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gonzo4201

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The drive to Indiana seemed to drag on forever, as Pete tried to ignore the fact that Crystal's elbow had been jabbing into his ribcage ever since she fell asleep, after they got gas at the Stuckey's Dairy Queen, somewhere near Birmingham, Alabama.  It was an older building, with a gas station and gift shop on one end, and a Dairy Queen built into one building.  It reminded Pete of the Dairy Queen on "The Outsiders", which was also one of his favorite books.  That was four hours ago, and they still had four hours to go before their voyage would be over.  Pete tried to reposition himself, so he could try to get some sleep before they get there. 

  When they finally arrived at the house, Pete was surprised to find everybody was still awake.  Pete's aunts and uncles came down from Illinois, and everybody was still up drinking, celebrating his grandma, as she would have liked them to.  There was still the somberness in the air, but everyone seemed to be feeling pretty good.  Pete was sure the alcohol had a lot to do with that.  Pete walked up the stairs to the room that had once been his, only to find his younger sister, Clarissa, had taken it over.  There were posters of Garth Brooks, where Pete's heavy metal posters once completely covered the walls.  It didn't even look like the same room, but Pete would have to deal with it, because that would be his room for the next week.  Clarissa volunteered to sleep in the younger kids' playroom, on the floor, so Pete could have the bed.  Pete laid down in the bed, disappearing beneath the twelve layers of blankets and comforters she had thrown on her bed.  Since it was the middle of December, it got really cold in the house, despite the woodburner downstairs, in the living room.  Pete curled into a ball and drifted off to sleep, almost instantly, dreaming of what was in store for tomorrow, as well as dreading the funeral.

  Pete woke up early the next morning, the sunlight almost blinding him, as it shined in through the window.  Now he remembered why he had always kept a blanket over that window.  His mom used to get so mad at him because his room was always so dark, she couldn't ever see her way around to hang his clothes in the closet.  His blacklight was constantly causing fights between the two of them, since he would switch the main light in his room with the bulb.  She would then replace the bulb, taking down the flag he had hanging across the ceiling, in the process. She would leave the flag lying on Pete's bed, so that Pete could hang it when he got home from work.  Pete would then come home, have to switch the light and hang the flag, after going to school all day , then working his eight hour shift, washing dishes at a local truckstop.  Most nights, he would go out partying with his best friends, Jeremy, and his brother, Bob.  They lived just a five minute walk down the road, so Pete found himself there alot, becoming friends with them immediately, as they moved in, three years before.  Having to change a lightbulb and hang a flag across the ceiling was the last thing he wanted to do at three in the morning.  This was his room, and he was going to have it the way he wanted it, Pete would think, stubbornly.  The room was completely different now, only empty brackets, where his strobe lights used to hang.  After arguing with himself for over half an hour, Pete finally dragged himself out of his bed, sluggishly getting dressed for the funeral.