Where will it end pt. 2

As the clock came closer and closer to ten o'clock I felt more and more bound to the store. Time seemed to slow as my release came near. Minutes became hours, seconds minutes. When the manager finally let me go, a wave of relaxation swept through my body.

"Hey Michael what are you doing tonight," Rachel asked me.
"Uh, I guess I was going to stop by my friend Tom's for a little while and then I was going home. I have a twelve o'clock curfew," I replied.
"Do you think you could give me a ride home?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess that wouldn't be a problem."
"Thanks. I'll just be a minute. Let me grab my coat."
"Okay I'll be out front."

I stood outside of the store peering out into the darkness. The fall nights were getting darker sooner and at this time of night it was pitch black. The advantage of the dark was that the stars were out more clearly. My uncle had taught me all the constellations when I was younger. I could accurately identify the big dipper, the little dipper, mars, venus, and a couple other planets. I looked up and could see the light white mar across the sky that was the milky way. A cold wind blew and I tightened my coat around me.

Rachel had been asking me for rides home for the past few weeks. She didn't live far away and we would talk for a little while on the ride back to her house about school, about the manager at work, about Billy, and about the woes of or poor skin. Rachel usually made me listen to various mopey music on the way back to her house. I'd grown to having ambiguous feelings about Morrissey, The Smiths, Joy Division, and The Cure. I preferred Cocksparrer and the Buzzcocks so much more.

"Last night I saw the most interesting movie," Rachel said as she stepped out of the store and towards my car. "It was all about Tony Wilson. Do you know who he is?"
"Isn't he a freshman at school?"
"No, not that Tony Wilson," Rachel gave a small giggle and then went on. "This Tony Wilson built a night club in Manchester London called the Hacienda. He was single handily responsible for the rise of Joy Division, the Happy Mondays, he even televised the Sex Pistols."
"I like the Sex Pistols."

We got in the car and I pulled out of the parking lot. Rachel's house was about a ten minute drive out of my way but I had nowhere to go. Tom and I would spend the next hour or two smoking pot and playing Grand Theft Auto or some other video game until I had to go home. I had school in the morning and Tom would have to get up at noon to smoke more pot and play more video games. Tom had dropped out of school last year and had recently gotten his GED. He'd begun taking community college classes which he said were as dumb as high school. His mother had been pressuring him to do something with his time and he gave way after weeks of nagging.

"The movie is so great. You get to see live performances of Joy Division. I almost cried. I watched it twice already and I just got it in from netflix last night. I think I might watch it again tonight before I go to bed..." Rachel's gaze drifted off into space. She's probably thinking of twiggy english boys dancing around to sappy love songs I mused.

"I really appreciate you giving me these rides. My mother hates picking me up. All she ever does is sit in the house and watch soap opera reruns. She tapes them and the watches them later in the evening. I hate that we have Tivo. She comes home from work and if I'm lucky makes macaroni and cheese with hot dogs for dinner. I hate the taste of boxed cheese now, I think when I move out, when I graduate, when I'm all done with school I'll never eat boxed food again."
"Yeah I hate that shit, even with velveeta cheese or something on it."
"Oh I'm so glad you understand how I feel, it seems so rare.