Title: Road Trip - Chapter 4
Author: Alicia Blade
E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com
Ya know, I could not believe it when people told me they were actually
READING this!! Woah, cool! I hope those of you continue to enjoy!
"He told me that the Lord had said, 'I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I will smash the yoke that Nebuchadnezzar put on the necks of the nations to make them his slaves. And within two years, I will bring back to Jerusalem everything that he took from my temple and carried off to Babylonia.'"
Jeremiah 28:2-3
"So… are we going to stop by Arkansas University?" asked Serena,
taking a sip of her Pepsi.
"I don't see why not. It's on our way," answered Ami.
"Cool! I want to meet this Greg guy. He seems nice."
"Oh Serena, do you ever think about anything other than guys?"
"Sure I do… like food!"
"Hello, can I help you?" asked a lady at the counter. Ami and
Serena were standing in the main office of Arkansas University. College
goers strolled back and forth, carrying books and chatting with their
friends leisurely.
"Yes, please. We're looking for someone by the name of Greg
Dawson… um… he's a friend of a friend."
"Did I just here my name?"
Ami and Serena turned to see a man a few inches taller than them.
His brown hair had been combed very neatly and his matching dark brown
eyes smiled at them. Beneath his left arm was a couple of very thick
and important looking textbooks.
"Greg Dawson?" asked Ami and Serena in unison.
"That's me. I'm sorry… have we met?"
"Oh, uh, no actually. But we know Lita… well sort of."
Greg raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, then hey, a friend of Leet's
is a friend of mine. Why don't I treat you ladies to a cappuccino?"
"That would be lovely," said Ami. Serena looked over at her… were
those hearts in her eyes?
'Oh no! She finally falls and it's for another brainiac! Well,
they'll have lots to talk about…'
Serena took another nibble at her chocolate cream pie while
pretending to be interested in the conversation between her two
companions. She thought they were talking about some kind of bomb
called Y2K or something like that.
"Oh Greg, this is the most intelligent conversations I had in
days!" swooned Ami. Serena rolled her eyes.
'Like I'm incompetent of an intelligent conversation! Ha!'
"It's a shame you can't stay longer. I would have liked to take
you to the Historical Museum downtown."
"That would have been delightful. It really is a shame we must be
leaving tomorrow morning."
"Oh? Are you heading farther north?"
"No, we're going East to Mississippi. Though I would have liked
to see the Ozark Plateau."
"Oh that… well, it's really not much different from any other
flat, raised area of land. You won't be missing much."
"I suppose. Well, we really should go find a hotel before the
rooms are gone. We are both very tired of being trapped at a Motel 6!"
Greg laughed. "I understand. Well, maybe I'll see you sometime.
I'll tell Lita you stopped by."
"Oh yes, and tell her we said hello, would you?"
"No problem."
"Thank you so much for dinner, Greg."
"You're very welcome Ami. And thank you for your outstanding
companionship and this wonderful conversation. And uh… thanks for
coming too, Serena."
Serena smiled politely. "Uh-huh. Thanks for the dessert!"
The two girls walked quietly out of the small café, off to find
another hotel.
"I can't believe you actually fell for Greg! You didn't even
think twice about Andrew or Chad or Darien, but as soon as you see a
guy with books, you're all over him!"
"I happen to find brains attractive! Besides, you had already
claimed all of the others," Ami teased.
Serena rolled her eyes. "Still… Greg?!"
"Yes Serena, Greg. Besides, he was very sweet and kind, not to
mention an excellent conversationalist."
"Conver-wha? Oh whatever! You know, I need to start bringing a
dictionary whenever I go traveling with you! Why do you have to use all
of these big words, anyway? You should know by now I don't have a clue
what you are talking about!"
Ami sighed. "Maybe that's part of the reason I use long words,
Serena."
"Huh? I don't get it."
"That's okay. I wasn't expecting you to."
Serena crossed her arms in front of her chest and continued to
stare silently out the car window as trees and crops passed them by.
"What's that river?"
"The Arkansas River. It will empty into the Mississippi pretty
soon. The Mississippi River is the border between Arkansas and
Mississippi, so that's how you will know when we cross the border."
"Oh, that's pretty cool. Are we going to be there any time soon?"
"I suspect we will be able to see the Mississippi very soon. Any
minute now, actually."
"Hey, is that it up there?"
"Where?"
"That black snake like thing up near the horizon."
Ami squinted her eyes slightly, then smiled. "Yup, that's the
border line."
"Hello, y'all, and welcome to Mississippi! The Birthplace of
Country Music!" said a young lady behind the counter at the hotel. Her
long blonde hair was tied into a giant red bow at the back of her head
and her friendly blue eyes seemed joyful, though a bit bored.
"Finally, a nice hotel!" approved Serena, looking around the
large lobby.
"Yes siree-ma'am! We've got a hot tub and sauna, indoor and
outdoor pools, steam room, recreational areas, room-service, laundry
service, the list goes on!"
"Restaurants?" Serena asked hurriedly.
"Yup! Three on the lower level and this area is surrounded by
cafés, bakeries, gourmet restaurants… you name it!"
"Yipee! Oh, Ami, let's stay here for a really long time, okay?
Please? Please?!"
Ami shook her head. "Serena, we still have to get through Alabama
and Florida! If I want to get back home before my report is due, we can
only stay here for one night!"
Serena sighed. "Oh yeah, the report. Why is school always getting
in the way?!" she whined.
The blonde behind the counter giggled slightly and handed them
each a key card for their room. "My name is Mina and if you need
anything at all, my job is to make sure our guests are comfortable. And
here in Mississippi, we treat our guests right!"
Ami and Serena could tell she had said this line numerous times
within the last few hours. With a smile and nod, they retreated off to
their room before heading back down for some late dinner.
"I'm gonna miss this place," stated Serena sadly as she watched
the large hotel become just another dot in the midst of the city
bustle.
"It was a very nice hotel… but personally, I want to go back to
Arkansas to see Greg."
"I wouldn't mind coming back to Lita's Bistro… or going on
another tour of the Grand Canyon."
"Or the sand dunes!" Both of the girls laughed merrily.
"Ya know, Ami, maybe we should do this again over the summer!"
"That sounds like an excellent idea! And then I won't have any
report to be working on either!"
"Yeah… it sounds like a plan! So… I guess we're heading to, what
did you say, Alabama next?"
"That's right."
"Oh… hey look! I can see the tips of some mountains way over
there in the distance!" Serena pointed out of the windshield.
"Yes, those are very far off though. We'll be able to get a
better look later. Those are way up in the northern regions of
Alabama."
"What mountains are they, though?"
"The Appalachians. They stretch all the way from Quebec, Canada."
"Wow."
"Mm-hmm. And they are also folded mountains."
"Huh? What does THAT mean?" Only after Serena had said this did
she realize that now she would have to sit through another long
scientific explanation.
"When pressure pushes rocks together from different sides, the
rocks can buckle and fold into mountains."
Serena waited. And waited. And waited…
"Huh? That's all?"
"What do you mean?"
"You… you're not gonna give me any more meaningless tidbits of
information?"
"Well… I suppose if you want…"
"No! That's okay, really. Hey… I actually understood that."
Serena smiled with pride in herself.
"Well, I suppose after we travel through Alabama, we'll only have
Florida left until we can resume the drive home."
"Aw… can't we ride a plain or something and then come back for
the car next year?"
"Oh, Serena, you're impossible!"
"What? Just because I don't want to drive for another 2 weeks…"
"Fine, fine, when we get to Florida, I'll see if I can arrange to
have the car shipped back to Washington and we can get some plane
tickets, alright?"
"Yay! Thanks Ami!"
Ami sighed. 'Well, I'm tired of driving anyway!'
Next time: One more state to go, and with the journey coming to an end,
what will these two travelers encounter? Landmarks of historical
significance? More interesting residents? Geographical landforms? And
what will Ami get on her report? Find out next time in the conclusion
of this five chapter story, that oddly began a one page essay, a long,
long time ago…
The end, for now…
Luv and God bless!
<3 Alicia
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