"Now what do you want to do?" asked Nick as he drove his mom's old '93 Mercury Cougar through the streets of downtown Orlando. His Durango was in the shop.
"I don't know," shrugged Brian, reaching forward to turn the radio down, "How about we call it a day? We can go back to your place and play some B-ball!"
"Sure," Nick smiled, "I just need to stop at Sam Goody's quick to get a CD that Aaron wanted, then we can hit the home stretch."
Nick pulled into the mall parking lot and shut the car off, he took care to take the keys out of the ignition. He wasn't used to it, but Brian always locked the doors. He stuffed them in his pocket and got out of the two door car, shutting the door.
Brian opened his door and before shutting it, locked the doors. "Well, lets go, Fro Joe!"
Nick smirked and quirked an eyebrow, "Fro Joe?"
Brian shrugged, stepping up to Nick and mussing the blond hair, "It just came to me, Frack."
Nick just shook his head, pushing Brian's hands away as they walked into the mall to get the CD. Twenty minutes and around fifty autographs later, Nick and Brian return to the Cougar. Nick let out a breath as he took out the keys to unlock the doors, "Man, we gotta remember that malls and us don't mix."
"Yeah, lets get out of here," sighed Brian as he sank into the car. Nick smiled and started the car, pulling out of the lot.
They were reaching the end of town when a Petro station appeared to their right. Nick slowed down, "Hey, Brian. You wanna stop at Petro and get some munchies for later?"
"Okay, sure."
Nick pulled into the station and parked close to the doors, shutting the car off, "What should we get?" He asked, distractedly unbuckling his seat belt.
Brian shrugged as he opened his door, "Some Combos, MD to drink, Doritos, ..." Brian was still rattling off suggestions as he stood from the car and began to shut his door.
Nick was listening to Brian and shut his door, immediately sucking his breath in, "Brian! The keys!"
Brian stopped talking at Nick's yell, his hand having just let go of the door as it slammed shut. Brian lunged to stop it from shutting, failing. He looked over the car roof at Nick, "You didn't."
Nick bit his lip and looked at Brian from the other side of the car, he spoke, almost begging, "Please, tell me you didn't lock it."
"Nick!" cried Brian, now yanking ineffectually at the door handle, "You know I always lock it!"
Nick looked from Brian to the Cougar, "Fu-uck...," he slowly groaned out, rolling his head back and closing his eyes.
Nick suddenly felt disgusted with himself, "God-damn it! Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! I can't believe I did that! I went the whole friggin' day and on the last stop, I forget! Damn it to hell!"
Brian stared at Nick as he spazzed out, "Yo, Nick! Relax! We'll figure something out."
"What?" asked Nick, "We can't call the cops 'cause they don't do that anymore. We'll have to call a locksmith and then wait forever for them to get their asses over here!"
"C'mere, Nick," sighed Brian, "Listen, I have my window open a little bit, maybe we can get it open enough to get the keys."
Nick walked over to see Brian trying to force the window open more than the inch it already was, "How'd you get it open that much?"
"I already had it open a bit when I shut the door," Brian grunted, "I can't get it open."
Nick tried to help Brian, the window still didn't budge. Nick suddenly had an idea, "Hey, Petro has all kinds of stuff in it. Maybe we can find somethin' that can fit through to get the keys."
"Oh, my God," cried Brian, astonished, "Nick! You have a brain!"
Nick smacked Brian upside the head, "Shut up."
Brian just grinned and they walked into Petro. Nick couldn't help but notice the pretty girl at the counter. He gave her a smile and tried his best to look nonchalant as he and Brian headed to the tools part of the small store/gas station.
Nick and Brian stand in an aisle, staring at the variety of weird odds and ends before them. Most of the stuff was for semi trucks, so the tools looked strange.
Brian crossed his arms, "Okay, what have we got?"
Nick looked for a minute, glancing around subconsciously at the other customers, then he saw something that might work, "How about this?"
Brian watched as Nick picked up an iron bar about two feet long with a hook on one end and a handle on the other, "Looks like just what would work, but... is it long enough?" Brian tried to gauge what he remembered of the distance from the Cougar's door to the steering wheel and the tool Nick held.
Nick shrugged, "Won't know until we try."
"What are we goin' to do though?" questioned Brian as a thought struck him, "Buy it?"
"No way," said Nick, shaking his head. "What would I do with this when we were done?" he asked, giving the tool a weird look. "They ought to let us use it if we tell them why and bring it back."
Brian looked at the check out counter and then back at Nick. He smiled, "C'mon, we might as well get it over with."
Nick and Brian walked to the counter and Nick laid the tool before the confused girl, Nick blushed and averted his eyes, "Ummm... well, ya see..... I kind of locked my keys in my car and the passenger window is open a bit and we think this will reach in and snatch the keys so we don't have to call a locksmith. So..." Nick looked up at the now smiling girl, "Ummm... can we borrow this?"
The girl laughed, "Sure, just bring it back and good luck."
Brian let out his breath, smiling sheepishly, "Thanks."
Then Nick and Brian went back out the the Cougar. The stop beside the passenger side. Nick takes the iron hook bar and puts it through the one inch wide opening.
"Damn!" swore Nick, pulling the hook back out, "Its a good foot short."
Brian sighed, "Well, back to the drawing board. Maybe there is something longer in there that we missed."
Nick and Brian re-enter the station. Nick shyly smiles at the girl, "Too short."
She chuckled, "Kinda thought so. You gonna try again?"
Brian nodded, "Yep!"
Brian and Nick stand in that same aisle. Brian frowned, "Nothing. Not one thing longer."
Nick studied the stuff before him, his eyes lighting up with another idea. He reached down and picked up a wooden stick-thingy tool that was a little over a foot long, shoving it into Brian's hands. Then he gave Brian the iron hook thing and positioned Brian to hold them end to end, slightly overlapping. Brian just stood there and did as Nick wanted, a perplexed expression on his face.
Nick smiled and then grabbed two tarp straps, how he knew what they were he had no idea, he just did. Tarp straps are elastic rope a foot in length generally, with metal hooks on each end. He took them and began wrapping them around the stick and bar, Brian now smiling as he understood what Nick was doing.
"Wool-ah!" cried Nick, throwing his hands out and earning a few curious stares from some nearby customers.
Brian looked at the make-shift tool Nick had created, where the straps wrapped around the two tools was now a large bulge. Brian looked at Nick, "I hope it fits through the window."
"It'll fit," declared Nick, already heading for the door.
As Brian walked by the girl, he held up their new tool with a grin. She smiled and shook her head. Brian walked out the doors and to where Nick was anxiously waiting by the Cougar.
"C'mon, Frick! Quit flirtin'!"
"I wasn't flirtin'!"
Nick rolled his eyes, "Uh-huh."
"Lets get this over with so we can leave already," sighed Brian.
Brian put the 'tool' hook first into the one inch slot, frowning when it stopped at the tarp strap bulge. Brian looked at Nick, "Told ya."
"It'll work," repeated Nick, "Force it through."
Brian pushed while Nick helped by trying to pull the window open more. Brian kept pushing as the tool moved a little, he forced one of his hands through the opening and tried to pry the tool through. Finally, the tool popped into the car and Brian almost dropped it inside.
"Yeah, we got it!" cried Nick as he helped direct the hook to the keys. The hook tapped the keys, then they maneuvered it behind them and then pulled forward, the hook snatching the ring and pulling the keys from the ignition. They now dangled from the hook inside the Cougar.
Nick nearly started jumping up and down, "Wahoo!"
"Okay now, Brian. Lets get them out."
"I'm tryin'."
"Tilt it so they slid toward us."
"No! I don't want them to fall off!"
"If you tilt them we can grab them and pull the tool out."
"Fine, you grab 'em."
"Careful, Bri'!"
"I am! Grab 'em!"
"Got 'em!"
"Now help me get this thing out!"
"Damn! Its stuck!"
"Well, DUH!"
"Hey, don't break the window! Mom'll kill me!"
"Well, Pull!"
"I am!"
"Ow! Damn it! Ow! my hand!"
Snicker, "It's stuck, too!"
Evil glare, "Help me out here!"
"I am!"
"Wait, its breaking loose! We almost got it!"
"How's your hand?" Snicker.
"Shut up! You still got a hold of the keys?"
"Yeah- ... Hey! I got it! Its out!"
Brian gave Nick a tired look, "Well, I'm SO happy."
Nick burst out laughing with the tool and keys in his hands, Brian stood with his hand stuck at the wrist in the one inch space of the open window. Brian glared at him, "Will ya shut up and unlock the damn car so I can get my hand out? My fingers are goin' numb."
Still snickering, Nick nodded and unlocked the door. Brian moved with it as Nick opened the door and reached across to put the keys in the ignition again and turning them so the automatic windows would work. Brian sighed when the window opened and let loose of his hand. Nick retrieved the keys and shut the door, still smiling as Brian rubbed the feeling back into his hand.
"Oh, just shut up, Fro Joe!"
Nick feigned hurt as he turned back to the Petro doors, he held the tool out, "Shall we?"
Brian shook his head and followed Nick back into the store. Nick held the tool triumphantly up before the girl, "Success!"
The girl laughed and nodded, "Congratulations!"
Brian just shook his head and sighed as he walked past after Nick, he turned to her, "It was all his fault in the first place!"
She was still laughing as they returned to leave. Nick nodded to her, "Thanks for letting us do that."
"No problem," she smiled, "You guys just made my day!"
Both Nick and Brian blushed in embarrassment, Brian recovered first, "Well, thanks again. Maybe we'll see you around?"
"Sure, see ya!"
Nick and Brian both gave a collective sigh of relief as they sank into the cushy seats of the Cougar, "What a day," breathed Nick.
Brian scoffed, "You know, it was normal until you locked the damn keys in here!"
Nick leaned forward and started the car after buckling his seat belt, "Hey, you locked the doors."
Brian buckled his seat belt as Nick was pulling the car out onto the street, "But you didn't take the keys out!"
"So?!"
"So? It's your fault!"
"You locked it!"
"You left the keys!"
"So?!"
"So?!"
There is silence as they each sulk for about 2 seconds, then they burst out laughing.
"Not a soul!" cried Nick, gasping air, "You have to promise to not tell anyone!"
"Hey, I was here, too!" laughed Brian, "I ain't sayin' anything!"
"Okay," Nick breathed, "I guess we're safe from further embarrassment then."
"Yep," smiled Brian, then burst out laughing again, "God, what a day!"
As they drove off, still laughing their heads off, a pretty young girl in a Petro station was thoughtfully tapping a disposable camera against her hand. A sly smile turned her lips as she gazed at it and then out the window... to the lot a '93 2-door Mercury Cougar just occupied.
I wonder when the one-hour photo closes?
The End.
