Recalculating Route

As they passed their third backwater town along the old highway, Tess finally spoke up.

“I’m pretty sure you’re going the wrong way.”

“Look,” Mitch said, pointing to the map on the dash display. “I’m literally just driving the route it’s telling me to follow.”

“We’re in the middle of nowhere,” Tess pointed out.

“Las Vegas is in the middle of nowhere,” Mitch argued. “I’m sure we’ll be able to see the city once we crest the next hill, or the one after.”

Tess didn’t push the issue. She hated arguing with Mitch; he always got so irritated and defensive, like when he always blamed Auto-Correct for his typos while texting.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before another town popped up on the GPS several miles away. Mitch sighed.

“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll stop at the next town and we’ll make sure we’re still going in the right direction, okay?”

Tess nodded in agreement and, when they reached the next town, Mitch stopped at a gas station and brought his phone to the cashier.

“Excuse me,” Mitch said, holding up the map on his phone. “We’re trying to get to Las Vegas. Can you tell us if we’re headed in the right direction?”

“To get to Vegas?” the cashier asked, squinting at Mitch’s phone. “No, you’re going the wrong way entirely.”

“What?!? How is that possible?” Mitch demanded.

“Because your GPS is set to La Paz Valley.”

Mitch trudged back to the car and got behind the wheel.

“In my defense, we are going in the right direction,” Mitch said sheepishly. “We’re just headed to the wrong place.”

Tess stared at him.

“I swear, this is all that damned Auto-Correct’s fault...”


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293 words

Written For: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 

Prompt: Write a story that includes the line: “You're going the wrong way.”