Let's face it, there are a lot of moments in life when you want to facepalm and ask, 'What the F*CK are the chances?!'.  Well, when your doctor's appointment is scheduled right before your big football game, that's definitely one of those moments.  I won't lie, I was an anxious mess the entire time I was getting my yearly checkup.  I'm pretty sure the doctor noticed, though, because it went by pretty quickly.  I had just enough time to drive back to school to grab my gear and stop dead in my tracks, because a ring of keys was tossed right at my head.  

I'm still not sure who threw it, but it was certainly one of my seven closest friends.  They'd persuaded the office to let us borrow one of the school vans to drive to the big game together.  I'm not afraid to say that I almost cried.  But I didn't, because we were short on time and needed to get on the road as soon as possible.  I drove, and everyone else piled in.

Fast forward about half an hour.  I, Marcus Johnson, the wide receiver for the Cyprus Park High football team, am panicking as I glance at the GPS every few seconds.  According to the estimated time of arrival, we'll make it to the stadium with fifteen minutes to spare.  Meaning I'll have just enough time to get changed and maybe warm up a little.  But as the ETA changes to sixteen minutes, I know I have to make a move.  I slam on the gas and hope to god that there aren't any police around.

"SLOW DOWN!" Tori McMillan wails, holding onto her seat for dear life.  Her blonde hair is wild and her brown eyes are terrified.  She pulls on the collar of her yellow sweater ever few seconds, and I'm starting to worry that she'll accidentally strangle herself.  I may or may not have forgotten how easily she scares or stresses, but hopefully she won't hate me for this.  

"Tori, let's just relax and remember that Marcus just needs to get to the game on time," Sora Karpers says calmly from the seat next to her, her silver eye pendant bouncing against her blue shirt as she turns to look at Tori with her dark blue eyes.  Sora and Tori are perfect opposites, Sora being the calm therapist of the group and Tori being the anxious mess.  Perfect couple material, if you ask me.  Well, I can think of one couple that might be even more perfect...

I glance at the rearview mirror to see Macie Douglas and Rena Sawyer sitting in the row behind Sora and Tori.  Macie's head is nestled into Rena's shoulder, and the two hold hands as they enjoy each other's company.  While their styles are completely different, Macie's tank top and shorts and Rena's baggy shirt and sweatpants all share a pink motif.  Their matching heart lockets gleam in the afternoon sun.  I can't think of a more adorable couple.

Sitting right behind them is a complete menace to society.  In other words, a dark-haired guy in a black hoodie beneath a purple plaid shirt as well as a purple beanie trying to shove Air Heads Bites into his Coca Cola is traumatizing the people sitting next to him.  The brunette with a baggy red fish hoodie is practically hiding behind the dark blonde with glasses and a gray polo.  

"Jarred, I'd appreciate it if you stopped distracting the driver and giving Benjamin and Den nightmares," I tease, returning my focus to the road.

"Only for you, handsome," Jarred grins before giving up on his crazy plan.  Benjamin and Den sigh with relief almost completely in sync.

A loud honk almost startles me.  I slam my foot on the brakes as soon as I see the road before me.  Traffic is backed up impossibly far.  I let out a loud groan and smack my head on the wheel repeatedly.

"WHY?!" I yell into the wheel, frustrated at my terrible luck.  There's no way it gets worse than this.  This is the peak of ridiculously horrible luck.  

"Oof," Rena grimaces as she notices the traffic.  Macie seems to have fallen asleep on her girlfriend, because Rena is awkwardly trying to position herself in a way so that she doesn't wake her.  

I glance back at the jam-packed road again.  I try to look for any way out of this that could save us now.  My gaze locks on an exit just a short distance ahead.  Exit 39, which spits you out right near a large network of hiking trails and paths through the woods.  An idea forms in my head.  

"How do you guys feel about a little off-roading?" I ask before turning the wheel and slowly beginning to make my way over to the exit.

"That doesn't sound safe," Tori points out.

"F*ck yeah!" Jarred yells.

"Well, the odds aren't in your favor if we sit here in this traffic, so I suppose that if you know what you're doing, then alright," Benjamin shrugs.

"Perfect." I manage to pull into the exit and then slam on the gas.  We need to go fast.  

My GPS recalculates, then displays the new estimated arrival time- forty-five minutes.  Not if my idea works, it won't be.  I speed down the street, and upon seeing the sign for the trails, pull over and pray that we won't hit a tree.  Then, I drive the van straight into the woods.  The GPS has no clue what the f*ck is going on.  I know the general direction of where I'm going, thankfully, so we're not lost.  

"Don't worry, I'm as good at driving as I am at football," I reassure everyone in the rows of seats behind me.

"You suck at football!" Rena teases.

I slam on the gas to nearly send her flying.  She flips me off playfully.

I won't lie, off-roading is a lot more difficult than I thought given the amount of trees everywhere.  And the van is larger than my car, so I have to be extra careful while navigating.  On top of that, I have to drive quickly.  And maybe I was going a little too fast, which is probably why I didn't see the deer until it was too late.  It comes out of nowhere and hits the van with a loud thud.  I'm so started that I'm distracted just long enough for us to come to a very sudden stop as we collide with a tree.  

My heart is racing as I turn to look at everyone.  They're all alive, and they're all very much frightened by what just happened.  I just f*cking crashed the van because of that stupid deer.  I unbuckle my seatbelt and slide out of the van, distancing myself just far enough from the van so I can swear and kick a tree in peace.  I feel like the biggest dumb*ss alive right now.  I sit down on the ground against a large trunk and start to get choked up.  I just ruined a school van, nearly killed my friends, and am certainly not going to make it to the big game now.  And on top of that, I have no idea where we are.  

"Marcus?" I glance up to see Den standing there, their mahogany eyes focused on me.  It almost reminds me of when I found them on the first day of my senior year.  Alone, lost, confused... now they're my adopted freshman.  And I've completely failed them by letting them, at age fourteen, end up in this situation.

Den extends their arms, their baggy red sleeves flopping wildly as they do so.  I stand up, bend down to meet their height, and give them a big hug.  It certainly does it for me, because now I'm crying.  We stand there for a moment, hugging, before I pull away and wipe my eyes.

"Thanks, little buddy," I say, ruffling their hair before returning to the rest of the group.

"Guys, I-" I start, but Macie cuts me off.

"Save it.  It's not your fault that everything around us hates you, and that your luck is the worst I've ever seen," she says.  I'm not sure if she's trying to make me feel better or insult me.

"Uh, thanks...?" I tilt my head, trying to make sense of her words.

"Well, seems like we're definitely lost," Benjamin comments unhelpfully, adjusting his glasses as he glances around warily.  

"Oh my god, we're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives," Tori whimpers, and Sora begins to console her, murmuring reassuring words that thankfully seem to calm her down a little.

"Not sure if this is very helpful," Jarred offers, "But if I were to hypothetically say that I saw an old building close by, would it be a good idea to go towards said building?"

We all look at him.

"Jarred, where the h*ll is this building?" Macie crosses her arms.

Jarred grins, then begins to lead us in a random direction.  We've got no choice but to follow.  And it turns out that he's right- a massive building looms before us.  It has a Victorian style to it, and some of the lights are on.  As we draw closer, I manage to glimpse the lobby through the glass front doors and realize that it's a hotel.  It's certainly a relief to see.  I open the door and let my friends enter first.  I definitely feel like I've stepped through a time machine into the Victorian era as soon as I enter the lobby.  Maroon wallpaper, dark wood... even the furniture is incredibly old-fashioned.

"Huh, wasn't expecting new guests until tomorrow morning," a voice comments, and we all jump.  Tori shrieks a little.

We turn around to see a tall man leaning against the front desk.  He has dark red hair, pale skin, and the rest of his face is obscured in shadow by a top hat.  He wears a black button-down beneath a red waistcoat, a jabot... black fingerless gloves... jeans... and purple crocs.  Talk about an outfit.

"Anyways, that's eight of you, right?  Anyone want to share a room?" His gaze seems to lock on Macie and Rena, and he adds, "I'll make that seven rooms, then."

I feel incredibly bad, so I approach the man and move to pull out my wallet, but he stops me.

"No need, consider this free of charge.  You all seem lost," he says.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I respond, surprised by his generosity.

He points us to the elevator and tells us that our rooms are on the sixth floor.  We ride the elevator in silence, as the elevator is infamously known to be the universal awkward space, and then arrive at our rooms.  We all agree to figure out what to do in the morning after a good night's rest, and then we part ways for the evening. 

I unlock the door to my room and collapse on the bed, feeling both frustrated and terrible at the same time.  Frustrated because I missed the game and got all of my friends lost in the middle of the words, and terrible for the same exact reason.  I pull out my phone and try to call my mom to tell her what happened, but it seems like the signal is blocked.  Weird.

I pull my varsity jacket off, lay it out on the bed, and let my head sink into one of the pillows.  I will say, it doesn't smell the cleanest in here, but then again it might just be me.  Eighteen year-old football players can do that to a space.

Finally, my eyelids can't stay open anymore, and I feel myself drift off into sleep.

(1932 words)

This chapter was NOT supposed to be this long lol

Anyways what a nice hotel!