Four Seats for Five Friends

Our last road trip before graduation was supposed to be the grand circle through the high desert—two cars, five people, two thousand miles of open highway. Just me, my boyfriend Drew, our two childhood friends Seth and Dean, and my best friend Kayla.

On the third morning, the alternator in the Cherokee died in a dusty Nevada town. The mechanic shook his head; there was only one working SUV left, and it seated four.

Drew didn’t even hesitate. He walked over and pressed a regional bus ticket into my hand.