"Look out!" Trevor jerked the wheel sharply to the right, then back over to the left. There was a loud screech of skidding rubber as he fought to keep the car on the road, wrestling with the vehicle as it fishtailed across the icy asphalt surface. After a long, sickening moment when he could actually feel the shuddering sensation of the tires moving over the unpaved ground next to the ditch, he finally got them moving smoothly again.
"Jeez," he said, his voice trembling slightly, "don't shout like that! Freaked me the hell out." He could feel the adrenalin rushing through his body, making him grip the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.
"You were drifting into the other lane," Hannah said reprovingly. "If I hadn't shouted, you'd have hit that other car head-on. Now could you pull over and let me drive for a while before you get us both killed? Or do you just think you can drive better in your sleep than a woman can while awake?"
"It's not that," Trevor said placatingly. Actually, it kind of was, but Trevor could tell that Hannah was the kind of chick who'd get upset if you admitted that you didn't want a girl driving your car. He'd spent years souping it up, customizing it, and making it into the sweetest ride he could, and he didn't trust it to some chick he'd never even seen driving a car before. He'd already figured out the hard way that she was the kind of chick who'd get upset if you called her a chick, though, so he wasn't looking for another fight. He just wanted to drop her off with her parents, get back to his own mom and dad, and not have to worry about her until the holidays were over and it was time for them to get back to school. He wasn't sure if the gas money was worth putting up with his sister's whiny friend all the way from Minnesota to Indiana, even if she was kind of a hottie. (Probably the kind that never put out, though.)
"So what is it?" Hannah snapped. She was still a little freaked out, too; Trevor could hear it in her voice.
"It's that I'm fine to drive a while longer, that's all," Trevor said. "I'm wide awake now, and we don't have that much more to go. We're already past Chicago; I can totally make it the rest of the way, easy."
"Oh, fer fucksake," Hannah grumbled. "Look, if you really don't want me to drive your precious pussymobile, fine. I don't know what you think I'm going to do to it, it's not like I'm going to menstruate all over the gearshift...but fine. Whatever. But could you at least pull over and take a break for a few minutes? You're weaving all over the goddamn road, and it's kind of freaking me out, here."
"I'm not weaving all over the--" Trevor pulled the wheel to the right again as an oncoming car honked its horn at them. "Fine, whatever," he said, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. "I mean, you know, if it'll make you happy." It probably was a good idea, but he'd be damned if he admitted it to Hannah. She'd probably gloat all the rest of the way back to Terre Haute.
The road sign said that it'd be another fifty miles to the next rest stop, so Trevor just pulled onto the shoulder and flipped on the hazard lights. "There, I'm stopped, okay? Now just give me an hour or two to rest, and I'll be fine to drive the rest of the way."
"Two hours?" Hannah said incredulously. "You seriously want us to just sit here for two hours when I could just...grrr!"
"I, um...I have trouble sleeping when the car's moving," he said. She knew he was lying, and he knew she knew he was lying, but it was his car and he wasn't budging no matter what she said. She'd have to pry him out of the seat with a crowbar if she wanted to take over the wheel. "It's no big deal, I just need a little nap."
Hannah took a long, deep breath, and blew it out in a sigh. When she spoke again, it was in a slightly calmer tone of voice. "Okay, then. But we don't need to spend two hours. My psych teacher showed us how to do that whole 'power napping' thing that all the CEOs of all the big companies do. It'll get you two hours of sleep in, like, fifteen minutes."
Trevor snorted. "No, really, it works!" Hannah said. "I've been doing it between classes, and I can get by with about four hours of sleep a night during the school week. It's really easy."
Trevor shrugged. "Sure," he said. "But if I fall asleep for real, don't just wake me right away, okay? I'm not going to wake up all groggy just because this whole 'power nap' thing doesn't work."
Hannah nodded, clearly confident that she would have to make good on her promise. "Sure thing," she said. "Now, just sit back in your seat and relax. Tilt it back a little, but not so much that you're flat on your back. Just enough that you're comfortable."
With another shrug, Trevor reclined his seat back at a forty-five degree angle. He let himself sink into the cushions, glad of the extra padding. Factory seats were never comfortable enough. "Okay," Hannah said. "Now the trick to a power nap is to find something to focus on. Your waking mind locks onto your focus, and the rest of your mind can relax better than normal because you're not getting in its way while it's trying to sleep. So..." She looked around the car in an almost theatrical manner. "Perfect," she said. "Just watch the hazard lights."
"Seriously?" he said. Because this sounded like bullshit to him. Watching the hazard lights for fifteen minutes was supposed to be as good as a two-hour nap? Hannah had been talking to too many egghead psych professors.
Before he could say anything more, though, Hannah broke in with a "Ssh!" Trevor sighed, but he clammed up. "You're not supposed to be talking," she continued. "You're supposed to be concentrating and relaxing. The hazard lights are just perfect for this. They have a nice, steady rhythm to their flashing, and the ticking noise will help you focus on them. Just keep watching, pay close attention to the flash as it goes on, and off...on, and off...and let the rest of your thoughts drift."
Trevor's thoughts drifted, alright. They drifted immediately to just how stupid this was. How was he supposed to feel rested when he couldn't even close his eyes? "Your thoughts can just float wherever they want to, Trevor. Your mind is focused on the lights, focused on the steady tick...tick...tick...it's such an easy rhythm to follow, and you can follow it easily and effortlessly while the rest of your thoughts wander. Wherever they go, they can always return to the steady beat of the lights and the sound."
Hannah kept talking, and Trevor wished she'd stop explaining how to do this stupid power nap thing so that he could get on with it. It actually felt like it might be working a little, but she just wouldn't shut up. She just kept droning on and on... "And sometimes you don't even notice that you're watching the light, Trevor. That's good. That's a sign that it's working. Your eyes watch the lights flash on and off, on and off, while your mind focuses on other things. You might listen to my words, and let the lights occupy your attention. Or you might listen to the steady, soothing tick as it beats over and over and over again, letting my words just become a soft, relaxing sound in the background. Whatever your mind decides to do is okay, Trevor, because you've always got the light to return to."
Trevor nodded absently. He wasn't really paying attention to what Hannah was saying anymore, but it seemed kind of rude to just ignore her, so he figured he could just nod every now and again to make it look like he was listening. "It's like the steady pulse of the light is an anchor, Trevor. It weighs your mind down, holding it still and steady even as the currents wash over it. Your mind floats and drifts, but it always stays in exactly the same place, because the lights anchor it down." Trevor nodded again. It was easier to just agree.
"And you realize now that you feel warm and relaxed, Trevor. Your body has already begun to sleep, each muscle unwinding all its tension so easily now that your waking mind is focused on the lights so deeply." Something about the way she said 'deeply' sounded...weird. He couldn't figure it out, it was like she was kind of purring or something. "Your mind forgets all the tension, and so your body remembers to relax. Just like your body forgets all its tension, and your mind remembers to relax even deeper." Trevor nodded again, but he wasn't really listening. He was wondering what was up with Hannah's voice.
"The lights flash on and off, on and off, and your eyes are so deeply focused on them," and there it was again, that weird husky, purring tone, like she was kind of talking sexy, almost, "and even though your body is relaxed and heavy, melting into the seat, your eyes stay open and locked on the light. Locked so tightly, can't look away. The relaxation is everywhere, now, Trevor, everywhere but your heavy, heavy eyes."
"Uh-huh," Trevor replied. He actually hadn't meant to speak, but his head felt too heavy to nod, so he just let out a tiny little grunt of acknowledgement. It was easier that way. He couldn't remember what he was agreeing with, but it didn't really matter. The important thing was keeping his eyes open so he could watch the lights, and listening to her voice. Because Trevor didn't want to admit it, but that voice of hers was kind of getting to him. It felt like she was petting him with her words, somehow. He shifted just a little in his seat, glad that the darkness hid his half-erection.
