Dangerous Mind

Bang!!

     A black Honda made its way out of the parking lot.  Its passengers, four girls and their father, had just picked up dinner and were on their way home from the school, where three of the girls had stayed after for clubs.  The fourth girl was the driver, who was practicing for her license with their father giving direction.  The 13 year old in the back was listening to music, the 11 year old next to her was playing games, and the 12 year old in front of them was doing both.  For the purposes of this story, let's call them Bea, Caroline, and Molly.  Oh yeah, and their older sister who was driving, let's call her Lisa.

     Earlier on in the ride, Lisa had done something startling that had made Molly scream - keep in mind that Lisa didn't officially have her license yet and was only practicing.  It was probably a sharp turn or a sudden stop, nothing especially terrifying, but Molly screamed at a lot of things, so no one was really surprised.  However, it did serve to aggravate Bea, who was already tense from interacting with people at school, and a loud argument broke out between the two.  It didn't last long, but Bea put in her earbuds afterwards and turned her music up to block everything out.

     That's why, when the car turned out of the parking lot, she had no idea what was coming.  No one did.

     It wasn't Lisa's fault, of course.  She did everything just how she should, no mistakes or mess ups.  The only mistake made was assuming the driver behind them was half as responsible as they should have been.  That, unfortunately, was too much to ask.

     All was going well, until suddenly the silence was shattered.

     BANG!!!

     The impact rocked the car and threw all of them forward, the sound rapidly joined by both Molly's scream and Bea's shout, as well as Caroline's squeak and Lisa's gasp of fear.  If their father made a noise, no one heard it.  Imagine the feeling of loud, deep bass pounding in your chest, then multiply it by ten or so and sharpen it.  That's what Bea and Caroline, who were sitting in the back, felt when the car behind them collided with the Honda's bumper.  Molly felt it a little bit less, being in the middle, and Lisa and their father got the least of it.

     Bea and Molly, who had been listening to music, didn't know at first what had happened, only that it was loud, sudden, and moved the car.  Molly figured it out first, and Bea only realized when she saw a woman walk in front of their vehicle apologizing profusely.  After checking to make sure everyone was all right, their father got out of the car to talk to the woman.  The girls couldn't hear what was said, but they saw money change hands.

     Their father drove the rest of the way home in silence, everyone's mind occupied with what had just happened.  When they got there, Bea immediately went down to her room and collapsed on her bed, her heart beating faster than the rhythm of the music blaring through her earbuds.

     It wasn't as bad for her sisters, she thought.  It was their first time.  They didn't know how bad it could be - how bad it could've been.  They didn't know what it was like to be in a vehicle that's suddenly dumped on its side.  They didn't know what it was like to be disoriented, dust everywhere, knowing you're the only one between your 2 year old sister and a scary drop to the other side of the van.  They didn't know what it was like to look up and see a scary red line on their mom's forearm, and to hear her panicky voice repeating the words,

     "It's okay, it's going to be okay, I promise, you're fine, you're okay, we're okay," and wanting to believe her, even despite being terrified.  They didn't know what it was like, waiting for someone, anyone, to show up and help them out of the van that was lying, totalled, on its side on the edge of the road.  They hadn't felt the burning metal under their hands and feet when they were climbing out, hadn't heard the stranger's assurances that everything was fine, we'd be okay.  Hadn't waited in fear for so many minutes for their mom to come out, or rode with her in the ambulance even though she wasn't hurt too badly.

     They hadn't experienced what she had four years ago.  They didn't know.  They didn't understand, couldn't understand.  Her sister had been too young to remember the incident, and her mother had gotten over it.  Bea was the only one still haunted by it, and she was afraid she would always be that way.

     She would never change, and no one would ever understand.

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