Stuck Chronicle (Part 32 - The Next Morning)

[Xavier B]

The next morning, Joel woke up rather early. He decide to let Lyle sleep, put on everything besides his boots and shirt, and went downstairs. Mick was already awake, and had made breakfast for three. When he spotted Joel, he smirked

“Morning”, he said.

“Mornin’”, Joel replied, as he sat down at the table.

Mick broke the silence. “Looks like you boys had some fun last night.”

Joel looked across the table at Mick. Even though he had a smirk on his face, he could sense a bit of irritation mixed in. ”Yeah, you could say that”, he said, with a smirk on his own face. “We got REAL busy last night ”

Joel placed his dishes in the sink, and as soon as he turned around, Mick was right in front of him, his smirk having become a stern look. This made Joel grin even more.

“What’s with the scowl and growl? You want me to go into det—OW!” Joel yelped. Mick pressed his booted foot over Joel’s socked foot.

“I don’t care what you guys did last night”, Mick said. “Just make sure you wash my sheets before you go…”

With that, he trudged outside and got to work on his Jeep. Joel washed his dishes, went back to his room, and slipped his boots and shirt on. Mick was cranking his Jeep, struggling to get it started. The cranking woke up Lyle.

“Mornin’, Sunshine”, Joel said gently as he rubbed Lyle’s leg.

“Hey”, Lyle replied groggily. As Mick cranked away, he turned to the window. “Looks like Mickey’s riled up.”

“What…what gives up that impression?” Joel asked with a slight smile.

“Mickey doesn’t do maintenance on his own unless he’s frustrated or mad. Otherwise, he would’ve dragged us out there with him to chat.”

“Oh….”

Lyle turned to Joel. “You didn’t say something to piss him off, did you? 🧐”

Joel suddenly turned away.

“Joel…”

“Okay, okay”, he said. “He said he heard us last night, so I…kinda rubbed it in ‍️”

Lyle shook his head. “Not cool, man…”

“It’s not like we actually went all out. I just wanted to mess with him a little bit—I didn’t think it’d make him all—“

Suddenly, Mick’s jeep roared to life. He then began to rev the engine it to keep it running.

“I’ll get ready”, Lyle said. “But please, go out there and talk to him.”

“Alright, alright”, Joel replied. He went downstairs, and approached Mick’s jeep. When Mick saw him, he scowled and revved even harder.

“Mick!” Joel shouted over the engine. “I gotta talk to you!”

Mick mouthed “Sorry, can’t hear you”, and revved even harder.

“I gotta talk to you about something!”

Mick shrugged and kept revving. From the corner of his mouth, joel could see a grin.

He walked over to the driver side and banged on the window. “C’mon! Open the damn door, you jerk!” He said angrily.

Mick stopped revving, and let down his window. “Get in”, he said seriously.

Joel got into the passenger seat, and Mick took off.

“Wait! What about Lyle?” he asked.

“He’ll be okay”, Mick replied. “First, I’ve got something I wanna tell you too.”

As they approached a muddy area, he let out a deep breath, and said, “Look, I’m sorry about this morning. I’m not mad about the sheets—I’ve had other friends visit before—I was just…a little jealous.”
Joel was surprised. It was the first time that the high and mighty Mick was being humble.

“Look”, Mick continued, “despite what I say, know that I DO kinda like you. You’re not too bad a guy, and you’re good to my buddy ️”

Joel looked back up and smiled. “Awwww, thanks! Well…you’re not too bad yourself.”

Mick grinned.

“I mean…you’re still kind of a dick, though, but it’s nice to know you can be humble ”

“Sh-shut up!” Mick said in an embarrassed tone.

Joel laughed. “Awwww, you’re lookin’ a little red there, Mickey! ”

Mick glared at Joel, then revved his engine. “We’ll both be red in a minute…”, He growled.

He put both hands on the wheel, and without looking, reversed straight into the mud. The jeep zigged and zagged a few yards through the shallow bog, until all four of its tires were spinning. He pounded away at the gas pedal, slowly sinking his jeep, until the tires were over half-buried in red clay.