“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Will asked Josh as they lay in the freshly cut grass of the school’s soccer field. Clouds hung in the azure blue sky, a telltale sign of Danville.

Josh picked up a rock and hucked it at Will. “Seriously, dude? You sound like Ms. Cantrell. ‘What do you want to be when you grow up? Write an essay on it.’” Josh pitched his voice, squeaking the question, trying his best impression of their sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Cantrell. It didn’t matter that she had a first name. Neither boy knew it and didn’t care to know it. If they did? Then she’d be more relatable? “Come on, dude. Be serious. We don’t want to be anything right now. All we want is to have some kind of excitement in our lives. Something that we can look back on when we’re old, like when we’re thirty. You know? Old.”

Will didn’t think thirty was old. His parents were in their early thirties, so that wasn’t old to him. On the other hand, Josh had parents who were both in their early forties. Will’s parents got married at a young age, barely twenty. Well, Will’s Dad was twenty; his Mom had just turned eighteen. Josh’s parents graduated from college before trying to have a family, waiting a couple of years before trying to have kids. Not that they didn’t try a lot.

“Seriously. What would you do?”

Josh sat up, leaning on one elbow, squinting through the bright sunshine streaming down on both boys. The clouds were great for blocking the sun, but now? Now, the heat was getting to both of them. “I’d be a time traveler.”

“Where would you go?”

Josh stared at his friend, sitting up. “What is this, Will? Twenty questions? When did we decide to start playing this game?” Josh stretched and stood up, brushing off the dirt from his shorts. “Probably back a few years to kick off the creation of a time machine. Why? What would you be?”

“Same. And I’d probably go back,” Will stood up, too, walking over to their bikes, “to do the same thing. Imagine it. We go back in time to create the machine we’re discussing now. How cool would that be?”

Josh’s face glazed over with mock excitement. “Oh my gosh! That’s it! Let’s go create a time machine!” He jumped on his bike and took off long before Will could. “Come on!” he shouted. “Let’s go back to the warehouse!”

Will’s head was still ringing from their last trip several hours earlier. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back. “Josh!” he shouted. “Is that a good idea?”

“Who cares, dude? It’s summertime! Let’s go!”

By the time Will caught up with Josh, he was out of breath. Riding all over the neighborhood took a lot of energy. Kids had that kind of energy, but adults like their parents? Not so much. It must’ve been why no adult walked through the blocks, instead preferring to drive. Josh stopped at 7-11, four blocks from the school. It was a frequent stop for the older teenagers and the junior high kids. The older high school kids who could drive hung out in the parking lot during the summer. Not a lot to do in Danville during the day, especially if you don’t have the gas to drive out to Lake Del Valle. And if you didn’t have gas money, you didn’t have the cash to go to Shadow Cliffe’s waterslides either. The last option, not a great one, was if one of your friend’s parents had a pool. But that only worked if one or more parents were home to supervise. No kids were allowed to swim without a parent being home, no matter how responsible they might have been.

“Thirsty?” Josh asked Will, grinning from ear to ear. Will was still panting hard from trying to catch up with his friend. He simply nodded his affirmative at Josh. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He started to open the door and then asked, “Cola? Or Cherry?”

“Cola.”

“Figures,” Josh rolled his eyes at Will and walked through the doors. The chimes rang all the time. Will didn’t know it, not at the time, but he’d be working at this 7-11 after his eighteenth birthday. And those damn chimes would drive him crazy, especially with the junior high kids not making up their minds about coming or going. Josh wouldn’t have his first job until long after graduating college. Josh and Will didn’t learn about side hustles until they were both in their late forties, but the pair knew Josh was always side-hustling some kind of moneymaking scheme. It was like it was in his blood or something.

Seeing both boys outside, the clerk, a college coed girl, rolled her eyes and popped her gum. Traffic had been slow this morning, especially after 9 A.M. By that time, the regulars had stopped, got their coffee, and moved on to work. So many yuppies came through the door that Gina thought Polo must be the new city mascot. Gina didn’t mind the work, not that it was hard. Most of the men hit on her daily. And the boys weren’t much better. The younger kids, junior high and older, tried to get into her pants. She thought the younger boys were cute about it, whereas the grown older men? They were just plain gross and should’ve known better. She personally knew some of their wives, having babysat for their families. Even the frat boys were disgusting to her. Gina thought Will was sweet, but Josh? She really didn’t like Josh. Gina lived a few blocks down the street, on the same side Will lived on. Josh’s parents had a reputation in their subdivision for being snooty. At least that’s what Gina’s best friend Sasha shared with her.

Josh sauntered through the door to the Slurpee machine with two flavors: Cherry or Cola. Gina rolled her eyes, returning to thumbing through the Cosmo she had on the counter. Her family had money, but her Mother insisted on her working, especially if she wanted anything extra. Extras were anything outside of what her Mother considered regular college expenses. Makeup could be bought on clearance through her personal assistant, so anything Gina wanted that wasn’t regarded as top-shelf, name-brand makeup couldn’t be bought with Mother’s money. That was an extra. Soda. Chips. Candy or gum? That was an extra. Mother wouldn’t be caught purchasing any of that junk.

The only reason it was in the house was her Daddy was a sports junkie. Every Saturday, he was on the golf course, and by Saturday afternoon? Chester was in his recliner watching whatever sport was popular at the time. And he always had snacks, which drove Nancy crazy. Nancy was a health food and vitamin junkie; therefore, her daughter was too. Nancy made absolutely sure, as much as she could, that Gina ate all the right things. That included nixing all sugar products, so Gina chewed only sugar-free gum. Gina didn’t have the heart to tell her Mother that she was wrong when she learned how bad sugar-free items were for you in her late thirties. 

Josh took the two small Slurpees to the counter. Gina popped her gum, looking bored at the kid on the other side of the counter. “Is that it,” she asked.

“No,” Josh replied, a smile slowly spreading across his lips, “how about you give me your number, hot mama?”

“Hot mama?” Gina didn’t look at all surprised by his quip. “Do I look like a mama to you?”

Josh’s smile faded, replaced with red-cheeked embarrassment. “Well, I mean. That is.”

She glanced back at the cover of the Cosmo. The model was so close to being naked that Gina was shocked that Josh wasn’t ogling it. Picking up the magazine, Gina held it up over her own chest. “This what a ‘hot mama’ looks like to you, Joshua?” She knew that was his given birth name. Gina babysat him one time, which was the longest three hours of her life. She tossed the magazine back on the counter behind her. “One dollar,” she said, not even looking at the cash register where she entered the amount of both Slurpees.

Josh’s face was hot to the touch, and his hands shook. Gina almost felt sorry for him, snatching the cash off the counter. She winked at him, laughing as she did it. Josh scrambled out the door, almost knocking over both frozen drinks. Will had no idea that any of it happened, mindlessly looking up into the sky or watching the cars drive slowly by on Alcosta. Josh’s hands were still shaking, face still beet red, when he handed Will his tasty treat. Will noticed his friend’s red face and shaking hands. “Dude! Is that why you brought us here?” He looked inside and waved. Gina babysat Will, too, only she liked Will’s Mom. And Will, too. She waved back, popping her gum. Will almost thought he heard it pop from outside the store. But he knew that was ridiculous.

“Let’s get outta here,” Josh stammered.

“Mehm,” Will said, mouth full of the icy drink.