Adventure. That’s what I always strive for. It’s what I breathe, essentially. I don’t want my days to go to waste, for them to slip through my fingertips as effortlessly as tiny grains of sand. What’s life but a boring sequence of events that seems to repeat itself until you shrivel up from old age and pass away in your sleep? I can’t stand to think that my life will succumb to that. I need things to be exciting. I need that adrenaline rush. I need to know that I never let an opportunity pass me by. That’s why I’ve decided to leave. Take my car and just drive. No set destination. Just me and the open road. Who knows how long I’ll be gone for… a few days, a couple weeks, maybe I just won’t come back at all. I mean, how does that not scream adventure?

I’ll set out in the morning. I’m not going to tell my mom though. Well, she’s not really my mom. I’m not going to tell my foster mom. I’ve only been living with her for about six months now, so we haven’t really had time to get close. Not that I would want to get close to her… I think she’s just in the foster care system for the money. I genuinely don’t think she gives a damn about any of us. Sure, she feeds us and puts a roof over our heads, but she’s not exactly the mother type. She works a lot, comes home in a bad mood, puts some leftover pizza in the oven, and then goes to her bedroom grumbling about a migraine. Since I’m the oldest I’m left to take care little Maggie and Chris. I feel kinda bad for leaving them, but I would be gone soon anyway. My eighteenth birthday is in three weeks, so I don’t have to be in the foster care system anymore. So I’d be leaving anyway. This little adventure of mine just gives me a head start. I need to get out of here, the sooner the better.

I’ve been gone for five days now. I think. I’m pretty sure… yeah, five days. Definitely. I’m still in California though. I started by heading east, but then I got off an exit that ultimately had me going south. So I think I’m somewhere near the Arizona border. The world seems much simpler when you’re just driving through it. Los Angeles was an adventure in itself, but I’m glad to get away for a bit. I want to see what this country has to offer. New places bring new experiences. I’m used to moving around a lot, but I’ve always felt constrained. I never had any freedom. It was always, “Charlotte, move here” “Charlotte, Mr. and Mrs. McWilliams can’t take care of you anymore” “Another family wants you, Charlotte!” It was time for me to decide my own life. It was time for me to take adventure by the reins and enjoy the ride.
I’m at a nice little bed and breakfast now. Bien Dormir la Lune. Doesn’t that just sound quant? I found the place off the main road. It’s in the middle of field, but there are some trees around. I think I even saw a hammock by the gravel parking lot. It’s a stark contrast from my previous living conditions. Cramped townhouse in the not-so-nice part of the city versus a luxurious Victorian house in the countryside. The bed here is a little stiff, but hey, I can’t complain. I’ve been driving non-stop all day so it’s certainly time for some much-needed rest. I definitely won’t have any trouble falling asleep in these warm, flannel sheets.

“Hey! Excuse me! Honey wake up!”

What on earth is that –

“HEY! Open up! You had the silver Nissan Maxima, right? Darling open the door!”

What is happening? I look at the clock reading ‘8:24am’ and then hear pounding at the door again. I stumble out of bed and fumble to unlock the door. Once I get it open, I see the old lady who owns the bed and breakfast standing there. She looks frantic, even a little scared.

“Oh honey, your car is the silver Nissan, right?” she seemed out of breath.

“Yeah… why? Has something happened?” I started to get worried.

“Well, to be quite frank, yes. I just… I just saw a man steal your car.”

A flood of thoughts ran through my mind. She did just say someone stole my car, right?

“Wait… what?” was, for some reason, all I could muster up.

“Someone stole your car I’m afraid. I looked out the window and saw a man speeding out of the lot. Tore up most of the grass and nearly ripped up the daffodil garden! I mean for heaven’s sake he could have been more careful.”

Is she serious right now? My car has been stolen and she’s worried about her goddamn flowers.

“Um well do you know who it was?” I asked.

“No, I’m afraid I didn’t get a good look at him.”

“Okay but don’t you have a record of who’s staying here? Can’t you see who’s on the list but not in the house right now?” I asked, trying to stay calm. I feel like she could be doing a lot more than what she was.

“Well I suppose I could. But that’s an awful lot of work…” she began to trail off. I was getting increasingly frustrated. I mean, this is ridiculous. How hard is it to look at a piece of paper?

“How about I figure it out then?” I was starting to lose my composure.

“Oh darling I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, customer information is confidential. I recommend you just call the police on this one.” How was she staying so calm through all this?

“Alright, alright, fine.” I huffed out.

“And once they figure out who it was, let me know. I’ll fine them for ruining my grass!”

I go back into the room and am about to grab my phone when I realize I left it in my car. I had turned it off when I started the trip because I didn’t want to be bothered with any phone calls from anybody, especially my foster mom. Not that she would even call me anyway, but still. So not only has my car been stolen, but my phone has been too! I trudge down to the front desk and ask the old lady if I can use her phone. She’s hesitant at first, but I give her that stare I use when the child services agent tries to become my psychologist and she hands over the landline. I call 911 and explain to them what happened, but they say all they could do is write up a report. Like, this is absurd. Someone stole my car! That’s a federal crime, why is no one doing anything about it?
So now I have nowhere to go. I’m stuck at some random bed and breakfast in the middle-of-nowhere-California with a plant-obsessed, cranky old lady who is more concerned with her grass than the satisfaction of her customers. So much for my big adventure. So much for escaping my problems. So much for getting away from my foster mom. I mean now I have to call her and tell her what happened. Or catch a bus or something back to the house and explain everything then. Actually now that I think about it, it might be better to call her now. Less confrontational, you know? I take a deep breath and dial the number. No answer, surprise surprise. She’s probably taking a nap. You know, so exhausted from worrying about my whereabouts. How much do you wanna bet she didn’t even notice I was gone? I’m gonna call her up and she’ll be so confused when I tell her where I am. I can picture her right now just laying in bed complaining about how the kids are too loud and that she needs her rest and no one appreciates everything she does for the family. Or “family,” I should say. Well, no matter what she’s doing now, she’ll be in for a surprise.
“Charlotte?! Oh my god Charlotte, is that you?!”
“Yeah Barbara, it’s me –”
“Oh, thank heavens you’re okay! I’ve been worried sick! You’ve been gone for so long and you weren’t answering your phone and then the police said that you must have turned it off because they couldn’t get any signal on it and they said that they were looking for you but it was going to be hard since you had your car so you could be anywhere and it’s been almost a week and I just… I was just so worried. I’m so glad to hear your voice. Are you okay? Where are you?” she somehow managed to get out all in one breath. And then she started crying. Like, really crying. What is going on with her?
“Barbara, I’m fine. I just wanted to leave for a bit. But now I’m at some bed and breakfast and this guy stole my car so I’m not really sure what to do.” I had to be straight-forward, right?
“Oh lord how did that manage to happen? Well just tell me the address and I’ll be there in no time. We’ll figure this out Charlotte, everything will be okay.”
I was hearing a side of Barbara I had never heard before. It was not like her at all, but it really made me start to think. Six days ago I was willing to do anything to have a change of scenery. I wanted adventure. I wanted fun. I wanted an escape. And I guess I did get all of those, just not in a way I was expecting. And right now, all I really want is some leftover pizza.