, every so often including me in their conversation. They talked about the city, school, clothes, stores, shopping, and the one topic I could actually have a valid opinion about, skiing. For the most part though, I remained quiet. I was glad the two were getting along so well. Seriously, how fun would it be to be on the top of a mountain, in Switzerland, the freezing cold surrounding you, listening to two girls bitch about each other? Yeah, not exactly my idea of enjoyable.

      After a couple minutes of Lexie navigating through complicated traffic, and awful drivers who shouldn’t have had licenses, we arrived at the airport. Finding our terminal was a whole other story. This place was massive. Sure, I’ve been to big airports before, but I had only been to this place about three times, so wasn’t used to the layout quite yet.

      We drove up to Terminal E, and she stopped the car, pulling up to an empty space. She popped open the trunk, and a guy in a uniform went around back to begin hauling the luggage onto the sidewalk. We all got out, and Lexie texted someone, telling them to pick her car up. After going through the baggage check-in, we entered the airport, and joined the endless line of people leading to security.

      I’ve always hated waiting in lines. Waiting in general, really. What’s the point? It’s an agonizingly long process that makes my head want to explode, and there’s no real reason to it. Take baseball for example: when you’re waiting to the ball, there’s no point… at least for me. I know I’m obviously the best player on the team, so why wait? Waiting in line and waiting in general are both perfect examples of the idiocy in society.

      “So, how many times have you guys been to Switzerland?” Lexie asked, the line moved about a quarter of an inch.

      “Eleven or twelve,” I answered, adjusting the strap of my backpack.

      “Seven,” Aspen said, “I think.”

      “Mhmmm… I love it! Sometimes it’s a little too cold, but overall nice,” Lexie said, smiling.

      “Yeah?” Aspen said, beginning to text someone. This line was progressing slower than a snail stuck at a yellow light. Waiting sucks.

      “So, Nick, what’s your major?” Lexie asked, trying to start a conversation. Aspen snorted, and not regarding the words that had appearing on her phone.

      “Uh… I don’t really know. My parents want me to go into law, but I think that becoming a bus driver is the career path I really want to explore,” I said, keeping my face restrained, as she gave me a horrified look. “I’m kidding.”

      “Thank goodness!” she sighed, clearly relieved. We talked for a while about nothing specific. Switzerland, skiing, Harvard, Aspen’s hair color, and the current time span it would take us to get through the line were among the topics of our discussion.

      After what felt like an eternity, we finally came to the checkpoint right before you take your shoes off and all that crap. Lexie and Aspen both flashed smiles and their IDs at the security dude, and went on their ways, leaving me alone.

      The guy read over my ticket, and then asked, “Can I see some ID, Mr. Ross.”

      “Course,” I said, fishing the card out of my pocket. I gave it to him, and he glanced at it for a brief moment, and then turned away, looking at my ticket. He looked back over to my ID.

      “You’re name is Nick Ross?”

      “Yes sir,” I said, not wanting to know what the dilemma was.

      “How old are you?”

      “Eighteen, turning nineteen in January.”

      “Uh huh. Well, son, I hate to inform you, but this is a fake ID, and it’s considered fraud, therefor I’m going to have to detain you,” he said, as I gaped in response. I’m such a fucking idiot. I gave him my fake ID, and not the real one. Who does that? Clearly I do…

      “Okay… Can I tell my friends?” He nodded. “Aspy, Lexie, I apparently am about to be detained, so you can either go to Switzerland without me, or we can postpone the trip. Your call, I don’t care.”

      The two girls looked at each other, shocked with what I had said. After quickly debating it with one another, they reached a verdict. “Switzerland will unfortunately have to wait!” Aspen said, beginning to put her shoes on again.

      The three of us followed the security officer over to a gray cell. He sat me down, and told the girls to stay out. I’ll admit it- I was a little scared. I had never gotten into trouble with the law, and for something like this I don’t even know the consequences!

      “So,” the security dude said, “you have two options. One: tell me why it was in your possession, and pay a fine of fifty dollars. Two: pay a fine of fifty dollars and tell me why it was in your possession.”

      “Okay, first off, will this go on my permanent record?” I questioned.

      “Yes,” he answered.

      “What if I pay a hundred dollars?” I asked.

      “It’ll still remain.”

      “Two hundred?”

      “Sorry kid, I can’t do anything about it.”

      “One thousand, if you don’t report me, and you can confiscate the ID or whatever, and I’ll promise to never use one again,” I bargained.

      “A thousand dollars?” the guy asked, a heavy urban accent in his tone. I nodded. “Where the heck does a kid like you plan on getting that type of money?”

      “My wallet,” I said, pulling it out. I counted out ten hundred dollar bills, and handed them to him. “It a deal?”

      “Fine,” he said, accepting them, and slipping them away into his pocket. “You can go.”

      I hurriedly left the holding cell or whatever the fuck it was called, and came out to greet Aspen and Lexie. “Guess who’s not going to Switzerland today?” I asked.

      “Michelle Obama?” Aspen said randomly.

      “We aren’t!” I cried, walking away from security, set on leaving the airport without looking back.

      “What happened?” Lexie inquired.

      “Let’s just say you shouldn’t have a fake ID…” I said, shaking my head at my own stupidity. Damn, sometimes I’m such a moron…