Читать книгу Ten Teen Tales - Emma Lorival - Страница 3

There he was, flying through the air, three flips, he made, said an eyewitness. He felt his body dashed against the concrete of the avenue, but he cared for his vehicle so he stood up, walked to reach his motorcycle, then he noticed it was cut in two pieces, he was deceived. Automatically he looked for his cell phone, it was on the left pocket of his jacket, he opened it, dialed just one number and so he called his girlfriend Liza. He told her where he was, and also his disappointment with the broken bike. Then he faint, not caring about the crowd of onlookers who surrounded him.

Conrad was nervous. He took his mom’s car without permission. He wanted to have fun for a while; he wanted to be the rooster for one chick: his sister’s girl friend Katie was his target. Caroline (his sister), was with them, she was in the back seat whining because that was wrong, to take mom’s car when she was at work and without any notice, besides Conrad didn’t have his driver’s license. He had tried once to get the permit since he was under 18 years old, but he failed, he didn’t study the D.M.V. book. He was going to try again in one week. Conrad was sure this time he’d get his permit. Hence, this ride would be a practice, and in the other hand he had studied the booklet so he knew it as his hand.

Conrad was a stubborn guy, he decided he knew how to drive, he had helped his father many times to move cars in the parking lot where he used to work, he did it quite well, even sometimes he had to get around the block some cars before getting a place for them. Therefore that day he was going away some blocks from home, to the coffee shop on the main avenue. No big deal.

Caroline was worried because the main avenue is a busy one, there were many cars and her brother didn’t have enough experience to handle it. Katie, her friend, told her to fasten her seat belt as she did, and that way everything was going to be all right. They would take a ride of half an hour to the most and be right back home. It shouldn’t be any problem. Conrad and Katie were aroused by flirting; they wanted to have some side excitement to calm their needs.

They were riding on the opposite side of the coffee shop. Since Conrad didn’t want to take longtime he just made a wrong turn, his sister was telling him to watch out, there was a sign forbidden that turn, he didn’t notice it, he glanced at Katie smiling as a rascal at the same time as the car he was driving glanced a vehicle.

Now the situation was out of control. Conrad frightened, he pushed the pedal of acceleration, he turned on the first street he could clearly see, but few meters ahead there was the railroad crossing barrier alarm and it was coming down, one trolley was passing by, he had to stop, a pick up and a van closed his way too. The drivers, two middle- age men, called him out and warned him to get off the car and not to do any other silly thing. From their cell phones other witnesses had called the police department of Chula Vista. Two patrols arrived at the place where Conrad had been blocked and the officers took care of the running away teenagers.

Several spectators willing to testify talked to some other officers at the spot of the accident. They were shocked about the reckless guy who tried to escape his responsibilities, many of them were sympathetic with the biker, and they found him brave and charismatic.

KIM DAVIDS is one of my best students, brilliant, handsome, great pal with his peers, cool and dandy. He comes to school in his motorcycle because he believes that it’s less polluting, it’s faster, it goes through heavy vehicle traffic, it doesn’t spend too much fuel, the parking fee in College is lower and since his home is far away from college, it was the best transportation to fit him. He gave a speech in my class about the protective gear you need to wear when you ride a bike. It was a great impact talk to the class since he used his own experience in an accident and there he was alive and kicking, literary kicking, thanks to the bike safety gear he was wearing. He explained with theoretical Physics how a helmet, a jacket and good trousers kept his bones aligned and healthy in an accident. And he made clear that this was the practical application of one of the courses at college that he liked the most: Physics.

He had heard a lot of stories against motorcycles, of course, his parents were reluctant to help him with the purchase of this vehicle, but he was so convincing that they finally agreed. He took motorcycle driving lessons, including defensive driving techniques and practiced with two serious tests, the driving itself, and the written test about basic driving rules and regulations of the Department of Motor Vehicles, (D.M.V.) after which he succeeded to get his driver’s license. He was careful since he loved his life and he was respectful of the other’s rights to live plain and healthy.

He successfully made his first year at college; he even had friends who following his example and advice went to school riding a motorcycle.

KIM Davis also worked at a computer shop, he was one of the best sales assistants; he made good income with commissions to help his school expenses. The day of the accident, a Friday it was, he got out of his job with a good paycheck. A month later he used that money for new bike clothing. The insurance company gave him a good amount to get a new bike. His parents were telling him not to buy a motorcycle again. But he said he learned his lesson, now and on had to watch out for loonies. With great sense of humor he also found himself allergic to death, and with God blessings and technological designed helmets and suits he felt protected enough to go on with his normal way of life.

Hospital was expensive. 24 hours of surveillance, and all kind of doctors and scanners revising his internal organs, some of them were swelling, but all at all was back in shape, nothing seriously ill. Thirty six thousand dollars was the invoice of the Hospital, nurses, doctors and technicians. My student had to claim for help to Government, when these accidents happen and you are not the guilty party you may receive health support from the authorities.

As for the guilty part, Conrad went to jail since the first day. He was 17 years old at the moment of the accident, but three months later he was going to be eighteen, he was transferred to the adult’s prison, a horrible experience for such a young man. The worst of all his actions was to run away. The law in this case considers the offense liable to prosecution by itself. That means that the law system would go after the offender even if the victim doesn’t sue or wants to be merciful. When you’re reckless or most terrible when you try to escape the consequences of your actions in a traffic accident by leaving your victims on distress, then the authorities would impose severe penalties.

It was a great speech; Kim Davis’ classmates understood how important it is to wear protection when you ride bikes. They also made comments about the seat belt and other preventive measures you get now when you drive.

5 dollars

This one is Bd’s account:

It was Sunday, June 28, 2009 and what a beautiful Sunday it was, clear skies all around and the sun roaming the streets announcing that summer was here and it was here for good. After getting out of work I enjoyed my getaway from the heat as I rode my motorcycle down Broadway Avenue in Chula Vista. Every time I had to stop at a light I was instantly reminded of the unforgiving sun looking down on me. I could see those squiggly distortion lines over the hood of the cars besides me, it was summer indeed. There were a few granny-driven cars that I had to pass, they were slowing me down and making me hot. I had never done anything reckless, and I wasn’t going to start now, so I waited for the perfect time to pass in between them. I maintained a steady speed of 45 mph, a little above the speed limit but still keeping in pace with the other travelers of the road. The wind felt amazing, a refreshing bath of cold air, letting me escape from this agonizing sun. As I was approaching the intersection with J Street, I noticed a car in the opposing lane with his turn signal on, he was going to turn left and he was waiting for the oncoming traffic to pass him before making his move. While riding I was checking my own schedule in my head, what am I going to do after I get home, I will go and check on my friend Alan, he just had an accident yesterday and I wanted to see if he was doing fine. Something suddenly didn’t seem right, the car started to move for no reason, there was still oncoming traffic, I was still there, Is he blind?

As the car kept moving I hit the brakes as fast as I could, instantly locking my wheels against the pavement, I just heard my tires drifting through the road and I started to panic. What was that person thinking, and what should I do? I closed my eyes for an instant and contemplated all my alternatives. Should I jump off the bike? No, I’m going too fast. Should I lean to the side and try to dodge the car? No, I’m drifting and have no control of the bike right now. Should I scream? Should I cry? I opened my eyes to scan for any possible solution, I saw myself getting closer to the car and so far it seemed like this was going to end up bad. My life wasn’t flashing before my eyes, but hundreds of thoughts were rushing through my mind, time slowed down and my mind was working on overdrive. My hands were locked on the brakes; I was cursing every physics course I had taken, why did you fail me now friction, why did my tires decide to skid instead of slow down, I was heading on straight to chapter 28: Collisions. I closed my eyes for another second and though of why I was there, why didn’t I take the freeway, why wasn’t I on my way home?

I clocked out from work after my part time shift of handling customers at Sears. I was going to head home but as I was getting close to my bike I noticed that my motorcycle’s chain was a little loose. I had recently learned how to tighten it up; I just needed to buy a big-size socket and some of those latex gloves so my hands didn’t get too dirty with the chain grease. I bought the socket and checked the size, it was perfect. The gloves though were $19.99, I checked online and found out they were 5 dollars cheaper at Wal-Mart than at Sears, I better go to WM then, I’m heading south anyways. I’ll take Broadway instead of the I-5, its pretty close by.

Ah yes, 5 dollars, that’s why I’m here about to collide, 5 freaking dollars. I opened my eyes again hoping that the car wouldn’t be there anymore, hoping that somehow the car was going fast enough to be out of my way by the time I reach that spot. Truth can be disappointing, I saw the back door of the car a couple of feet away and I looked down to see my beloved bike, don’t forget me my dear, we had a good thing this past year. I saw the headlight touch the back door. Time was going so slow that I saw every inch of my bike getting shattered by that ugly door. Suddenly physics took me for a hostage and I was ejected instantly off my seat, I started to scream cursing my best friend Alan, he probably jinxed me. I saw my bike, then the car, then the sky, then the pavement, then the sky once again as I hit the ground. It was over in a couple of seconds, I looked to my right to see the Honda Accord slowing down, hesitating to stop in the curb, after a couple of seconds the car took off as fast as it could. I instantly got up and tried to see if I could get the plates, but it was too late. Before I could rearrange all my thoughts a couple of SUVs passed by me and screamed “we’re going after him man, don’t worry”.

As I walked to my bike I was hoping the bike wasn’t too wrecked, I had just seen it being shattered but still I had hopes that I could ride it back home. Three guys from a car-lot on the corner came to help me pick up my bike; I couldn’t move it and I noticed the front wheel was well inserted into what once was the engine, not good. The man called his assistant at the car-lot and they brought a dolly to help me move the bike to the side, it was lying there in the middle of the road. Poor baby, there goes my entire savings. “You are very lucky young man” said the salesman, you seem perfectly fine. I sat down on the curb thinking how unlucky I was. I didn’t know what to do; my first thought was to take off my jacket since the day was burning hot. An old lady with her niece came to me as soon as they saw me. She gave me a bottle of water and told me to calm down. As I drank the water I noticed my hands were shaking, I was furious. The lady helped me calm down a little and told me I was very lucky to be walking after what happened. I couldn’t stop shaking and my mind was just blinded with rage cursing my bad luck.

It wasn’t long before the ambulance and the police car arrived to the scene and started to take pictures. The ambulance wanted to take me to the hospital but I politely refused, I only had an ugly bruise in my hip and I didn’t feel it was worth the ride. I signed some papers for them while the lady testified to the police officer. The policeman came to me after being in his car for a while, he checked my bruise and told me the tow-truck was coming soon and I should call my insurance company. He said “You are very lucky, the trolley stopped the Accord and he was blocked by two vans. The driver has been arrested and you will have to file a report against him. He is going to jail for hit-and-run.” I am very lucky they said, up to this day I still can’t believe them.