Straying from the Truth

They say that one should not lie because more lies will be created to cover. I have never understood this as well as last Saturday. Eventually, I will have to explain to my parents. Las Vegas + wedding dress? What a scandal.

It started when Erwin suggested that we drive to Death Valley to check the venue for an upcoming camping trip. He told four others. Anastasia thought it was cute but impossible. Hannah is underage. Gretchen was appalled. Pallas understood, she agreed to go and I just wanted to get away.

Glendale, Ca -4:28am

Parents thought I was at school. Classmates assumed I was going home. Took advantage of the confusion and left before the sun rose. Later, Pallas and I saw rays of cream through charcoal atmosphere.

Inyo, Ca – 10:04am

The sky turned so blue that it made the scenery pop out of a postcard. Pictures were mandatory; I threw on the white dress. The wind wrestled with the fabric, pushed me up on my toes and hassled the others.

Stovepipe Wells, Ca – 11:12am

“Inquiring Minds would like to know if you are going hiking.” Erwin’s Mom texted. She thought he was in LA visiting Lindsay.

“I won’t be able to make it.”

There was a pause, then “I greeted Lindsay, she is at church today…?”

Salt Creek, Ca – 12:09pm

“Jacquie isn’t  here either,” Gretchen texted, “It’s so pretty here, you are missing out…”

Badwaters Rd – 3:40pm

The car drifted off the road. “Why are you stopping?”

I turned around and saw the lights. Pallas looked out and saw the uniform.

“Do you have any weapons?”

“Yes,” but we didn’t list them all.

CA 190, Near Zabriskie Point – 5:30pm

“Did it bother you to invite two girls younger than yourself and tell them to not to tell?”

Erwin laughed, “Sounds so wrong when you put it that way.”  It would have looked worse if he’d told the ranger about the machetes in the trunk.

Las Vegas, Nv – 8:00pm

“You’ll fit right in,” they said, so I kept the dress. We strolled down the strip but even the lights couldn’t compare to infinite sparkle splattered above the desert.

Somewhere… – 11:45pm

“We heard you talking with a guy.”  I scrolled down to see when my mom had called.

“Oh, just went out for a walk.”

La Sierra – 3:01am

Finally made it home after 813 miles in less than 24 hours. Perhaps it was immature for us to go scouting unbeknownst to the other campers. I didn’t necessary lie about what was going on – but I said things that lead people from the truth. Even worse, as a group – we started creating an elaborate cover story in case we got caught. Seriously? It’s easier to be honest.

The campout is in a week. We shall see what happens between now and then. Normally my parents would understand, but me wearing a wedding dress in Vegas?

Ending note: My mom dreamt that I went to Death Valley without her, yikes!