Reservoir
The date was 13th July, a day we all planned for months on end, and today was the day. We were all going to reuinite for a week and spend time together like the close friends we all once were.
Though, to be frank, we weren't as close as we used to be. I wasn't sure if it was because of the distance between us, or because we saw each other so rarely now.
The only ones who had stayed in Echo were me and Jesse. I stayed because of my photography job for the local newspaper, because of this, Jesse and I were closer with eachother. Even so, we still didn't get to hang out much because of work.
Priyan and Rex both moved to California, not together of course. They were still miles apart with Rex moving to Chico and Priyan moving to Sacramento. They didn't keep in touch as much as they used to either. I think it was mainly because each of them was busy with their new lives there.
Jesse was the one who came up with the idea, so we called up Rex and Priyan and they loved the idea. The four of us would talk about what days they would be free to visit, and what we would be doing during the week. Then, on the big day, the four of us would meet up at Echo and spend the week together.
Most of the activities took place in Payton, since there was not much to do in Echo, aside from the diner, some hiking trails, and the lake, which we were skeptical about since some otter kid drowned in it six months ago. In fact, it kind of built up tension in our plans as a whole, making us question whether it was safe to do this. I was so glad we decided to do the reunion anyways.
As the time drew nearer, my excitement grew, along with my nervousness. What if we got bored and decided to do something else instead? What if we couldn't agree on anything?
I was making sure my camera was ready since we would be taking a picture in front of the motel together. I packed the camera and it's tripod in a bag as I heard my doorbell rang. I was sure it was Jesse.
I answered the door, and I was met with my good hedgehog friend smiling at me.
"Hey Jesse."
"Hey Utah, Rex said he's almost there, you ready?"
I nodded, and grabbed the bag with my camera and stepped out the door. It was hot, typical temperature for Echo since it was in the midde of the desert. The air was thick and dry, I could smell the dust in the air.
I looked at Jesse, he was wearing a white shirt with a plaid overcoat. His pants were tan and his shoes were red high-tops.
"Come on, let's get to the motel and wait for Rex to get here."
I took shotgun in Jesse's pickup. He got in the driver's seat and started it up. We drove to the motel. When we got there, Rex hadn't arrived yet. We got out and waited for him at the side of the truck.
"Five years now since we've seen Rex and Priyan, and now we can be together again, like good old times."
"Yeah, good old times." I chuckled.
Jesse looked at me, his grin stretching across his face.
"This is the day, isn't it?"
I nodded. "I'm nervous."
"Me too."
Jesse wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "But, we've been through this before. If we're patient and we plan well, we'll have a good time."
I chuckle, "Of course we'll have a good time, I'm sure of it."
Jesse chuckled. "I'm nervous about this week, that's what I'm trying to say."
"I know you are." I looked up at him. "It will all be fine. We've known these guys since middle school. Just be yourself and this will be one of the best weeks of your life."
Rex pulled into the parking lot and slammed on his brakes. The truck came to a stop, and we got out and waited for him to get out. The dalmation got out of his truck, he had grown a bit taller since we last saw him, which was ironic since he was originally the shortest in our group. He looked up and met our gaze. A large, wild, grin grew on his face.
"Utah! Jesse! What is up you guys?" He went over to us, and gave both of us each a tight hug that nearly left us out of breath.
He let go of us after a few moments and held our arms to look at us. "I'm really glad to see you two. I've missed you, I really have."
"We missed you too, Rex!" Jesse smiled
"I am so pumped for this week! You guys don't mind helping me unpack first, right?"
"Perfect! Let me check in first." Rex then preceded to walk towards the front desk in the building.
Jesse and I walked towards Rex's truck, and Rex walked out of the office, swinging a key around his index finger.
"I got room 11, let's get unpacking."
We walked to his room and began to unpack. We got his clothes, books, and any other belongings he thought was important. The whole time we were unpacking, we were talking about the plan for the week.
"So I was thinking of going to that theme park in Payton tomorrow." Jesse said
Southwest Adventures was the name. I had actually never been there in my life. I'm pretty sure Jesse had though. He probably knew all the good rides there.
"Hell yeah! We're gonna get to ride some scary rollercoasters!" Rex said, fist pumping the air.
"I was also thinking we'd do some hiking." Jesse snickered before poking Rex in the belly.
"Oh I know that's just a way for you to say I'm fat." Rex snorted in a way that was slightly offended but still joking.
"I'm not saying you're fat... but I'm not saying you're thin either!" Jesse laughed before Rex play tackled him to the ground.
I laughed at them as they play wrestled, the dalmatian clearly having the advantage against the smaller hedgehog. As we were having our fun, we heard a knock at the door. It must've been Priyan.
"Come in!" we all said at the same time.
Priyan walked inside, he looked at us for a moment. He looked at the clock on the wall, and began to smile.
"Was I interrupting something?" the ferret asked with a sly grin. "I could hear you guys talking from the door,"
Rex and Jesse's faces turned dark red before they bursted out laughing. We all got up and hugged Priyan. The whole gang was officially back together.
"I'm really glad you're all here," Priyan said, looking at each of us. "This is going to be so much fun."
Priyan, unlike Rex, hadn't changed much since he left. He was still the skinny, cool-headed ferret we knew and loved.
"You guys wanna catch-up over sandwiches?" Jesse asked, grabbing a few bags with sandwich wraps from the diner in them.
"Sounds good to me! I'm starving!" Rex said, rubbing his stomach
Jesse gave us each a sandwich wrap and we begin eating. I can't remember what I had told him to get me, but it was good.
"So what's California like guys?" Jesse asked Rex and Priyan
"Sacramento is pretty big, but it's the state capitol, so it's pretty much what you expect." Priyan explained
"There are bigger cities in California though, right? I mean there's San Francisco AND Los Angeles." I said
"Big state, big cities, never been to either of them though." Priyan simply said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
Rex quickly answered "Yeh, well I'm just talkin' generally. I'm actually pretty excited to hit the road and get this week started!"
"So Rex, what's Chico like?" I asked
"It's better than here at least. It has a large park, and there's lots to do downtown."
"I'm really curious. What's the culture like? I've never been there."
"It's somewhat of a mixture of rural and urban culture." Rex answered
"How so?" I inquired
"So it's in the middle of the valley, which means lots of farming goes on around it, but at the same time, it feels like a smaller version of Sacramento."
"Is it far from Sacramento?" Jesse asked
"More than two hours from it actually."
"So farming is the main source of income?" I asked.
"Some of it, but not necessarily actually."
"That's interesting."
"Can I ask you a question?" Priyan inquired
"Pop off." Rex responded
"You know that I left because of problems at home, right?"
"I do. I really am sorry about that though."
"What where your reasons for leaving?"
"I just couldn't take it anymore."
"What did you mean by that?"
"I mean look at this town. It's a shithole. You and I were lucky enough to escape it."
Rex was right... to an extent. The only reason I couldn't leave the town was because I had got a job as a photographer for the local newspaper. If I hadn't, I would've left as soon as I graduated high school.
Jesse... I don't know why Jesse never left. Other than Priyan, he was the most successful in school. He could've gotten a scholarship somewhere better than here.
"I'm just glad I got the opportunity to leave. Don't worry about what happened in high school. It's in the past." Rex sighed
I had forgotten about what happened in high school. Like literally, what happened in high school again? I only remember that I had gotten really pissed at Rex for a long period of time. It's hard to remember exactly why though. I just remember being furious.
"Well, we're not here for the town though, we're here for each other, and that's what really matters." Jesse lightened up
"So guys, how's the rest of your day look?" Priyan asked
We all looked at the clock on the wall.
"Shit!" Rex said, and we all burst out laughing.
"I think it's time we all took a picture together." I said
"Let's make it a photo montage!" Rex jumped up
"You bet." Priyan replied.
We all hopped up, and started taking photos of each other. The last photo we took was in front of the motel, I set up my camera and smiled with the rest. I got in the middle with Jesse and Rex. The photo snapped.
"I made this shot possible you guys" I said
The photo came out, I needed to develop it. I would do that tonight.
Though, to be frank, we weren't as close as we used to be. I wasn't sure if it was because of the distance between us, or because we saw each other so rarely now.
The only ones who had stayed in Echo were me and Jesse. I stayed because of my photography job for the local newspaper, because of this, Jesse and I were closer with eachother. Even so, we still didn't get to hang out much because of work.
Priyan and Rex both moved to California, not together of course. They were still miles apart with Rex moving to Chico and Priyan moving to Sacramento. They didn't keep in touch as much as they used to either. I think it was mainly because each of them was busy with their new lives there.
Jesse was the one who came up with the idea, so we called up Rex and Priyan and they loved the idea. The four of us would talk about what days they would be free to visit, and what we would be doing during the week. Then, on the big day, the four of us would meet up at Echo and spend the week together.
Most of the activities took place in Payton, since there was not much to do in Echo, aside from the diner, some hiking trails, and the lake, which we were skeptical about since some otter kid drowned in it six months ago. In fact, it kind of built up tension in our plans as a whole, making us question whether it was safe to do this. I was so glad we decided to do the reunion anyways.
As the time drew nearer, my excitement grew, along with my nervousness. What if we got bored and decided to do something else instead? What if we couldn't agree on anything?
I was making sure my camera was ready since we would be taking a picture in front of the motel together. I packed the camera and it's tripod in a bag as I heard my doorbell rang. I was sure it was Jesse.
I answered the door, and I was met with my good hedgehog friend smiling at me.
"Hey Jesse."
"Hey Utah, Rex said he's almost there, you ready?"
I nodded, and grabbed the bag with my camera and stepped out the door. It was hot, typical temperature for Echo since it was in the midde of the desert. The air was thick and dry, I could smell the dust in the air.
I looked at Jesse, he was wearing a white shirt with a plaid overcoat. His pants were tan and his shoes were red high-tops.
"Come on, let's get to the motel and wait for Rex to get here."
I took shotgun in Jesse's pickup. He got in the driver's seat and started it up. We drove to the motel. When we got there, Rex hadn't arrived yet. We got out and waited for him at the side of the truck.
"Five years now since we've seen Rex and Priyan, and now we can be together again, like good old times."
"Yeah, good old times." I chuckled.
Jesse looked at me, his grin stretching across his face.
"This is the day, isn't it?"
I nodded. "I'm nervous."
"Me too."
Jesse wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "But, we've been through this before. If we're patient and we plan well, we'll have a good time."
I chuckle, "Of course we'll have a good time, I'm sure of it."
Jesse chuckled. "I'm nervous about this week, that's what I'm trying to say."
"I know you are." I looked up at him. "It will all be fine. We've known these guys since middle school. Just be yourself and this will be one of the best weeks of your life."
Rex pulled into the parking lot and slammed on his brakes. The truck came to a stop, and we got out and waited for him to get out. The dalmation got out of his truck, he had grown a bit taller since we last saw him, which was ironic since he was originally the shortest in our group. He looked up and met our gaze. A large, wild, grin grew on his face.
"Utah! Jesse! What is up you guys?" He went over to us, and gave both of us each a tight hug that nearly left us out of breath.
He let go of us after a few moments and held our arms to look at us. "I'm really glad to see you two. I've missed you, I really have."
"We missed you too, Rex!" Jesse smiled
"I am so pumped for this week! You guys don't mind helping me unpack first, right?"
"Perfect! Let me check in first." Rex then preceded to walk towards the front desk in the building.
Jesse and I walked towards Rex's truck, and Rex walked out of the office, swinging a key around his index finger.
"I got room 11, let's get unpacking."
We walked to his room and began to unpack. We got his clothes, books, and any other belongings he thought was important. The whole time we were unpacking, we were talking about the plan for the week.
"So I was thinking of going to that theme park in Payton tomorrow." Jesse said
Southwest Adventures was the name. I had actually never been there in my life. I'm pretty sure Jesse had though. He probably knew all the good rides there.
"Hell yeah! We're gonna get to ride some scary rollercoasters!" Rex said, fist pumping the air.
"I was also thinking we'd do some hiking." Jesse snickered before poking Rex in the belly.
"Oh I know that's just a way for you to say I'm fat." Rex snorted in a way that was slightly offended but still joking.
"I'm not saying you're fat... but I'm not saying you're thin either!" Jesse laughed before Rex play tackled him to the ground.
I laughed at them as they play wrestled, the dalmatian clearly having the advantage against the smaller hedgehog. As we were having our fun, we heard a knock at the door. It must've been Priyan.
"Come in!" we all said at the same time.
Priyan walked inside, he looked at us for a moment. He looked at the clock on the wall, and began to smile.
"Was I interrupting something?" the ferret asked with a sly grin. "I could hear you guys talking from the door,"
Rex and Jesse's faces turned dark red before they bursted out laughing. We all got up and hugged Priyan. The whole gang was officially back together.
"I'm really glad you're all here," Priyan said, looking at each of us. "This is going to be so much fun."
Priyan, unlike Rex, hadn't changed much since he left. He was still the skinny, cool-headed ferret we knew and loved.
"You guys wanna catch-up over sandwiches?" Jesse asked, grabbing a few bags with sandwich wraps from the diner in them.
"Sounds good to me! I'm starving!" Rex said, rubbing his stomach
Jesse gave us each a sandwich wrap and we begin eating. I can't remember what I had told him to get me, but it was good.
"So what's California like guys?" Jesse asked Rex and Priyan
"Sacramento is pretty big, but it's the state capitol, so it's pretty much what you expect." Priyan explained
"There are bigger cities in California though, right? I mean there's San Francisco AND Los Angeles." I said
"Big state, big cities, never been to either of them though." Priyan simply said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
Rex quickly answered "Yeh, well I'm just talkin' generally. I'm actually pretty excited to hit the road and get this week started!"
"So Rex, what's Chico like?" I asked
"It's better than here at least. It has a large park, and there's lots to do downtown."
"I'm really curious. What's the culture like? I've never been there."
"It's somewhat of a mixture of rural and urban culture." Rex answered
"How so?" I inquired
"So it's in the middle of the valley, which means lots of farming goes on around it, but at the same time, it feels like a smaller version of Sacramento."
"Is it far from Sacramento?" Jesse asked
"More than two hours from it actually."
"So farming is the main source of income?" I asked.
"Some of it, but not necessarily actually."
"That's interesting."
"Can I ask you a question?" Priyan inquired
"Pop off." Rex responded
"You know that I left because of problems at home, right?"
"I do. I really am sorry about that though."
"What where your reasons for leaving?"
"I just couldn't take it anymore."
"What did you mean by that?"
"I mean look at this town. It's a shithole. You and I were lucky enough to escape it."
Rex was right... to an extent. The only reason I couldn't leave the town was because I had got a job as a photographer for the local newspaper. If I hadn't, I would've left as soon as I graduated high school.
Jesse... I don't know why Jesse never left. Other than Priyan, he was the most successful in school. He could've gotten a scholarship somewhere better than here.
"I'm just glad I got the opportunity to leave. Don't worry about what happened in high school. It's in the past." Rex sighed
I had forgotten about what happened in high school. Like literally, what happened in high school again? I only remember that I had gotten really pissed at Rex for a long period of time. It's hard to remember exactly why though. I just remember being furious.
"Well, we're not here for the town though, we're here for each other, and that's what really matters." Jesse lightened up
"So guys, how's the rest of your day look?" Priyan asked
We all looked at the clock on the wall.
"Shit!" Rex said, and we all burst out laughing.
"I think it's time we all took a picture together." I said
"Let's make it a photo montage!" Rex jumped up
"You bet." Priyan replied.
We all hopped up, and started taking photos of each other. The last photo we took was in front of the motel, I set up my camera and smiled with the rest. I got in the middle with Jesse and Rex. The photo snapped.
"I made this shot possible you guys" I said
The photo came out, I needed to develop it. I would do that tonight.