In the Middle by S.J. Henderson

Author:S.J. Henderson [Henderson, S.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tiny Fox Press
Published: 2017-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Seventeen years old and I still haven’t taken my driving test at the DMV. I think I’m the only one I know who’s still a little—okay, a lot—scared to have that much responsibility. My own two feet are so much more reliable, and I don’t have to think twice about pedals or knobs or blinkers if I need to stop or swerve around another runner. Cars crash, and when they do, the injuries are worse than scraped knees and muscle strains. It’s some sort of rite of passage I don’t quite get—I mean, there’s a bus stop every corner or so, it seems. If I can’t reach it by bus, I probably don’t need to go there anyway. Of course, my parents disagree with that logic. They forced me to agree to take a driving test next week, and because of it, they’re insisting I drive everywhere to get in a little more practice.

“Won’t it be so nice when you can drive home from your practices and your meets and . . .” Mom’s voice drifts off, probably daydreaming of how my license will free up unlimited hours in her week to do whatever it is that Mom likes to do.

I grunt in response.

“You remember how to get to Bellissimo, right?”

Another grunt. We’d eaten our weekly Sunday night dinners as a family at the same restaurant for at least three years. Pretty sure I can figure it out.

“Turn right here. Don’t forget about the stop sign,” she instructs from the passenger seat. From the corner of my eye, I catch her hand as it clutches the door handle. I can’t see it, but I know she’s mashing an imaginary brake pedal beneath her sandals when I don’t come to a stop as quickly as she would have liked.

“Mom, chill.”

After The Most Annoying and Awkward Parental Lecture Ever, I’d spent the afternoon holed up in my room. Luckily my parents had taken the hint and left me alone to read and watch movies, my chosen distraction from the soap opera my life had transformed into overnight. Now that I’m trapped in the car with them, the weight of their accusations presses on me. My muscles ache as I grip the steering wheel, and my jaw throbs from clenching my teeth.

We’re on the main road now, only a mile or so from the restaurant. Traffic is unusually heavy, and it takes a lot of my concentration to figure out how fast I can go and how hard I need to push the brake to keep from rear-ending the cars turning ahead.

Out of the blue, Mom announces, “I think we should talk to your doctor about birth control.”

My mind goes blank. What?

Ahead lays an intersection, one I only need to proceed straight through. The light’s green, which is lucky because I’m burning from the inside out. Bellissimo’s so close I can smell roasted garlic drifting in through the air-conditioning vent. If we don’t get there soon, where I can free myself from the burden of Mom’s disbelief, my head will literally explode.

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