The Diamond Island

The highway passed through a growing amount of suburban neighborhoods.  Wesa found herself concentrating more intently on the traffic.  She turned down the music volume, casting it further into the background of her inner thoughts.

Stara stirred from her drifting in and out of sleep.  “We there?”

“Almost,” said Wesa.

“We could drop by Julio’s if you want. See his folks.”  Stara’s eyebrows raised as she pursed her lips.

They passed by a large green sign which read:

Vinah    7

Wesa said, “I’ll pass.  I never want to see his creepy stepmother again.”

Stara sat up and stretched in her seat.  “Just testing your resolve.”

“Trust me, I’m resolved.”

The suburban landscape transformed into a series of garish strip malls and towering signs.

Stara said, “What’s Kelly doing for break?”

“I think he’s spending it with some older hippie girl he’s hot for.  I’m not sure.”

Wesa maneuvered the car out of the way of a speeding trucker.  Her hands tensed on the steering wheel.  “Whatever.  I’m done with him too.”

Stara laughed.  “Oh, come on. I thought you liked being groped under the pretense of horsing around.”  She took off Wesa’s shades and blinked at the daylight.  “Damn, I need to eat more carrots.”

“Have a granola bar,” said Wesa.

“I should have had us stop at the store.  I could have bought some apples or strawberries.”

Wesa glanced at her friend and made a face.  “We can stop at a store once we exit.”

“Nah,” said Stara.  “Just testing my resolve.”

They passed down the highway into the center of Vinah.  Wesa took an exit ramp and slowed the car down, merging her vehicle with downtown traffic.  Progress was measured by brief flows of congestion through changing stoplights.

“You know where we need to go?”

Wesa nodded.  “Drew me a map off MapQuest.”

Stara interrupted her. “MapQuest?  They still around?”

Wesa snorted.  “Yeah, they are.  Anyway—once we hit this intersection, we should ditch the traffic.”

A wave of pedestrians crossed the street in front of the stopped car.  Wesa put her right hand to her ear as an ice pick migraine struck her for four seconds.  She had a flush of sensation throughout her body, followed by relief.  Her vision caught the blur of a pedestrian scooting past the rear of her car, then the light turned green.

Stara said, “You alright?”

“Yeah, just another drive-by migraine. I’m fine.”  Wesa shifted up as the car gained speed, the town drifting out of sight behind.