Shane is the craziest person I know. He has beach blond hair and a mouth that is always moving. He always seems to cause trouble but somehow manages to scrape by without being assigned any punishment. One time, he even agreed to going with three girls to Homecoming and somehow managed to stay friends with the two girls he rejected. Like I said, everything seems to work out for Shane even though he is always getting himself into trouble. That day was no different. We went to Barnes & Noble in Downtown Naperville and got kicked out of the children’s section simply because he looked like he was up to no good. We thought the trouble had stopped there for the day. We were wrong.

He was babbling along as I death gripped the steering wheel. I kept thinking to myself, slowly break to a stop. Go slower…slower…slower…good. Now, turn on your left turn signal. Turn slowly and with control, good. Keep driving straight. Suddenly, a car came out of a driveway. The car was coming closer and closer. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. If only Mrs. Rivera, my Top Driver teacher, was there. Instead, I had Shane next to me with no words of wisdom to offer. In a moment of panic I had no choice but to ask, “Should I honk the horn?”
Shane exclaimed, “Are you kidding me? YES!”

I slammed on the breaks and blared the horn. My mind was spinning as the car jolted. I was shaking with apprehension. I have never experienced an event so terrifying before. I wanted to scream but the fear took over my body and made me speechless. I heard the sound of metal crunching. My back tire exhaled all of its air. A few moments of silence pass. Wait, am I still alive? Instead of crying, the sound of laughter filled the car. I stiffly turned my head with wide eyes and saw Shane with his head back, almost hysterical.

“Why are you laughing? We just got hit!” I said with a mixture of shock and disgust.

He gasped, “It’s just…the look on your face…was just so funny.” The sound of his laughter made me smile, and eventually his laughter became contagious. I was fighting this strange reaction: I just escaped from death and the only thing I could do was laugh? What if a police officer drove by and observed the accident? He would notice two strange teenagers laughing at an inappropriate moment.

As the laughter died down, I realized there was important business that needed to be taken care of. I gathered my strength and slowly got out of the car to look at the damage. My body still felt like it had experienced an earthquake. The back door was concave. The tire was destroyed. At that moment, I realized if that car had pulled out a second sooner, I would be dented like the backseat door. “I’m going to call my mom,” I told Shane. “Okay. I hope she brings snacks with her.” I shot him a weird look. How could he possibly be thinking about food at a time like this? I looked over at his glowing smile. My racing pulse started to calm. Looking back, I knew I was lucky not only because there were no injuries, but in a dark moment I had someone by my side that could bring light.