Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Once

Music came from the speakers, the drums boomed, and the lead singer sang high-pitched.These voices were all annihilated under the discordant voices of the five of us, as if we were competing to see whose voice was the loudest.The band had the upper hand again, and the sound of the music drifted across the bridge, and then, we all took a deep breath, and then burst into laughter: no one knew what the song was. "This song is awesome, I like it!" Emma put her feet on the dashboard and kept shaking.She turned and grinned at me, Martin, and Dodge, who were crammed in the back seat. "Really? Who's singing?" Her boyfriend, Darren, no longer looked at the road ahead, but raised his eyebrows and looked at her with interest, with a smile on his face.

For a moment, no one spoke, only the two boys next to me gave a muffled sarcasm laugh.I kept silent all the time, and I didn't know who told me. "I don't know," said Emma angrily. "It's too old." "Little Faces," whispered Martin. "The band that Rod Stewart was in before he was famous." Ah, I've heard of this guy. "It doesn't matter." Emma replied casually.She tossed her long blonde hair.I'm not going to be fooled - she does it every time to draw attention to her, not to be really angry, but it's enough to make Darren take his left hand off the steering wheel and stroke her thigh apologetically.

"Just kidding," he assured her. His hands continued to run along her knees to the edge of her skirt, stroking her bronzed skin.I sat in the middle, the place was so narrow that I couldn't move, and I could see him caressing her with his hands at a glance.I silently counted from one to ten, waiting for him to stop, but he didn't, so I turned to the right, looking past Dodge's profile, enjoying the bright sunshine and the green countryside of Ayrshire.Dodge felt me ​​turn in his direction and turned to look at me.There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, revealing two dimples.I love his dimples as much as I love his warm blue eyes, which he's looking at me right now.Under his gaze, I only persisted for three seconds, then turned my head and looked at the scenery outside the window on the other side, so as not to let him see my hot cheeks.This time, Martin looked at me suspiciously and noticed my flushed face, but I didn't have to pay him any attention.

The scenery here is much less beautiful: two lanes are interspersed between rolling mountains and farmland, and the traffic flows in opposite directions.But it's safer that way.I'll keep facing this way until my heart stops beating wildly. "It's time to stop," Darren said from the driver's seat, and I felt the car swerve as he pulled the car into the interchange at the last moment.Emma screamed exaggeratedly and clung to the seat as Darren put the pedal to the floor and drove up the hill.I yelled too, but my yell was much smaller, and it was only my fingernails that got into Martin's leg so that they didn't fall onto Dodge's.

"I'm sorry." Seeing Martin rubbing his bruised skin, I whispered. He smiled at me, told me I didn't mind, and gave Darren another look.I tried not to laugh.I don't think Martin and Darren have spoken more than ten words since we left early in the morning.He said he was a goose (only in Emma's absence), "simple-brained and well-developed".It's just that it's Dodge's birthday now, which means everyone has to show a friendly side. It was supposed to be just the three of us going camping, but my parents were reluctant that I would be out with the two boys.So Dodge offers to invite Emma and Darren to go with them (because if Darren doesn't go, Emma will never go either).I was disappointed at first, worried that they would spoil the scenery, but Dodge convinced me that it would be fun if they went, and we could still go as planned.Plus Darren had a car, so we could go further into the wild, to a secluded place, instead of wandering around the suburbs.

"What's the parking for?" Dodge asked behind me. "Shopping." Darren turned around, blinking in the direction of the back seat. I raise my eyebrows.The car was full of stuff we had packed for the trip, enough stuff to fill a bunker through a nuclear winter in it.And we were only going to live in tents for four nights. "Okay——" Darren quickly drove into the parking lot of a supermarket, frightened a woman to drive her March to the curb in a hurry, "you stay here. Dodge and I will go Everyone buy something." "What did you say?" Emma complained.She looked at her boyfriend with pleading eyes. "Why can't we go together?"

With a sharp creak, Darren pulled the car into the parking space, pulled the handbrake, and smiled at her, showing two rows of gleaming white teeth.Only he doesn't have dimples. "Because I'm the only one with an ID, they won't sell us stuff if I load a trolley and you're walking around behind me. Then we'll be drinking sea water this weekend." Or drink Coke, orange juice, or any of the eight soft drinks tucked into the trunk.But Darren has his own agenda.Martin next to me moved in his seat, clearly disapproving of this, but unwilling to speak out.I didn't say anything either.I am not a person who likes to drink, and this is mainly because adults do not allow me to drink, but I am very curious about alcohol, and I am not a little white rabbit, so I will not refuse this opportunity.

Darren and Dodge opened the door one after the other, and the fresh air hit me. "How much do you want each of us to pay?" Dodge asked, getting out of the car and stepping out onto the vinyl floor. "Twenty bucks each," Darren said.Twenty pounds?My eyebrows are raised to my forehead. "Hey, it's four nights." He said after seeing my expression, and I knew Martin must have the same expression. "Twenty yuan is not much." Emma said and gave me a warning look.I wouldn't be intimidated by her, so I gave her a grimace in return.As my best friend, Emma doesn't drink at all, saying that alcohol makes people turn into a big fool with a blank mind.But as Darren's girlfriend, it's obviously another matter.I reluctantly reached for my wallet.

Dodge and Darren closed the door, leaving the three of us in the car, and the atmosphere in the back seat was unpleasant.Emma didn't even notice that the guy was just looking at Darren's broad shoulders.After a while, the two of them walked into the large warehouse supermarket. "Darren is so handsome, isn't he?" she sighed. Martin burst out laughing, and hastily feigned a cough.Emma gave him a sideways look, then turned her attention to me. "Right?" she demanded. "Hmm..." I shrugged. He looks good, but I think he looks fierce.He's a big guy, one of those guys who doesn't go to the gym for three days and doesn't feel well, and he buys from a store that plays blaring dance music and sells shirts with big brand names emblazoned across the front.He was two years older than us and worked as a laborer for the construction company where Emma's father was the manager--that's how she knew him.He is full of self-confidence, and he always walks with his toes high.But these are all pretended by him, in fact they are just paper tigers.Honestly, I think he looks a bit of a fool.As for Dodge...

Darren is striding forward, Dodge is laid back.He was as tall as Darren, but not as big.He has a well-proportioned figure and is very eye-catching.His pupil color is similar to Darren's, also blue, but he always looks at the world with a smile instead of naked offensive eyes.His brown hair always grows naturally in all directions, and unlike Darren, he needs to use hairspray to make it tame. "Heather?" Emma waved a hand in front of my eyes, trying to bring my attention back to her and her question. "Of course." I smiled at her with appropriate enthusiasm in my tone.

Lately I've become quite comfortable with speaking in this tone.Darren and Emma have been conjoined twins for the past six months.If I want to be with her, I have to take him with me.This incident made me very unhappy.Emma and I have been friends since we were five in the playground, but now whenever Darren is around she's completely mesmerized, like a different person. "He is the most handsome guy in the world!" She said affirmatively, showing a nympho smile, "His kissing skills are superb." I know that Emma had never kissed a boy before she caught Darren's attention, so I'm not sure if she's accurate, but I didn't comment. Martin coughed, this time for real, and squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.Emma didn't notice. "Besides, he knows exactly what he's doing, you know what I mean?" She gave me a mischievous look, "I mean—" "Emma!" I cut her off before she could go on, "you've said enough." "What?" She stared at me with wide eyes, her face innocent.Just then Dodge and Darren came back and helped me out. "They're back," I said, relieved.After that, my eyes widened. "Did they buy the whole supermarket? Where are they going to put it?" The answer is, under your feet, on your lap, in the narrow gaps between seats.Let's just say Darren put those in every crevice he could find.If I was sitting very uncomfortable just now, I am in a worse situation than sardines in a can.To make matters worse, Darren also jammed a case of beer between Martin and me, forcing me to squeeze right next to Dodge, and forcing him to put his arm on the back of the seat and stick to me. body so Darren can close the door.His arm lightly touched my shoulder, and the heat from that little skin-to-skin contact made me feel hot all over.How many times have I imagined myself sitting next to him with his arms around me gently?It's just that in none of these daydreams were we crammed between so many cases of wine—or people. "How long will it take?" I asked.The sun shone into the car, and the car was like a greenhouse, and I was sweating all over my body. "An hour, maybe a little more." Darren said, turning the engine key.The car crackled, trembled, and then fell completely silent.For a long time, we didn't speak, and it felt like a very long time. Darren turned the key again and slammed his foot on the accelerator.The car vibrated and rattled, but it didn't start. "What's the matter, Darren?" Emma said with a smirk. It was funny how he looked at her. "The car won't start." He gritted his teeth. Furiously, he tried again, turning the key and not letting go, leaving the car rattling all the time.People in the cars around started turning to look at us.I tried to avoid their eyes, wishing there was room in the car for me to slide under and hide. "Are you a member of the Automobile Association or the Royal Automobile Club?" Martin asked, leaning forward. "No." Darren let go of the key, waited for a few seconds, and turned it hard again.After protesting for a while, the engine roared and finally started. "It's done!" Darren shifted into reverse, reversed the car out of the parking space, and drove out of the parking lot.With so much more stuff on the car, the chassis is lowered, and I can feel the shudder all too clearly every time I drive over a pothole on the tarmac. "Darren, will the car break down when we drive to a place where there is no village or store, and there is no mobile phone signal?" Martin asked when the car was speeding back to Highway 77. "A little confidence." Darren replied, "It's never let me down before." He patted the Volvo logo in the center of the steering wheel. "No way," Emma said loudly, "didn't you call your dad last month and ask him to tow your car from the gym?" "It was just a small accident, other than that, it has always been very obedient." Darren corrected, "Don't talk!" Hearing the muffled snickering from the back seat, he smiled amiably Stop drinking.He gave us the middle finger, and started fiddling with the buttons on his top-of-the-line stereo, the shiny buttons and the digital display panel lighting up, which didn't match the ugly plastic dashboard of the old antique car. "Martin," Darren said suddenly.I felt Martin's body stiffen next to me, and then he struggled to catch a small object Darren threw back.He snatched it up, and I realized it was an iPod. "Now it's your turn to pick the music," Darren told him. Martin gave him a surprised look and forced a smile. "Cheers," he said.Moments later, John Mayer's voice blared in the car. "Good choice," Darren muttered turning up the volume. We drove forward without talking, just listening to music and watching the scenery flash by along the way.Darren drove faster and faster, showing off to Emma in the passenger seat, making her laugh and scream.Just like that, in addition to the sound played on the stereo, the sound of the car engine is also deafening.I'm glad I can't see the dashboard so I don't have to know how fast I'm going; Darren passes one car after another as if they were all stationary.But I'm not going to complain.All I want now is to get there quickly so I can stretch my legs and rub the bruises on me from the sharp edge of the wine case. I close my eyes and lean back.Both boys opened the windows on their respective sides, and a cool breeze blew into the cramped space, blowing a lock of my hair out of its braid and brushing it across my face.It felt really good and I relaxed.I smiled to myself, letting my shoulders slump, forgetting for a moment that I was leaning on Dodge's arm.The last few months of my life can only be described as crazy.As long as I open my eyes, I am reading books, looking at notes, and writing answers to one question after another.Fortunately, the exams are finally over, and it's only the first week of July: there are still six full weeks of vacation.In theory, I still have another year in school, but I have made an unspoken agreement with my mother: If I can get the grades I want, I can skip the grade, skip the sixth grade, and go directly to the school. Go to college in late summer.I didn't turn seventeen until September, so she made me have to live at home, at least for the first year, but then I was a college student. Better yet.Dodge received a conditional offer from the same university, also majoring in archeology.That’s not why I chose the same major. I did it because I was fascinated with digging into the past and how people lived and believed from a young age. However, the addition of Dodge certainly strengthened my resolve.Dodge.I subconsciously smiled wider.I've liked him for some time.We have always known each other and have been in the same class since elementary school.But Dodge and I weren't really friends.We weren't, anyway, a few months ago.And during those few months, Emma and Darren met and disappeared, leaving a hole in my life that Dodge walked into and filled.I think it's all Emma's fault.We see each other almost every day now, and Dodge and Martin don't see each other that often.We have a lot in common.I'm with you, he said. We are friends, but only friends.Unfortunate. "Heather." His voice rings in my ear, startling me.I was a little surprised, but didn't open my eyes. "Ok?" "My arm is a little numb." God. It was so embarrassing that I poked my head forward so hard I almost sprained my neck. "Excuse me," I muttered under my breath as he rubbed his arm to bring it back to life. "It doesn't matter." He smiled at me, but the flush on my face was unwilling to fade away. "You should tell me..." He shrugged. "You look comfortable. Oh—" He glanced at the pile of things around me. "Looks like you're falling asleep." "Yes." I smiled at him shyly.He is still smiling at me.I searched my guts for something to say, when my face turned red again.I don't want to say stupid things, but I can't think of anything smart. "Well... where are we going?" His brows knit together. "Black Stone Tomb," he told me in a low voice that sounded scary.Although his eyes were full of smiles, I still felt the cold on my back. "It sounds terrible!" Emma said softly, sitting in the front seat. "It looks like a place where serial killers abandon their bodies!" I was relieved that Dodge stopped looking at me. "It's a headland named after a cemetery," he told her. "What?" Emma blinked at him, obviously frightened. "The cairn is where the dead are buried," Martin explained from the other side of me. "Darren, you didn't take us there to kill us, did you?" I asked, and he kept watching us talk in the rearview mirror.Dodge burst out laughing next to me, and I grinned, "After all—" But at this moment, the music stopped abruptly, and I fell silent. "Hey!" Emma whined, reaching for the button.She pressed a few buttons, but there was no singing, not even a creak, coming from the speakers. "Lights are out," Dodge said. "Blown the fuse?" "It's better not," Darren said. He pushed Emma's hand away and began to fiddle with it, but couldn't figure it out. "The damn thing is new." "Darren, watch the road!" Martin yelled strangely.Darren turned his attention back to the road just in time to turn the car away before we would have had a close encounter with the back of the truck ahead. "My God, I'm so sorry!" he said angrily. He slammed on the gas and overtook the truck, and as we walked side by side, I saw an advertisement painted on the side of the truck. In the advertisement was a child with yogurt all over his face, smiling happily at me.Darren sped forward, and the ad was left behind, and after a while, the truck slowly followed, and the ad came into my view again. "Damn it," Darren said through gritted teeth. "What's the matter, what's the problem?" Dodge said, leaning forward, looking around. "I don't know...but the dashboard doesn't respond. The battery is out." Darren was still stepping on the gas pedal hard, but there was no effect. "Darren, we're in the fast lane," Martin reminded him, his voice urgent. "That's up to you!" Darren snapped. "Go to the slow lane," Dodge ordered. "Look, there's an interchange ahead. See if you can get there so you can get off the freeway." Darren did as Dodge suggested, and the old Volvo slid slowly along the interchange.After a while, we came to an intersection, where there were few cars on the connected road, and from here, the ramp gradually increased.Finally, under the action of gravity, the car came to a complete stop.Darren did everything he could to get the car onto the dirt strip so we wouldn't get hit by a passing car.We just sat there for a while without saying a word.Darren then elbowed the door open and stomped to the front of the car.Moments later, he angrily lifts the hood so we can't see his angry face anymore. "Damn." Dodge sighed and got out of the car.I watched him trot beside Darren. "You're not a member of the Royal Automobile Club either, are you, Martin?" I whispered. He laughed. "I don't have a car anyway, so it doesn't matter, right? It's a real pain to bask in the sun here." He walked outside on the hard, compacted dirt road, stretched out a hand to me, and pulled me out of the car, avoiding the obstacles on the back seat.It's actually not cooler outside than in the car, after all, I'm standing directly under the sun, but the air outside is relatively fresh, there is always a breeze, and I can exercise my muscles and bones. "What the hell is going on?" We all wandered over to Darren and Dodge, who stood there motionless, staring at the machinery inside.They didn't answer, which I figured wasn't a good sign. I stood by the engine, following the boys' gazes, though I wasn't sure what I was looking at either.There are a lot of pipes under the hood, and a lot of oddly shaped boxes.They were all covered with grease, and the metal was patinaed and gleaming. "Try to start it." Dodge suggested. Darren gave him a sideways look as if to say it was unnecessary, but he went behind the steering wheel and turned the key obediently. no response.Not even a poof.The engine was dead silent. "Looks like it's a battery problem," Martin said.He put his hands in his pockets and rubbed his feet against the loose stones. "What?" Darren asked, leaning out of the car. "The battery is dead," Martin repeated. "How is that possible? If there is no electricity, the car won't start in Kilmarnock." "There was power. Your alternator isn't charging, it's not working. It's a problem with this car." He kicked the dented bumper of an old Volvo. "The brushes are stuck, Can't rotate properly." We all stared at him dumbfounded. Martin was a tall, muscular man with glasses, better suited for pens and calculators than wrenches or cars. "What?" Seeing the way we looked at him, he said in a defensive tone, "Can't I be proficient in cars?" "So what?" Darren asked, looking at Martin with a little more respect.For such a change, Martin just smiled unmoved. "Bang on the alternator hard—" Seeing our bewildered looks, he pointed to a silver cylinder in front, "get the brushes apart, and put in an emergency power supply." "Then do you have a hammer?" Darren asked lightly. Martin nodded. "I keep a rubber hammer in the trunk for the tent stakes. Give me the key and I'll get it." I followed Martin to the back of the car. "How do you know these things?" I whispered. He winked at me slyly. "My cousin is a mechanic. He used to take care of me. Most of the time we were in his garage and I worked for him. But when it comes to actually doing it, I'm not..." I laughed. After a while, Martin dug out his rubber hammer, and Darren gave Martin an inquiring look to make sure he wasn't joking, then smacked the alternator hard a few times. "Now we just need someone to borrow our power supply for a while." Dodge said, rubbing his hands. The four of us looked at the road together.Not a single car.We waited in silence for a minute.Waited another minute. "My God!" Darren exclaimed suddenly, "this road is only five feet from the highway! How can there be no cars?" "Probably because no one lives around here." I suggested.I looked around and saw only a few houses scattered across the rugged landscape. "What's that?" Dodge asked, pointing to a faded green building on the far side of the road. "The workshop," Martin replied. "There are a few cars parked there. Maybe someone will help us?" We looked at each other. "Who's going to ask?" Darren finally asked. Martin immediately interjected, "This car is yours." I think that's a good reason, but Darren narrowed his eyes. "You're right, if it wasn't for me, we'd just be wandering in the back garden." He retorted, "And there's not even a drink." "What do you think it's there for?" Dodge asked, arranging his hands over his eyes, looking at the building.I followed his gaze.There is no signage and no text around to indicate what is there for. "Maybe it's welding work," Martin said. "Anyway, it's something to do with industry." "That means it's full of men..." Darren said slowly. "yes." Martin's expression lit up. "Yes," he said, knocking on the hood, "then send a couple of girls. They'll be happy to help if they wink." He winked at me, ignoring the horror on my face. blank expression. Worst of all, the other two boys seemed to agree with his proposal, but Martin seemed a little too embarrassed to look me in the eye.The minority obeys the majority, even if it is a vote, they still have one more vote, so I pulled Emma out of the passenger seat angrily, and reluctantly walked towards the small warehouse. "Remember - be charming!" Darren yelled behind us.