As I heared the squealing of the tires, my heart started to beat faster and faster and felt like it had worked its way up further up my chest. The rain seemed like it had come to a standstill and it was like I heard each rain drop hit the windshield one by one as the unexpected was about to happen. The thoughts of what could possibly happen were flashing before my eyes as I prepared for what was about to happen. All I could do is say a quick prayer and hope for the best so I closed my eyes and just let it happen. It all started early that Monday morning.
The weekend had just passed and I was not looking forward to getting up and going to school. On top of that it was freezing and raining like crazy. I decided that I would just check into school late, after I picked up my friend Ashanti. We figured no one would know since my parents were out of town and I provided my own transportation. That decision had a consequence that I would never imagine happening. We called a couple of my friends and shared the plan with them. They liked the idea and we all met at Ihop for breakfast.
By now school has started and was well far off into first period. After talking and laughing our butts off I came up with the bright idea to just not go to school at all. All of our responses were the same, “were seniors, last year let’s just do it’’. We would have to figure out something to do until school was released because going back home would have been too risky. Around this time Paranormal Activity had just came out. So one of my friends said “let’s go to the movies! ’’ Paranormal Activity came was only showing at certain theaters.
The closest theater that was playing the movie was about 30 minutes away. Everyone agreed to go. There were three drivers out of the four of us. There was no need for all of us to drive so of course I was voted to be the designated driver for the day. We all piled up in my 2003 two door black Honda accord that I just got two months ago. My friend Destauni was in the front seat and my other friends Ashanti and Akilah were in the back seat. Everything was going as planned and we were on our way. We had successfully skipped school, so we thought.
It was still raining pretty hard and there was still a lot of morning traffic. I had just popped in the new Trey Songz album “Ready’’ that had just came out the night before. We thought we were making memories that would last for a lifetime, and the least did we know that we would never forget what was about to happen. It was a one way street that had two lanes. I was in the left lane when I was coming around the corner of east west connector at a substantial amount of speed when I started to hydroplaning.
I could see brake light from the cars in both lanes at a stop light in front of me. My first instinct was to veer to the right because there were less cars waiting at the light in the right lane which would give me a chance to slow down. With my brakes smashed down I still wasn’t slowing down. I backed out of my first choice to veer right because the cars coming down in the right lane would have hit me on my passenger side that my friends were sitting in. I couldn’t go left because there were 2 oncoming traffic lanes.
My mind was scattered and I knew the next decision I would make could be life or death for all of us. Within that split second I made the decision to just hit the car that was in front of me because I knew that would be my best bet. I will never forget my surroundings rights before it happen. “Say Ahh” was blasting by Trey Songz and my friend in the passenger seat was screaming my name as she was doing the Heisman to the dashboard then “BOOM”. I had slammed into a black SUV that was in front of me waiting for the light.
After it happened all I could do is stare at the steering wheel in a complete daze as tears started to slowly run down my face. I heard my friends saying my name franticly over and over as they were tapping my shoulder, to make sure I was ok. I finally snapped out of it as I heard the lady that was driving the SUV I hit knocking on my window. I was in complete disbelief as I came back to reality. I made sure my friends were ok and got them out of the car. The windshield had shattered and a piece of glass had flown into my leg and I now had a busted lip from the airbag.
The police were called as well as my parents. I got out the car in a panic shaking with my mouth wide open as I stared at the damage that had just taken place. At that point I had once again zoned everybody out as I sat there as cars speed by along the sides of me. Some started to slow down and ask if we were ok. I still stood there as I started to become drenched from the rain. The lady was very calm and distressed about the whole situation and was more concerned about making sure nobody was injured and our safety.
The police were called and a few minutes later I started to hear the sirens get closer and closer as they were approaching us. After everything was taken care of my parents were eventually contacted. As the officer spoke with my mother I could her her voice loud and clear. It was definitely nowhere near calm or relaxed. It was more like furious, rabid, and frantic. I already knew I had it coming to me when me and my parents met face to face in due time. Long story short I got a citation for driving too fast under the weather conditions and a totaled car.
