Within moments of this suggestion I passed out. I slept all the way through the traffic jam in Atlanta, and all the way through I Heart Huckabees. I honestly didn't think it was hilarious. I thought some parts were okay, mainly Lily Tomlin jumping into a car, but I didn't really get it. So since I didn't understand what was happening, I just assumed it must be clever. When I woke up the movie's credits were rolling and no one looked happy.
“That was horrible,” Beth said. “And how can you just fall asleep immediately after making us watch it?”
I looked to Lauren who was usually the calm, reasonable one of the group for some assurance. Her eyes were as wide open as I have ever seen them. The reason for this being the unorthodox driving style of Brittany Pike. Traffic combined with construction never created a great scenario so the constant stop and go was getting to Lauren. We finally developed a good pace so everyone's anxieties seemed to ease. For a moment anyway.
Lanes began shifting around due to the construction on the interstate. This however should not reflect a speed change in the mind of Brittany Pike. Rather than slow down as we weaved back and forth through lanes she maintained her brisk pace. As Beth and I engaged in an ad lib in the back of the van, we suddenly started swaying back and forth, each sway harder until we had to put up our hands to keep from slamming into the windows. We all shouted “BRITTANY,” simultaneously followed by a not nearly as loud “Pike” from Beth.
The stress of the construction led us to an IHOP to eat away our worry. Beth wanted to sleep in the car rather than go in so she asked me to get her French toast with any fruit besides strawberries.
“No problem!”
Twenty minutes later as I returned to the van with strawberry pancakes, not sure what happened there, I stepped in a suspicious looking substance in the parking lot. I wiped what I could onto the pavement then got in the car. This time around Lauren would be driving. Though I smelled nothing, it only took a moment for a group 'what's that smell?' I was the last one to get in the car so the blame rested entirely on my lap. We made it about thirty more miles down the road before Lauren exited the interstate to run into a gas station to vomit. She insisted that she was nauseated due to the IHOP, but I couldn't help but feel self conscious.
Beth began driving for the night portion of the trip. Despite the GPS system that told her the next move she found herself in a panic as we turned and went up and down hills because she couldn't see the road miles ahead of her. This led to Beth constantly flashing her bright lights to the darkness in front of us, despite the flow of traffic on the other side of the interstate. The darkness of the night was just the first problem. Around two that morning deer started approaching the interstate on all sides which added break pumping to the light flashing.
Also around this time Beth tried to break the tension by saying/singing “Jesus take the wheel.” She laughed to herself and thought 'how clever.' She noticed however, that no one in the car seemed to enjoy her pun as much as she did. In fact no one acknowledged it. She was embarrassed, but at the same time she knew her joke should have killed so she waited around for another chance to employ it. After passing the eighth bloody spot on the road, and the third semi truck with a deer carcass in its front, Beth once again attempted “Jesus take the wheel.” Again, nothing. This time embarrassment gave way to anger and Beth pulled off the interstate to quit her shift prematurely.
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