short stories

one hell of an encounter

I drove along a near deserted road, the car windows down and my arm sticking out. I blasted Kpop music on the radio and jammed to it. Fuck that 'kpop is trash' shit, I listen to whatever the hell I want. My car, my rules. 

Leo's passed out in the passenger seat and I know that given my current situation, that'll be me in a few. Regardless, I drank down the cheap convenience store beer, driving wherever on the road as I pleased. 

Fuck that minimum wage money I earn as a waitress, taking orders from immature teenage boys and not even receiving a tip. Fuck that. After 22 years on this earth, I learned to not give a shit from anybody, to do whatever the hell I wanted to. So this weekend, Leo and I went out to enjoy ourselves. Bars at night, concerts by day. We even booked seats at a Drake concert and a BTS concert.  

As I drove in the middle of the road, I vaguely made out another shape in the distance. Is it a sign? Is it a person? I squinted my eyes and see that the shape takes the form of a big van. Out of curiosity, I slowed the car down and stopped near the big van. Not giving a crap about the consequences, I opened the car door and stepped out, trying to see which fuckers were currently stranded on the side of a road. 

"Hey, y'all good? Whose there!" I stagger over, my drink sloshed onto my stained shirt. The moon was still up so I could only see the silhouetted figures. 

In the case this was a gang, Leo and I would be dead in a few moments, but my gut instinct told me to keep walking. 

"Anyone there? Who is it?" I repeated, now mildly annoyed. I hear a few squeals and car doors cranking open. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and attempted to walk in a straight line over to the car. 

I vaguely made out a tall figure walking towards me. But with my blurred eyesight and my tangled hair, I couldn't make out the persons face that well. 

"Hello there." The person sputters out. "Me and friends are, uh, stuck on this road. Our gas ran out, so we been here for awhile. You are the first car to stop by. Any chance you can help us? We are not from here, so, uh, calling doesn't work for us. Any chance to help us? We have a concert to get too in the afternoon. We've been stuck here for 2 to 3 hours." This person was on the verge of tears, his voice cracking in between every sentence. 

I, on the other hand, had time to spare and decided to test the waters. See how desperate this person and his friends could get. 

"Concert, eh? I'm going to a concert tonight." I let out a derisive laugh. 

"Mam, this is an emergency, please help us. Could you get us to an area with cell service? Or call a tow-" I cut this needy man off. 

Taking a sip of my beer, I said, "Well, I've got time."

"Please!" I hear the other guys in the car yell out. Their English is slightly slurred and their voice is high pitched. Several voices yelled in my direction. 

"We need help!"

"It is cold and we must go!"

"Mam, we need to get somewhere quick! Very quick!" 

The voices sent my head into a nonstop spiral. My head was pounding so hard and all of a sudden I felt nauseous.  I spun around, put my hands on my thighs and barfed. 

After awhile, I wiped the remaining barf off my mouth with the back of my hand and turned back to these desperate guys. 

"Alright, I fucking get it. You need immediate help because you are going somewhere so damn important. Get in my car." I sputtered and coughed. "But-" Cough. "I'm not-" Cough. "I'm a little drunk." Another cough. "Someone else fucking drive. I'll share a seat with my friend Leo." With that, I staggered back to my car, one hand holding my stomach, the other on my head. 

I opened my car with my car keys. 

I pushed Leo to the ground, where he crumpled helplessly in his deep slumber. Then, I sat on the seat where he once laid and let out a large burp. The other guys barely managed to squeeze into the back seats. 

"So where are you guys going?" I stammered. The tall guy I've been talking to the most responded to my question. 

"We are headed towards MetLife." He replied. I perked my head up and flashed a foolish grin. 

"The stadium? We're going to the same place!" I stuttered. "My friend and I-" I stamped on Leo's back as he let out a cry of pain. "-We're going there to see BTS." The guys in the car exchange silent looks and begin to whisper to one another. Unbothered, I continued, "I can show you what they look like." I reach for my phone in the front compartment. 

Due to my impaired senses, I tapped randomly on the screen. I held the phone in front of my face, slightly slanted so its visible to the guys in the back. Unfortunately, I tapped on the camera button and took a bunch of pictures of the guys and me.

"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry, I was trying to-" Burp. "-Unlock my phone. Whatever. I was going to show you what they look like." I rubbed my eyes and saw bright stars everywhere. 

After a good period of silence, the tall figure in the driving seat spoke up. 

"Mam, may I get your keys to drive?" He politely asked. I shrugged my shoulders, dug in my underwear pocket and picked my keys out of there. 

I tossed the keys to them and laid back in my seat. 

"You can find the address on the car. When you get out, just park this car in the parking lot." My eyes began to droop and the exhaustion of the nights before began to hit. "Just drive safely and don't kill us." 

Gosh, I was putting way too much trust into strangers. Whatever, dying is better than college anyways. 

I let out a yawn and drifted into sleep.