Rash Decisions
This was created for a scholarship contest on the consequences of distracted driving. Stay smart on the road, it’s a dangerous place.
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The sun shone down on the road, bright and warm. A sweet smelling breeze drifted through the open windows and the scenery passed by in a blur as I drove.
Freedom, at last.
A new song came on over the radio and a squeal reached my ears.
“Oh my god, Emily, I love this song! Turn it up!” Kylee bounced in her seat, tapping the beat of the song onto the back of my seat.
Laughing, I reached over and turned the volume up until I could feel the bass vibrating through me. I rolled down the windows the rest of the way and unclipped my hair, feeling it flap around my face and fly into my eyes.
Kylee and Jennifer started to sing along, so loud and off-key that my ears threatened to burst. Instead, I just laughed and joined in.
Ally stared at the three of us and shook her head. She turned to glance out the window and shrieked. “Shirtless football game, three o’ clock!”
All the heads in the car snapped to look. Jennifer giggled and unbuckled her seat belt, half throwing herself out of the car. “Take the rest off!”
I choked on my laughter and jerked in shock. The wheel moved with me and the car swerved to the left, into the oncoming lane. A scream tore from my throat as another vehicle bore down on us. I turned the wheel hard right, blood pounding in my veins.
We missed the car by inches. They honked and screamed curse words from their window, the sounds growing quieter as we continued down the road. I took a steadying breath but my pulse refused to calm.
Ally began to laugh. She leaned forward and rested her head on her knees, cackling and shaking. “That. Was. Awesome!”
“Are you kidding me?” Jennifer spat back, “We could have died.”
Kylee snorted. “That’s why it was so exciting. Besides. I know tons of people who do crazy crap on the road, and none of them are dead. It won’t happen to us.”
My phone began to chime in my pocket, the words of the song clashing with the music on the radio. I reached into my pocket but my jeans were tight and I had to lift my hips to pull the phone out. The pressure of my foot on the gas increased and we accelerated faster, blowing past the thirty mile per hour speed limit.
Phone in hand, I flipped it open and glanced at the screen. It was Jason, the guy I’d been crushing on for years. There’s something I need to ask you. Don’t worry, it’s not bad. J
For a moment I let go of the wheel and did a fist pump. The car started to veer off the road but I recovered before we became intimately close with the ditch.
How would I respond? Just say sure? Or alright? Or maybe I can’t wait? There were too many options! I settled on the last one and pulled up a new message. I began to type, only looking away from the road for a second at a time.
“Turn here!” Ally jumped in her seat and pointed to the right.
My mind blurred and I glanced away from the message. There was no time to think. I cranked the wheel and we flew around the corner, the car loosing traction on the hot road.
A group of people were paused there, a quarter of the way into the cross walk. Their eyes filled with horror as we barreled down on them. A mother clutched her young son’s and daughter’s hands to her chest and her eyes filled with tears. Funny, the things you notice before it all ends. I jerked the wheel again but it was too late.
The world went dark, and we were gone.
…
Kylee thought we were invincible, and we all agreed. But in the end, there was a car, a crosswalk, and rash decisions. That was all it took.
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Thank you for reading. I sincerely hope you’ll vote for Rash Decisions on createrealimpact.com on July 1st-July 15th. Have a great summer and be safe!
