Instances | Teen Ink

Instances MAG

December 7, 2008
By Mabish3 SILVER, Stratford, Connecticut
Mabish3 SILVER, Stratford, Connecticut
5 articles 0 photos 3 comments

It took me 15 years and 364 days to turn 16, three tries to pass my driving test, and several months of nonsense to finally earn the right to drive on my own.

It takes a song and a half to get out of the school’s hellish parking lot at the end of the day, until the second chorus of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” to reach the first traffic light, and more or less half of any album in my collection to get home.

It takes an instant to lose everything.

Not one of those commercial instants either: Lose ten pounds instantly! Regrow a full head of hair in an instant! In an instant, that troublesome fungus will disappear! When those people use the word instant, it means at least a minute, or, if they don’t mind lying to the public, days or more. I don’t imply, and I don’t lie. When I use the word instant, I mean a fraction of a second. I mean less than a heartbeat.

I mean my head through the windshield, my mouth still open from singing along to whatever song I was listening to the instant before.

It wasn’t even my fault, not really. I suppose I could have chosen a safer car, but when deciding between a bunch of safety features I might never even need and CDs I would absolutely want in the next year or two, my judgment was not at its best. I blame the economy, and the constant civil war between heart and head. I blame The Killers for coming out with a new album every five minutes, and statistics that say I would probably never die in a crash anyway.

Come to think of it, the accident wasn’t even the other driver’s fault. I would probably run a red light if I were late for a dentist appointment too. Maybe not one at a busy intersection, but who’s to say it wasn’t a really important appointment? Perhaps he was getting a new filling. Yeah, I’d race across the road with no regard for traffic in my 2004 pickup for that, too, especially if there was nothing in my way except a wimpy ’98 Civic. Because I would be the only person on the road. Every other car would be driven by a robot, a drone that doesn’t matter in my world. The only thing that would matter to me is being on time for my appointment.

Like him, I too would be surprised when, after stepping out of my barely scratched vehicle, I saw the other car scrunched up like an accordion, like a piece of paper balled up and thrown against the side of the street. I would be shocked to see blood on the shards of glass strewn about the pavement because apparently I hadn’t realized running that light meant plowing into the Civic, which would lead to crushing the 17-year-old inside it. The 17-year-old who just wanted to listen to The Smiths while driving home.

Maybe I’m being too bitter about all of it. After all, the other driver did stand by while someone else called 911, waited patiently while the paramedics extricated me from my mangled vehicle, and even went through the trouble of leaving a note of apology beside my bed in the hospital. I, of course, wouldn’t know of his contributions to my well-being until after I woke up from the coma a week and a half later.

I sure hope his dentist was a good sport about rescheduling.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 99 comments.


Shirley_90 said...
on Jun. 23 2009 at 4:05 pm
LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!

on Jun. 16 2009 at 11:16 pm
DefinitelyNotLilly SILVER, Los Angeles, California
5 articles 0 photos 4 comments
that really nice, i like the sarcasim

on Jun. 16 2009 at 6:59 pm
Dandelion PLATINUM, Franklin, Massachusetts
20 articles 8 photos 173 comments
This was so good I forgot for a minute it was fiction.

on Jun. 9 2009 at 3:42 pm
swimmergirl GOLD, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
16 articles 1 photo 14 comments
This was so good, and you knew the girl had a sense of humor and was bot totally selfish because she was thinking about the other person. I once again say so good.

on Jun. 8 2009 at 4:05 pm
LexJulion BRONZE, Cranston, Rhode Island
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments
Your a very talented writer. Can you read my fiction novel?

on Jun. 2 2009 at 3:20 pm
VandaNoon PLATINUM, West Pittston, Pennsylvania
42 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
what i can remember<br /> is a lot like water<br /> trickling down a page<br /> of the most beautiful colors<br /> -Marie Digby &#039;Unfold&#039;

This was really, really intriguing. The wit and sarcasm of the main character really made the story perfect. I adored the ending. Great, great job.

WordLover said...
on May. 31 2009 at 12:29 am
WordLover, Gilbert, South Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
That was really awesome; so original and unique. Great work!

lizgirl22 said...
on May. 30 2009 at 4:07 pm
amazing details!

on May. 29 2009 at 12:45 am
BriarRose PLATINUM, Seneca, Illinois
24 articles 7 photos 161 comments

Favorite Quote:
I don&#039;t need a rose. I want a daisy you picked for my hair. I don&#039;t want some fancy box of chocolate. I want a pink frosting cookie you made just for me. Lets skip the upscale restaraunt and have a picnic in the park.

Ah-Mazing =]

on May. 19 2009 at 4:36 pm
awesomeaugust GOLD, Boston, Massachusetts
10 articles 0 photos 176 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground&quot;<br /> ~Theordore Roosevelt

Really amazing. It definitetly deserved to get published.

Voice said...
on May. 14 2009 at 1:17 am
Voice, FortWalton, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 10 comments
I feel like I know this person

Dillen C. said...
on May. 13 2009 at 7:01 pm
I like i it made me sad i have to been in a crash like that.

keep up the good work

on May. 13 2009 at 3:26 pm
MoonLightBelladonna BRONZE, Llangefni, Other
4 articles 0 photos 4 comments
i enjoyed this story very much! well done :)

on May. 13 2009 at 3:24 pm
Inkspired PLATINUM, Whitby, Other
26 articles 0 photos 493 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If one will scoff at the study of language, how, save in terms of language, will one scoff?&quot; - Mario Pei<br /> &quot;I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn&#039;t, I would die.&quot; Isaac Asimov

AWESOME!!! It's so amazing, the sarcasm, the way you don't tell us at all what happened until almost the very end. I like the way you end talking about his dentist appointment, not the car crash, and the way you used the songs to tell time. All in all, a very graphic picture. Love it! Can you read my poetry?

on May. 13 2009 at 7:26 am
I love your story

Chrissy_L GOLD said...
on May. 11 2009 at 9:13 pm
Chrissy_L GOLD, Ramsey, New Jersey
13 articles 0 photos 66 comments

Favorite Quote:
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

I love how much is inferred. The dentist and the other driver's reaction, it adds color and character to someone you otherwise can't describe. This is really a litterary master piece!

mmfdg623 GOLD said...
on May. 5 2009 at 1:28 am
mmfdg623 GOLD, Lyndhurst, New Jersey
15 articles 0 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.<br /> Louisa May Alcott

I really liked your story. I loved the sarcasm in it, and all of the details you put in it to bring us into the character's mind.

:) said...
on May. 3 2009 at 4:37 pm
-Claps; Bravo!<3

on May. 3 2009 at 1:28 pm
ScribbleMeBlack GOLD, Shelby, Ohio
13 articles 0 photos 7 comments
Very good. I liked it