Not Yet Alone

Chapter 9

The first time that I ever drove, I got pulled over. I was just an innocent fifteen year old, attempting to drive. My father was supervising me; nothing should have gone wrong.

The sky was dark; we were going home from the grocery store.

Apparently I got pulled over because I didn't have my lights on.

I had thought that I had had my lights on. My father had thought that I had had my lights on. But I only had my parking lights on; I guess the street was lite up so well that my dad didn't notice.

It wasn't my fault that I got pulled over (I didn't even know what parking lights were at the time), but neither was it my father's fault. It was one of those things that couldn't be helped.

I didn't choose to get pulled over; it just happened. After the experience was over, I cried for a while. But when I replayed the incident in my mind, I knew there was nothing that I could have done differently. I had no control over it, but I did have control over my actions.

If I had been rude and disrespectful to the police officer, I defiantly would have gotten a ticket. But I didn't simply because I had already decided who I wanted to be.

We can't choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we act and what we do. We chose who we are.

****

It is extremely early in the morning, and I am running. I'm running with the air softly blowing through my hair and the wind kissing my cheeks.

The morning is cold; the sun has yet to rise. I hate running. Running makes my joints hurt, my body tired, and my chest gasping for air.

So why do I run? Running only drains the little bit of energy I do have for the day.

I guess I run for what the pain brings after the hurt is gone. Usually when you do something that is hard it makes you a better and stronger person on the inside.

By running, I am accomplishing more than just self achievement. Being in the CBA requires you to run at least a mile a day to stay in shape. I didn't run yesterday, so I have two miles to run today.

I am also doing a favor for my mom as I run. She is in charge of our neighborhood clean up, so she came up with the idea of having one big dumpster day when people could drop off the items that are too big to throw away and one big truck could haul it off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making the world a better place, but I think my mom takes it to the extreme. It is always a good indicator that she is getting carried away when she involves me.

My involvement for this year is that I have to pass out all three hundred and fifteen fliers at each house to inform the residents about the dumpster day. It is a huge waste of my time which is why I do it while I run.

Really, I'm hitting three birds with one stone basically when I run. I am fulfilling the CBA requirement, satisfying my mother, and improving myself.

"Taylor, wait up." I tried to imagine who would possibly want to be up and in the cold this early. My mind came up blank. That meant there was only one other person who it could possibly be.

Austin, dressed in running sweats, was jogging towards me. Why does he keep popping up in my life? He's like a stalker.

Instead of waiting like he asked, I sped up in hopes that he wouldn't catch up to me. But my efforts were to no avail because Austin easily caught up to me.

Austin must have been able to tell that I desperately needed to catch my breath because he grabbed my arm and forced me to stop.

"You know, it is rather dangerous for you to be out here alone." He said.