The Road Trip

Chapter 35
The Road Trip, Part 35

Part 35

It took a minute of back and forth before Kate was satisfied with my answer.

By the end of it, I was blushing up a storm and actually somewhat convinced that she was right. It’s not like she made me use the pull-ups. In a way, a lot of this was my fault, even though my younger sister was the one who more or less set me up. After all, what nineteen year old girl can’t hold her bladder? In retrospect, there were a lot of things I could have done differently. 

“And would you rather be a nineteen year old girl who shit her pull-ups?” Kate asked, “Or would you rather be twelve years old?”

Nervously giggling, more in the habit after Kate harped on it throughout our little chat, I answered without hesitation. “I’d rather be twelve.” Neither options were great, but the latter felt like the more acceptable choice.

“Mm hmm. My twelve year old little sister,” Kate smiled. It was almost a more affectionate expression than anything else, but I knew her better than that. Her eyes gave away how much she was actually enjoying this. “Now, I think-” Before she could finish that thought, the hallway door behind her opened and the voices of the chattering twins filled the garage. “Later, then,” Kate said. She kissed me on the cheek and grabbed the base of the shortalls to give one more warning rub of the pull-ups through them, “Be good, Annie. Smile and giggle!” Then she stepped back and shut the car door on me. 

For once, I was actually grateful for the childish outfit. If I still had my skirt on, I could only imagine how it would ride up in the car seat. The double pull-ups had already threatened to poke out earlier, especially after my accident. Accidents, plural, if I was counting the more mortifying one. I had managed to keep things hidden so far, but the awkward seat I was currently strapped into would have made things difficult. 

I assumed the arrival of the other girls meant we’d be heading out right away. While I wasn’t particularly enthused at the thought of playing mini golf as a ‘tween,’ I also wanted to get this humiliating day over and done with. And maybe this was Kate’s plan anyway–get us out of the house, where it would be easier to dispose of my pull-ups–provided I could keep up the bubbly attitude she was insisting on, of course. Instead of getting in the car, however, Kate beckoned the girls over to her and circled up with them for a minute. It was impossible to hear anything through the car window and their quiet voices, but I was self conscious enough about my current appearance and situation to immediately guess that I was the subject of their conversation. Especially when Luna looked in my direction for a moment with a curious look. 

Finally, they broke up their little huddle and came to get in the car. Kate sat in the other middle seat, no doubt to keep an eye on me, and the twins hopped in the front. “Ready to go, Annie?” Lilah asked. From the driver’s seat, she glanced over her shoulder with a smile, “How’s your car seat?”

My pull-ups. My car seat. “It’s, like, SO embarrassing,” I giggled. Definitely the truth, but maybe not so bad if I played it off. “You sure it’s the law?” She would know better than Kate, after all.

“Mm hmm!” she replied, “Well, I can’t remember the exact height. But what if we get pulled over? Better to be safe!” As if that was that, she turned the key in the ignition and opened the garage door behind us with the push of a button. 

Luna tagged in right away after buckling in. “So what else do you have planned for the summer, Annie?”

My face flushed at the unexpected question. What was I supposed to say to that? I mentally began grasping for the kinds of things I used to do over summer break when I was younger, but it was all such a blur. Sleepovers, and hanging out at the pool, and the occasional trip? The real answer was ‘find a summer job,’ but that was what nineteen year old Annelise would say. And I wasn’t her at the moment. “Umm . . . “ Feeling like a fish out of water, I turned to Kate for help.

“Aside from orientation in a couple months? Like, nothing! Well, nothing official. Just hanging out with her little friends!”

“Oh, Annie!” Luna exclaimed, “You should totally go to camp with us. I mean, not with us. Lilah and I will be counselors. But you could be a camper! Oh my God, it would be so much fun. Have you ever done summer camp before?”

Yes. A couple times, but I was still figuring out how to balance my fake life against my real one. “Uh, yeah,” I muttered. Belatedly remembering to push a smile on my face, I added, “Last summer! It was fine.”

Kate scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, that doesn’t count. It was a day camp! This is real camp, Annie. Like, cabins and bunk beds. Right, Luna?”

“Yeah! Maybe there’s a bed left? Registration is technically closed, but Lilah and I have some pull. I could text one of the head counselors! It’s a little spendy, but I’m sure we could figure that out, too.”

“You really don’t have to . . . ” I said. Kate and I were just here for the weekend. It wouldn’t make any sense to put the twins through that kind of trouble when I was actually too old to be a camper OR a counselor. 

“Annie, you don’t want to go to camp?” Kate asked. When her voice drew my gaze, she narrowed her eyes for a split second before softening her expression. “Why not?”

Luna didn’t seem to catch the fleeting threat meant just for me, and Lilah was focusing on the road at this point. What did Kate want me to say? It’s not like this was actually going to happen, but I also didn’t want our cousins to go through any trouble for no reason. “Because we’re leaving on Monday,” I said, opting to answer her second question rather than the first one. That was the schedule last I heard–our parents would pick us up that morning, and camp must be the commitment the twins had that made this weekend ideal for a visit. 

“But if you could stay?” Kate pushed, “And if there was room for you to register late?”

She was just testing me. Last I checked, camps with cabins had a cut-off in terms of attendance due to the limited number of beds. If registration was over, then all the spots were filled. “Sure!” I exclaimed, finding it easier to meet Luna’s eyes than Kate’s. With a giggle and a nervous twirl of my left braid, I clarified, “Like, if my parents approve. And if you can, you know-”

“I’ll see what I can do!” Luna winked, “Well, what Lilah can do. She’s better at sweet talking than I am.”

“Your twin powers aren’t the same?” Kate teased. 

“We’re Yin and Yang,” Lilah said to the rearview mirror, “And I’ll see what I can do for my favorite new camper!”

All I could manage was a grateful smile that faded just a bit once Lilah was paying attention to driving again. But when Kate reached over and sharply pinched my thigh, I squeaked and slapped her hand away, only barely managing to turn the girly sound into another giggle before Luna turned back around. “Like, you’re the best!” I managed to get out. Resisting the urge to shoot Kate a glare, I instead kept up the awkward grin for the twin in the passenger seat. “So, like, what kind of camp is it?”

That seemed to be enough to keep Luna’s attention, which meant Kate couldn’t do something like that again. Or worse, considering her antics where my pull-ups were involved. 

The short haired twin was happy to launch into a description of the camp she had apparently been a camper for as well before going back as a counselor once she had aged out. In general, it sounded like my nightmare. As a girl who enjoyed the indoors–particularly with good AC in the summer–and academics, an outdoorsy camp didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. Even if I could be a counselor, considering my college age, I’d much prefer working at the mall or pretty much anywhere else.

Thankfully, the uncomfortable projections of attending a summer camp were interrupted when Lilah exclaimed, “We’re here!” 

Suddenly, I was grateful that it was time to play mini golf. And one step closer to getting out of this mess and putting an end to the degrading facade. 

Of course, Kate wouldn’t make it that easy. “Why don’t you two go ahead?” she suggested, “I’ll help Annie with her car seat!”

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