New Haven: An Adventure Short Story

Sometimes a girl would do anything to meet her idol. They would go above and beyond to be acknowledged by them. Penny Price was about to go insane just to meet Austin Carlile.
She jumped out of bed and went to the shower. She took her time with it, as she still had a little over fourteen hours until the concert in New Haven started. It was there that she would finally meet Austin Carlile.
After her shower, she brushed her hair with a fine-toothed comb. Penny brushed her hair until her black, midnight dream hair was shiny and knot free. She carefully picked out her outfit for this perfect July weather, a blue pair of denim shorts and a black Of Mice & Men shirt that had the sleeves torn off.
Penny didn’t bother to eat, she just grabbed her knapsack with her concert ticket and hoodie and walked to her car. As she got in, she buckled up. Staring at the road ahead of her, she started the engine and slowly pushed on the gas pedal.
She turned on her radio and drove to her friend, Micheal Houston’s house. He was almost like Penny, except he was a whole foot taller with short, blonde hair. As she approached the house, he was already outside and hopped in. He wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to spend time with Penny. They have been inseparable since they met in kindergarten. One would even say he was in love with Penny Price but she was too busy being in love with Austin Carlile, someone who has no idea she even exists.
“Micheal, today is that day that Austin and I finally take our relationship to the next level. He might not know it yet but we are gonna get married someday.” Penny was smiling, ear to ear.
Micheal just huffed and sank back in his seat a little, “Penny, he’s not just going to date you. He has no clue who you are. You know that.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Penny switched to the right lane and entered onto the highway, accelerating until she was going seventy five miles an hour.
Instead of responding, Micheal turned on the radio to 97.4, the biggest alternative rock station in all of South Port. As they listened to the announcer, Micheal began to stare off into space. He was really wanting Penny to stop with Austin and realize that he’s been there from the start and that if it wasn’t for him, she would have never even known who he was.
Micheal was completely out of the zone until minutes passed and he heard Penny yell to him, “Micheal! Call the station right now! They are giving away backstage passes to anyone who can answer the trivia question!”
He groaned and slowly dialed the number, hoping that someone else would answer before Penny got the chance to but Penny snatched the phone up and dialed. She heard the announcer over the radio, “Alright folks, we got our caller!”
In that moment, Penny thought she had lost but the phone picked up and over the radio and in her ear, the announcer asked, “Alright mystery caller, what happened to Austin Carlile here recently that cause him to spend a few nights in jail?”
“OH! Someone was saying mean and hurtful things about a fan of his that died of cancer and Austin beat him up. He has her name tattooed on the back of his leg.”
The announcer exclaimed, “THAT’S RIGHT! Congratulations caller. You won! When you get to the arena, just look for my tent with the secret code I will send to your phone and I will get you your tickets backstage.”
Penny hung up and screamed happily as a code text came to her phone. She was overly excited for everything that she just won and most importantly, she got to spend it with Micheal. She deeply cared for Micheal. Just as a sibling would to another. She’s never thought of him in that way.
Penny couldn’t stop thinking about meeting Austin, now that she knew it would actually happen now. She turned into the left lane to exit on a ramp to stop for food. As she came to a stop at a stop light, she glanced over at Micheal and Micheal glanced over at her. They both smiled. That moment only lasted a millisecond before a car slammed into the back of the car.
All that could be heard was glass breaking, helpless screams and everything on Earth seemed to stop in that moment…
The next thing the two knew, they were being rushed to a nearby hospital in Penton City. Micheal and Penny were put in separate rooms and both remained unconscious for an hour. Micheal woke up and looked around. He tried to move but a sharp pain shot through his body. The nurse looked at him and said softly, “Sir, please. Your wounds are severe.”
“W-W-What happened?” He managed to mutter as his eyes searched the room for Penny and panicked when he didn’t see her.
The doctor came in and looked at me, a saddened look in his eyes. Micheal began to panic more. The doctor looked at him, “Micheal, we don’t know how to tell you this but a drunk driver slammed into the back of your friend’s car and he managed to run away on foot. You and Penny flew through the windshield even though you were both wearing seatbelts. You broke your leg and we put it in a cast. You should be able to go soon but Penny…”
Tears began to stream down Micheal’s face. He knew it wasn’t good news. Something happened…
“Penny is on life support. She had some serious internal bleeding and is having a hard time breathing. She’s not going to make it. I’m sorry.” With that, the doctor left.
Micheal shot up out of bed and despite being in a cast and feeling such sharp pains, he hobbled into the next room where Penny lay, almost lifeless. He stood beside the bed and placed his hand lightly on her cheek. Penny managed to open her eyes and whispered, “Micheal… I…”
He smiled with tears shedding and talked, “Shhh. Save your strength. Penny, I love you.”
“I.. I… I love you, Micheal.” She managed to cough up after trying to speak for minutes.
Micheal couldn’t stand seeing Penny like this. He held her hand delicately in his, “Penny, I need to go to that concert. For you. I will do everything to meet Austin and tell him about you. I will bring him to you.”
Penny smiled and handed him the phone with the code on it and parted her lips to speak but only one word came out before her medicine kicked in, “Go…”
Micheal nodded and kissed her lips softly before looking at the nurses and saying, “No matter if she is awake or asleep, keep the TV on channel eight. I am going to be on TV for her.”
The nurses tried to stop Micheal because he wasn’t ready to leave but he didn’t care. He called for a cab to take him straight to the concert in New Haven as fast as he could get there.
After sitting in the car for hours, trying to not think about Penny laying in that hospital bed, dying, he finally arrived at the venue. He gave the cab driver one hundred dollars and ran to the radio tent and said the code word, “Nikki Sixx!! PLEASE! I need to see Austin!”
The announcer nodded and gave him the passes. Micheal ran fast through crowds of people, bumping into so many people that he kept getting shoved around.
After finally getting to the stage, he ran behind it and ran and knocked on the dressing room door for the band. I heard voices grow silent and a security guard answered, “Yes?”
“I have a pass! I need to see the band! Please!” Tears were now fighting in Micheal’s eyes to run down his face and the guard let him through.
He walked in and stood right in front of Austin. Austin Carlile was about six foot six inches with short layered brown hair and amazing brown eyes. He was a bit lanky with a deep, raspy sort of voice. He looked right at Micheal, “Hey man. How may I help you?”
Micheal immediately fell to his knees and wept like a baby, unable to speak. The pain from the thought of losing Penny finally caught up to him and he cried and screamed, “THIS ISN’T FAIR! NO HER!”
The security guard started to pull MIcheal away but Austin stopped him and looked at Micheal, “What’s going on? Who is her?”
“Penny Price. She’s your biggest fan.” Micheal sobbed between words, “We got into a bad accident on the way here to meet you by a drunk driver and we both flew through the windshield even with seatbelts on. She’s on life support and is going to die. She would give everything to be here meeting you right now. I love her and I just finally got to tell her and now I’m losing her… All I ask is you and the guys come see her in the hospital before she goes… Please…”
Austin had some tears in his eyes and he tried to talk to his manager but they wouldn’t cancel the show so Austin came up with a plan minutes before he took the stage. He told Micheal to stand on the side of the stage and pay attention for the signal.
Of Mice & Men played a few songs and right before the show ended, Austin looked at the crowd and spoke, “We have one more song for you guys today and to help me sing it is a man who is here for a special girl. She was supposed to be here tonight as well. But she is in the hospital miles away, watching this on TV. She’s on life support. A drunk driver hit their car and they are still looking for him. He got away. This man tonight came here for her because she is my biggest fan. Penny Price, if you’re watching, I love you. And if you’re here tonight and you are drinking, DO NOT FUCKING DRIVE HOME!”
The crowd screamed and clapped and the song, Second & Sebring, began to play and Micheal went on stage and grabbed a microphone and began to sing with Austin. At the end of the song, Micheal screamed into the microphone, “Penny Price, I love you!”
The crowd went ballistic in tears streamed down some faces in the audience an even Austin. They all went offstage and Austin hugged Micheal, “Go to her. Go now.”
Mcheal nodded and didn’t stay another minute, he dashed through the crazy mob of people as fast as his legs could carry him. He called the cab back and was taken back to the hospital and ran to Penny’s room. The nurses kept trying to stop him, “You can’t go in there!”
“Why the hell not?!” He screamed and ran into the room anyways and upon entering the room, he rushed to her bed, thinking she was asleep. “Penny! I met Austin! Didn’t you see? We were on TV!”
He reached to touch her hand and just as quickly as he put his hand on hers, he snapped his hand away. Her hand was ice cold. He shook his head, “No… No…. NO! NO! PENNY!”
He fell to his knees and screamed as the nurses took him out the room while they put a white sheet over her body.
Micheal started to shake and rock in the hallway, crying out and punching the wall. The nurse who talked to him before leaving approached, tears in her eyes, “She passed right after that young man gave the speech. I stayed right there with her until the end. She smiled and told me that she loved you and was happy for every moment she got to spend with you.”
“Did she go peacefully?” He muttered, trying to find the words to speak.
The nurse nodded and got up and left Micheal there to cry and curl up into a ball. He didn’t even know what he was going to do.

Days after Penny’s death, Micheal and her family had planned the entire funeral. Micheal stood silent at her grave, staring directly at the casket. Her parents and everyone around Micheal in tears. As the recession ended and everyone was gone, Micheal stood and stood for hours. He had volunteered to bury her. He looked at the picture of her for what seemed like days.
“Is it too late to say goodbye?” Micheal spun around at those words and saw Austin Carlile in a suit, holding flowers and a poster.
Austin walked and stood beside Micheal and place the poster, signed by the whole band in the casket and the placed the flowers on the casket.
They both stood in silence for a while before Micheal finally spoke, “Thank you for coming. She is probably so happy you’re here now.”
“Well I’m glad. Maybe she can tell my mom hi for me while she’s there. Micheal, you take care and I’m so sorry about all of his.”
Micheal pulled him in for a hug and watched Austin leave. Once out of sight, Micheal lowered the casket and picked up the dirt with his shovel and began to bury Penny. He sang Second & Sebring over and over again until the dirt was filled and looked at the sky as the sun finally showed for the first time today. The beams came down right on him, as if Penny was trying to say something. Micheal smiled at this and whispered, “Gone but never forgotten, Penny.”

Notes