Sudsy - Pine Hill Trilogy Short
“Stella, can you wash the truck?” My dad called from downstairs.
I peeked my head out of my slightly messy bedroom. “What was that?”
His footsteps carried themselves up the stairs and he fake laughed. “Take the truck to get washed. The last camping trip left the windows and body a mess.”
As I headed toward the stairs, he snapped his fingers, which caused me spin around on my heels. “Don’t forget the sunroof broke.”
I snapped my fingers back at him. “Right, but it should be fine, right? We jammed it closed.”
“It should.” He shrugged. The small crinkles by his eyes tightened; he looked tired.
“Cool.” I nodded. “Take a nap while I’m gone?”
My dad chuckled. “I’ll try.”
Swiftly, I snagged the keys on the kitchen countertop and walked through the second door to the garage. The white F150 had dust all over it from our backroads to the Boundary Waters, and it had rained while we were there so that didn’t help; it only left a residue all over the windows. I clicked the button to dispense the washer fluid and wipe the blades a couple times. That didn’t obviously clean the entire front windshield, it was a temporary fix. I texted Evie before I left.
I swung around the suburb of Minneapolis that we lived in to pick Ev up before I went to get the truck washed. My dad only asked I get it washed, he didn’t say it had to be quick. Of course we stopped to get some coffees; her’s hot, and mine cold. She bumped a new playlist she’d created, “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding was at the start and we danced like crazy idiots; the song definitely signified the end of summer before we went off to Pine Hill University.
“Oh, before I forget, the sunroof is broken,” I stated as we drove the entrance for Willy’s Car Wash.
“What?” Ev exclaimed. “Are we going to get wet?”
I shook my head. “No, my dad and I jammed it closed, so it should be good.”
She looked at me suspiciously. “If I get wet, I will shun you for a week.”
“Mmmhm,” I retorted. I eyed the wash menu to decide which one to go with. I picked out the emerald, the second tier; it included a wax finish so it would keep him shiny for a while, and from the terrors of the upcoming winter.
“I’m serious, Stel. These pants are new. I don’t want soapy water all over them.”
I eyed her outfit choice. The army green, baggy pants and dark grey, long sleeve made her look a bit like some character we used to watch on TV as kids. “Those aren’t new, Ev. You literally wore them last week.”
“I still don’t want to get soapy water on them.”
“Roger that.” I looked at the man taking cash and handed him the exact change then rolled my window up. We watched as the four dudes did the first initial soapy wash of the windows. Before we were guided into the lock tracks, I switched the gear to neutral.
Evie turned the volume up as the machines around us were loud, and she resumed her stupid bounce dancing. I smirked as I admired her before joining in. The first half of the short wash was fine. It was the second half that went horribly wrong.
A squeal sound stopped me short of another roll with my arms and a hand went over my mouth at the sight of bubbles on Ev’s head. Her arms were up in a ‘W’ position with shock exasperation read all over her face. If it weren’t for the fact of our current situation, I’d say it was kind of adorable.
“Stella!” she yelled. “Do something, please!”
I had to stop myself from laughing. I couldn’t help it. Quick thinking, I snatched my black raincoat from the backseat and I held it up against where the water seeped through. Some of the water splashed on my lap and caused my jeans to cling to my skin. She couldn’t be that mad if I also got wet, right?
“I’m so sorry, Ev,” I giggled out as we hit the large blow dryers.
Her curls sopped in front of her eyes and she over exaggerated an attempt to blow them away. Evie crossed her arms and looked ahead.
“Come on, Ev. We both knew the sunroof was broken.”
It was actually silent for a while as I headed back toward her house. That was not how I expected that to go. Maybe we should’ve rigged a tarp over just the sunroof, or hand washed the truck.
A small smile tugged at her lips. “You’re lucky I love you so much, Stella.”
“No, but I will never let you live this one down. I’ll be telling everyone at school.”
I rolled my eyes. “Go right ahead.”
“Okay.” I smirked. She wouldn’t.
There was a second of quietness before she jumped in her seat. “I will, Stella!”
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