Short Lines

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Carter, I can’t just drop everything and head all the way out there. I have school to focus on,” I said, balancing my cell phone between my ear and my shoulder. Carter had a funny way of only calling while I was doing a pile of homework.

“Come on, Avery! The semester will be over in a week and then it’s summer! You have plenty of time to chill and take a break for once,” he exclaimed. He was like a little kid, telling me his plan like it was the greatest thing in the world. I could picture my best friend’s eyes sparkling with delight at his usual, crazy ideas.

“I’ve told you time and time again why I’m so focused on school. I can’t just up and leave,” I replied.

He sighed. “I know, I know. It’s your dad. You can’t disappoint him, blah blah blah. But it’ll be summer. Not to mention, your favorite band will be in town and I could get tickets...”

I paused. “Carter, if you’re lying to me, I swear to God I’m gonna-”

“I’m dead serious. All Time Low is my favorite too, and you know I wouldn’t joke about that,” he mentioned. If there was one thing he was serious about, it was music.

“It says on their website they’re doing a signing at some outdoor mall, The Outlets at Orange or something here in LA,” he mentioned, excitement apparent in his voice. “Dude, we could like, legit meet them.”

“That would be amazing but...is this really even going to work out? I mean, something’s bound to go wrong. My plane could crash when I’m flying out there, the band’s bus could break down, you could go bankrupt buying us tickets-” I began.

“Avery, you’ve got to learn to chill out. If you just assume everything’s gonna turn to shit, it will. You gotta beat life at it’s own game, babe,” he explained.

I rolled my eyes at him calling me ‘babe’, letting out an exasperated groan. “I just have a really bad feeling about this.”

“You say that about everything. Besides, this is gonna work out. What could go wrong?” he asked rhetorically before pausing. “Wait, don’t actually answer that.”

“I hate you and the confidence you have in everything, you know that, right?” I said, picking at my fingernails anxiously.

“You’re just jealous,” he replied, and I could practically see him sticking his tongue out at me. “Anyway, finish up the semester, buy a plane ticket, and get your sorry ass out to California ASAP. If you protest, I’ll drag you here myself.”

I shook my head, laughing slightly because I knew there was no arguing at this point. “Alright, Carter. I’ll email you my itinerary and all that once it finally gets set up, but right now I have to write a 4 page research paper. I’ll call you later.”

“Sounds good to me. I can’t wait to see you! Good luck on your finals!” he said, and we bid our final goodbyes before hanging up.

The thought of meeting my favorite band was enough to prevent me from focusing on my essay, but I tried not to get my hopes up. There was no way it could happen. Carter was always making plans and never going through with them for starters, and then there were all the other factors that contributed to it. Life wasn’t fair, especially for someone like me. That was just the way it was.

Besides, as long as I had known him, Carter could never make anything work out the way he pictured it in his imaginative little head. Every time I went along with him, we ended up lost or in some sort of trouble, leading me into a severe panic attack. Yet, I couldn’t see myself saying to this one. I’d probably end up disappointed, but I had to put some faith in my best friend. LA could be fun and exciting, right? What did I really have to worry about?

Notes