Seven Friends, Three Things Wrong, and 2,983 Miles to Aurora

Jack Marino’s plan was perfect.

That was the first problem.

The van was the centerpiece of the plan: a faded sunflower-yellow Volkswagen bus from the late seventies that Jack had borrowed from his uncle Sal, who had once lived in it for an entire summer while following a band around the country.

“Authenticity,” Jack had said when the others asked why he didn’t just rent a car.

The van sat outside the dorms at New York University, looking like it had rolled straight out of a vintage postcard. The paint was chipped. Peace signs decorated the doors. Someone had once painted a crooked daisy on the hood.

Zee slapped the side of it.

“If this thing explodes halfway through Pennsylvania,” he said, “I’m haunting you.”

Jack grinned. “Relax. Uncle Sal said it runs like a dream.”

Zee raised an eyebrow.

“That is exactly what people say about things that do not run like dreams.”

1. The Plan

Seven friends.

One road trip.

One destination: the Aurora Festival, a three-day explosion of music somewhere along the California coast where rising bands and artists were set to play.

The lineup read like a dream playlist.

There would be:

Friends of Judas

Domesticated Antelope

Hades & Styx

Sons of Thunder

Jesse Carpenter: The Traveling Man

Atomic Kittens

And about fifty other artists.

It was the kind of lineup that made you drive across a continent without hesitation.

Jack was the driver.

Zee—real name Ezekiel—was the unofficial bodyguard. Broad shoulders, permanent scowl, heart of gold.

Ariel was riding shotgun, wearing a white T-shirt printed with a purple shell bra.

“You realize,” Zee said, pointing at the shirt, “that’s ridiculous.”

“It’s iconic,” Ariel replied.

“It's seafood.”

“It’s art.”

2. Picking Up the Crew

Their first stop was Maine.

“Why Maine?” Ariel asked.

“Because Kris lives in Maine,” Jack said.

“That is not a helpful explanation.”

“Kris refuses to fly.”

Zee crossed his arms.

“So we’re driving to Maine… so we can start the road trip.”

“Yes.”

Zee stared at the sky like a man negotiating with heaven.

They arrived fourteen hours later.

Kris—short for Kristoff—stood outside a tiny house holding a guitar case and a backpack.

He climbed into the van and immediately said:

“Does this van have seatbelts?”

Jack hesitated.

Zee answered.

“Emotionally.”

Next came James.

But nobody called him James.

They called him Jomes.

The nickname had started during freshman year when he accidentally misspelled his own name on a group project.

Jomes lived upstate in the woods.

He climbed into the van holding a duffel bag and a cooler.

“Did someone bring snacks?” he asked.

“Define snacks,” Ariel said.

“Food.”

“Then yes.”

3. The Texas Detour

The plan then required driving south.

Very south.

“Why Texas?” Zee asked.

“To pick up Caitriona,” Jack said.

“That is not near anything.”

“It is near Caitriona.”

Caitriona joined them outside a gas station in Dallas.

She climbed into the van with a cowboy hat and a backpack bigger than herself.

“You’re late,” she said.

“We drove to Maine,” Zee said.

“That’s not my fault.”

4. Westward

From Texas they headed west.

Long highways.

Endless skies.

Gas station coffee.

The van hummed like a sleepy bumblebee.

Somewhere in New Mexico they blasted Hades & Styx while Kris drummed on the dashboard.

By Arizona they were singing along to Sons of Thunder.

By Nevada they were delirious.

Jack drove with the windows down, wind whipping through his hair.

For the first time since the breakup with Landon, he felt almost okay.

Almost.

5. San Francisco

They reached San Francisco three days later.

Amy and Ty were waiting near the waterfront.

Amy ran toward the van.

Ty followed.

They climbed in and immediately started holding hands.

Jack noticed.

Jack noticed a lot.

Zee noticed Jack noticing.

Zee leaned forward.

“You good?”

“Fine.”

“You are making the exact face people make before punching a jukebox.”

“I said I’m fine.”

They decided to camp that night on the beach before heading to Aurora in the morning.

The Pacific stretched endlessly under a purple sunset.

The sand was cool.

The van looked picturesque against the surf.

They built a small fire.

Everyone sat in a circle.

Then Caitriona asked the question that caused Thing That Went Wrong #1.

“So… what are we eating?”

Silence.

Seven people looked at each other.

Then at the van.

Then back at each other.

Jack blinked.

“We have snacks.”

Zee opened the cooler.

Inside were:

Two granola bars

Half a bag of pretzels

Three energy drinks

One questionable banana

“That is not dinner,” Zee said.

6. The Great Foraging Expedition

Amy squinted toward the dunes.

“We could forage.”

Zee turned slowly.

“Forage.”

“Yes.”

“As in… woodland survival.”

Ariel clapped her hands.

“That’s fun!”

Zee stared at them like they were collectively losing their minds.

But twenty minutes later they were all wandering through coastal brush like amateur explorers.

Kris identified berries.

“Pretty sure these are edible.”

“Pretty sure?” Zee said.

“Like sixty percent.”

“That is not comforting.”

Caitriona found dandelions.

Jomes gathered nuts.

Ariel triumphantly returned with mushrooms.

Zee looked horrified.

“No.”

“What?”

“No mystery mushrooms.”

“They look friendly.”

“Mushrooms should not look friendly.”

In the end they ate a strange meal consisting of:

roasted nuts

dandelion greens

questionable berries

melted granola bars

It tasted… acceptable.

“Survival cuisine,” Amy said.

Zee shook his head.

“If I die tonight it’s because of mushroom diplomacy.”

7. Lovey-Dovey

Later that night the fire burned low.

Waves crashed softly.

Amy leaned against Ty.

Ty wrapped an arm around her.

They whispered and laughed.

Jack stared into the fire.

Zee noticed again.

“You’re doing the face.”

“What face?”

“The ‘I’m pretending everything’s fine but it isn’t’ face.”

Jack didn’t answer.

He stood suddenly.

“I’m going for a walk.”

“Want company?” Zee asked.

“No.”

Jack walked into the dark.

8. Thing That Went Wrong #2

Twenty minutes passed.

Then thirty.

Then an hour.

Ariel looked up.

“Where’s Jack?”

Everyone froze.

Zee stood immediately.

“You’re kidding.”

They spread out across the beach.

“Jack!” Amy called.

“Jack!” Caitriona shouted.

The night swallowed their voices.

Zee climbed a rock outcropping and scanned the dunes.

Nothing.

His stomach tightened.

“Okay,” he muttered. “This is officially bad.”

9. The Search

They split into pairs.

Flashlights from their phones cut through the darkness.

Kris and Jomes searched near the cliffs.

Amy and Ty checked the shoreline.

Zee, Ariel, and Caitriona headed inland.

“Why does he always run off dramatically?” Ariel asked.

“Because he’s a theater kid at heart,” Zee said.

“Or because heartbreak hurts,” Caitriona said quietly.

Zee sighed.

“Yeah.”

After forty minutes Ariel spotted something.

“There!”

A clearing in the dunes.

Someone sat in the middle of it.

Jack.

Curled up with his knees pulled to his chest.

10. The Clearing

Zee approached slowly.

“You done auditioning for Sad Beach Boy?”

Jack didn’t look up.

“Go away.”

“No.”

The others gathered around.

Jack finally spoke.

“I just needed quiet.”

Amy stepped forward.

“Jack… if this is about me and Ty—”

“It’s not,” Jack snapped.

Then he sighed.

“Okay. Maybe a little.”

He stared at the sand.

“I spent two years with Landon. Two years. And now everything reminds me of him.”

The group sat down around him.

No one rushed him.

No one tried to fix it.

They just listened.

Finally Zee nudged him.

“You know the rule.”

“What rule?”

“You’re not allowed to suffer alone when you have six idiots who care about you.”

Jack laughed weakly.

“Fair.”

11. Back to the Van

They returned to the beach around midnight.

The van sat quietly under the moon.

The group collapsed into sleeping bags.

Jack lay staring at the stars.

Amy whispered across the fire pit.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

12. Morning

Morning arrived bright and cold.

They packed up.

Ariel brushed sand off the dashboard.

Caitriona started the playlist.

The van rolled onto the highway again.

Aurora was only a few hours away.

Everyone relaxed.

The worst had passed.

Which meant, of course, Thing That Went Wrong #3 was about to happen.

13. Murphy’s Law

It started with a noise.

A small cough from the engine.

Then another.

Jack frowned.

“Did you hear that?”

Zee groaned.

“Do not say that.”

The van shuddered.

“Jack.”

“Hold on.”

The engine sputtered.

“Jack.”

“Hold on!”

Then the van rolled to a gentle stop on the side of the road.

Silence.

Zee leaned forward.

“Tell me the van is pretending.”

Jack turned the key.

The engine made a sad grinding sound.

And died.

14. The Diagnosis

Everyone climbed out.

The van looked innocent.

Jack opened the hood.

Steam puffed out.

Zee crossed his arms.

“Diagnosis?”

Jack stared at the engine like it had personally betrayed him.

“Bad.”

“Define bad.”

“I have no idea how to fix this.”

“Did anyone bring tools?” Zee asked.

Six heads shook.

Zee looked at the sky again.

“Murphy’s Law,” he said.

15. The Roadside Council

They sat on the guardrail.

Cars rushed past.

Aurora was somewhere beyond the hills.

“So what’s the plan?” Kris asked.

Jack sighed.

“I guess… we walk.”

Zee squinted at the map.

“That’s twenty miles.”

“Then we hitchhike.”

Ariel grinned.

“This just got adventurous.”

Zee rubbed his temples.

“I hate adventurous.”

16. The Ride

Twenty minutes later a pickup truck pulled over.

The driver leaned out the window.

“Festival?”

“Yes!” everyone shouted.

They piled into the truck bed laughing.

Wind whipped past.

Jack leaned back against the cab.

Zee nudged him.

“Still the worst road trip planner ever.”

Jack grinned.

“But we’re getting there.”

“Barely.”

17. Aurora

The truck crested a hill.

Lights exploded across the horizon.

The Aurora Festival.

Music thundered across the valley.

Crowds moved like rivers of color.

Jack stared in disbelief.

“We made it.”

18. The Music

They ran through the gates.

A stage roared to life.

Onstage: Domesticated Antelope.

The crowd exploded.

Later that night they saw Friends of Judas tear through a set.

Then Hades & Styx with a roaring anthem.

The sky glowed with lights.

Jack felt something inside him shift.

The breakup still hurt.

But life was still moving.

Still loud.

Still beautiful.

19. The Traveling Man

Near midnight a quiet stage lit up.

A man with a guitar stepped forward.

The crowd hushed.

It was Jesse Carpenter: The Traveling Man.

He played a slow song about highways and lost love.

Jack closed his eyes.

For the first time in weeks, he felt peace.

20. Epilogue

Later that night the seven friends lay on a hillside overlooking the festival.

Music drifted through the dark.

Zee spoke first.

“So let’s recap.”

Jack groaned.

“We forgot food.”

“Correct.”

“You ran away.”

“Correct.”

“The van died.”

“Also correct.”

Zee nodded.

“Objectively terrible planning.”

Jack smiled.

“But we made it.”

The others laughed.

Above them the sky shimmered with northern lights created by the festival’s laser show.

Aurora.

Seven friends.

Three things gone wrong.

And somehow, exactly the right trip anyway.