It was Friday, a special day for many because it meant the end of the workday. It was a hot, summer day, and in the afternoon people drove home to rest after a hard week of work. On one of the New York roads, Sara Winters was driving her blue minivan. She was going to the house of Sam, her best friend, to take him to work. Sam is a policeman and works in the local municipal police station. Sam's car engine broke down, and he could not take the bus at that time, so he asked Sara to take him to work in the afternoon. Sara entered the street where her friend lived, and there he was with his police uniform on
"Hello, Sara."
"Hey, Sam, what's up?"
"Sara, thanks for taking me to the police station, really."
"You know it's the fourth time you've thanked me, right?"
"Okay, okay, haha...", he says without taking his eyes off the road.
The two fell silent, and the silence became mutual in the car. Sam felt somewhat uncomfortable asking his friend to take him to work, so he wanted to continue the conversation.
"How are you doing at work?" Sam asks.
"I’m doing well."
"Aye, that job will kill you"
"It's a joke, right?
"No, why?
"You tell me my job is going to kill me when you're a cop?" Sara retorts.
"Well, hahaha, you can not compare."
"Sam, there's more chance of you being shot than I die cleaning in a lab!"
"In that you're right, at least I'm assigned in the office, so...
how are you doing there?"
"Well, this week there has been a lot of hustle and bustle around there, and it's quite stressful."
"Well, you must do your job.
"You're right."
Sam and Sara have been friends since school. It was strange because their other childhood friendships did not last, but they trusted each other having been friends for 17 years. The rest of the journey continued in silence until Sara turned the corner to arrive in front of the police station.
"Ohh, this is my stop, see ya," he said as he left the car.
"See you later."
Sara continued to drive to work. Before leaving home, she had taken a long nap, and that made her feel great since she had to be rested to work late. That tranquility did not last long because it was a bad time to drive, and traffic was everywhere, taking her by surprise. She kept accelerating the car and slowing it down every ten feet, and it was getting late.
"Damn traffic jams... every Friday the same thing happens to make me late."
Sara grabbed the wheel hard; she wasn't the only tense one as she kept hearing the horns of the cars and some drivers shouting at each other.
"Of course, this happens today... relax!"
The heat was suffocating and she began to sweat. Sara had to arrive by 8:30, and it was already 8:20 when she looked at the clock.
"Come on... go!! I'm late!"
Sara played classical music in order to relax. The minutes passed, and she tried to concentrate on the music to distract herself; soon enough, she realized she had the road completely clear. Sara kept driving and finally arrived at her job with 3 minutes to spare. She got out of the car and entered the CIC ready to down a couple coffees first to hold up late. She went to the vending machine and paid $1 for her first well-loaded coffee. Nearby was one of the scientists next door, Jim, who was on his break.
