8===>
"From painting the house to painting the ceiling"
*
It had been a rough couple of weeks working in the blazing sun scraping and painting the monstrous old house for Trent's grandmother. My friend had easily conned me into helping with the massive project by offering to split the $2,500 she had promised for getting it done. Thankfully we were nearing the end of the job.
"Think about it, Kevin. It's almost as much as we would make slaving all summer flipping burgers part time and we would have time to do that road trip we talked about." It was a most tempting and convincing argument that Trent made. Both of us had just graduated high school and would be going off to separate colleges in the fall and wanted to do something special during what we saw as our last 'fun' summer. As we were finally carefully applying the final trim paint to the overhang more than two stories in the air, the potential of a week doing Disney World and the beaches of Daytona suddenly seemed to transpose from dream to reality.
When we took a needed break to put some liquid back in our sweat drained bodies, Trent added a new idea to the plans we had been making. "Ya know, Kevin, I got to thinking of a way we could do this Florida trip and still have some cash left over too."
I looked over at Trent and took in how all the exposure to the sun had given his six foot frame a rather nice tan. Both of us had rarely worn more than cut offs and sneaks while we worked and I only hoped that my skin had also darkened as well as his had. I couldn't help but notice also, that his happy trail and belly and leg fuzz had bleached out from all the sun, much the same as the usually sandy colored hair on his head. "Do I dare ask what your crazy mind came up with?" I finally responded with.
"Well, I ran into Greg at the mall game room last night. First time I had seen him since graduation and told him what we had been up to and had planned." He paused a moment to sip on the Coke he had and then went on. "He wants to know if he can come along too. If we round up one other guy we can cut a bunch of the expenses in half instantly."
I took a slug of my soda and thought a little. Greg was a decent guy from what I knew of him and figured I could put up with almost anyone for just one week. "That makes sense, Trent. What do you think?"
"I think it makes too much sense. Hell...just what we would save by splitting the motel bill four ways instead of two, will almost cover hitting Disney World. Same deal with the gas...there is a big chunk of our food bucks for the week. The real question is where do we find number four on a short notice?"
"There is always Craigslist if we wanna live dangerously," I joked. My mind began rapidly trolling through the list of friends that I knew didn't have summer jobs and might have access to the needed funds. Only one came to mind and I almost didn't want to mention the name. "You have no ideas Trent?" I begged instead.
"Not really. Everyone is either locked into a summer job or have 'rents that would pitch a shit fit at the idea of four guys running loose in Florida. You know...that 'naked and drunk - rape, pillage, and plunder scene' they all visualize thanks to all the spring break reputations." Trent laughed and put the Coke can back to his lips waiting for me to come up with the solution.
"Well..." I began slowly, "...there is one possibility but I don't know if you will like it."
"So try me."
"Ethan," was my one word answer wanting to see Trent's reaction before I said more.
"Ethan? Chess club, honor society, nerd boy Ethan?" Trent rolled his eyes but then quickly added, "What made you think of him?"
"He overheard us talking about the trip at the graduation party and asked me later if there was any chance of going too. I kinda blew him off at the time, but he may be our only option at this point. He really isn't all that bad other than coming across as a terminal virgin."
Trent laughed. "No kidding! I bet his right hand is even virgin!" Trent crushed the Coke can after finishing it and sighed. "Not exactly the top of the list for me, but if you and Greg think you can cope with him, so will I."
"You sure? I'll call and ask him if you are."
"Yeah...why not? If he gets to be too much of a pain in the ass, we will just bury him in the sand on the beach or ditch him at Disney." The grin on Trent's face told me he was at least partially kidding.
"You talk to Greg first and if he is cool with the idea, then I'll call Ethan. He probably will be since it will cut the cost for him too. Greg seems pretty laid back."
"Yeah he really is once you get to know him a lot better. You guys will be buds like we are by the time we get back."
I stood up and looked over at the ladders propped against the house. "Back to the grind so we can finish this up maybe tomorrow?" I suggestively questioned.
Trent jumped to his feet also. "Sounds like a plan to me. Figure tomorrow and one more half day for all the little details grams will find to whine about, and then we can concentrate on getting the road trip finalized."
* * * * *
Ten days later, the four of us were jamming our luggage, several bags of munchies, and a cooler filed with ice and Cokes into the back of Trent's older, but dependable, Ford Explorer. My Firebird would have probably gotten a little better gas mileage, but we decided to give up the few extra miles per gallon for the comfort and space his vehicle would provide. We had decided to take off early in the evening and; other than gas, food, and pee pit stops; drive pretty much straight through to Daytona. If all went according to plan, we would be checked into the motel and still be able to get in a little beach time the next afternoon. After a quick stop at the McDonald's drive-thru for dinner, we were soon rolling down I-77 south just a slight notch above the speed limit.
"One down, five more to go," Trent announced from the driver's seat as we crossed over the Ohio River into West Virginia 45 minutes later. Each following state line...Virginia, North & South Carolina, and Georgia...were ticked off in a similar manner until we all cheered as the huge 'Welcome to Florida' sign loomed ahead.