I was waiting outside Tatiana’s house so that we could get a move on. What was taking her so long? Just as I was about to blow my horn again, I saw her skipping down her driveway in a blue jean miniskirt, a bright red tank top, and about five coats of lip-gloss. That’s Tatiana, I thought. She’s my best friend and that’s her style. Now I myself prefer jeans and a T-shirt.
“Melodie, would you stop blowing that horn?” Tatiana said as she approached the car.

“What took you so long?” I asked sourly.

“You can’t rush perfection,” Her expression was a little smug.

“Oh yes I can. Get in the car.”

“So who’s gonna be at this party?” I asked, turning down the narrow road that led to the beach. I could already see lights ahead.

“Most of our senior class.”

“Are you sure?” I asked doubting her answer.

“Yeah.Why?”

“Because I don’t remember this many people at graduation earlier. We’re here,” I said with a sigh as I cut the engine and got out of the car. Who were all these people?

Tatiana read my panicked expression and said, “Will you loosen up and have some fun? We’re high school grads!”

“Sure!” I replied sarcastically, and then we joined the crowd.


A couple of hours and a couple of drinks later, I was ready to go home. Parties always made me feel uncomfortable. So feeling a little lightheaded I set off to find Tatiana so that we could leave. I think I can drive home. I’d only had a few drinks.

“Tatiana? What are you doing?” I saw her dancing to no music with one of our classmates.

“Heeyyy! Mel-oh-dee, what’s up?” Tatiana’s words were slurred and I could tell that she’d had a lot more to drink than I had.

“Come on Tat, let’s go’” I insisted. I pulled her to my car. When we were buckled in, Tatiana murmured,

“I told you we’d have fun.”

“Yeah right,” I muttered under my breath.

Driving down the road, things were becoming blurry. Tatiana was half sleep so I decide to pull over for a minute. As I was pulling over I noticed something dark and hairy in the road. What is it? Is it a raccoon? It ran towards the car and I swerved to the right. Before I knew it the car was rolling down the side of the road. I let out a scream and I could hear Tatiana scream too as the car flipped over. I could feel my body jerking back and forth along with the car. I noticed that Tatiana’s screaming stopped as the car came to a halt. I hit my head really hard against the steering wheel. My head was throbbing. I couldn’t let myself slip into unconsciousness.

“Tatiana?” I asked but there was no answer.
“Tatiana?” I asked again but all I got was silence. I looked over at the passenger and it appeared that she was unconscious. Immediately, I unbuckled my seatbelt and I tried to open my door. I pushed furiously at the door trying to get out without much success. Finally, I decided to climb out the window. I pushed excess glass out of my way and I could feel a shard of glass cutting my arm as I slid out of the window.

Scrambling to my feet I was rushing to get to the passenger side of the car. I pulled at the door but it wouldn’t open.

“Tatiana?” I yelled while pulling at the door handle. It was dented shut.

“Tatiana? Wake up! Wake up!” I heard a high-pitched shriek of agony. Soon I realized that I was making the noise. I sat on a patch of grass beside my wrecked car. I fumbled in my pocket to retrieve my phone. Luckily, I had a signal. I dialed 911 and I hit the send button.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I’ve been in a car accident. My… my friend is trapped inside the car.”

Where are you?”

“I don’t know my car went down the side of the road. Come! You have to hurry! My friend could be dying!” I shrieked.

“Calm down. I’m tracing the call. Someone’s on the way.”

The line disconnected. I’d lost my signal. I threw the phone down and I walked back towards the car. I knocked on the windows until my knuckles hurt. Tatiana didn’t move an inch. She’s not dead. She couldn’t be. Could she?

I heard sirens and a minute feeling of relief came to me. I watched the paramedics get Tatiana from the car while another paramedic stitched my arm up. Her body looked still and lifeless as they put her on the ambulance.

On the way to the hospital I was losing hope. It wasn’t a long ride and we would soon be at the hospital. I was having this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to think that she was already dead, but this feeling that I have is telling me that she could be. Then I heard those words.

“She’s gone,” the doctor told me before she even got to the E.R.

Before I knew it I was running. I didn’t wait for Tatiana’s parents or even my parents to come to the hospital. I was running. I didn’t stop running until I was in front of my house. I jammed my key into the lock, twisted it to the left and opened the door. I ran up the carpeted stairs to my room and shut the door behind me. I sat on my bed and cried. It felt as if a part of me was missing. She was my best friend for 13 years. I couldn’t bear to think of her name, so I cried. I cried until my eyes got heavy. I cried until I sunk into the darkness of sleep.



“Honey, wake up it’s the last day of school,” I woke up to my mom’s chipper voice.

“Mom what are you talking about? I graduated already.”

“No sweetie that’s tomorrow. Hurry up, Tatiana’s gonna be here soon.”

“What? Mom didn’t she? Isn’t she de-gone?”

“Gone where? She comes here every morning. Melodie, Are you alright?” my mom looked at me with a confused look on her face.

“Ding dong!”

“That’s her. Hurry up!” My mom said as she left my room.

What is happening? I could’ve sworn there’d been an accident. Why am I in my pajamas? I don’t remember changing from my clothes. I looked over at my closet door and the outfit, (jeans and a pink polo), was still hanging up with the tags on it. Frustrated, I hopped in the shower. The steaming water always seems to ease the tension, if only temporary.


After getting out of the shower and throwing on some clothes I ran downstairs and sure enough, Tatiana was at the counter.

“Hey Mel what’s up?” Tatiana asked getting up from the counter and opening the front door to walk to my car.

“Hi,” I said my voice a little raspy.

“Can I ask you something Tat?” I asked

“Sure.”

“Did we get into a car accident yesterday?”

“No. Why would you ask that? Are you okay?” She said, feeling my forehead.

“Yeah, yeah. Just wondering,” I said slapping her hand down as I pulled off down the street. Was I dreaming or what last night?

“Mel, can you turn on some music?”

“Sure. I have a mixed CD.”

I fumbled, trying to get the CD out of the armrest compartment. As soon as I picked up the CD, it fell right next to my foot.

“Oops!” I said as I bent over to pick up the CD. I could feel the car swerving a little and then, CRASH! That was when I blacked out.


“Sweetie you’re awake!”

“Mom?” I whispered

“Yes, it’s me. Sweetie you’ve been in an accident. You have a fractured leg and a mild concussion.”

“I figured that much.”

“Melodie you’ll be fine. You get released today.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Two days.”

“Did Tat come to see me?”

“Tatiana? Well, honey she’s gone.”

“I don’t get it.”

“She died Mel. She was killed in the accident.”

“No.”

“Melodie she-”

“NO! She’s not DEAD!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs and then I felt someone shake me.


“Mel, wake up. Did you have a bad dream?”

“Mom?” Oh not this again. What is going on?

“Yes dear, it’s me.”

“What happened to me?” I asked warily.

“After your graduation party you got into a car accident. The doctor said you had alcohol in your system.”

“Well, I- I, where’s Tatiana?” I asked changing the subject.

“She’s down the hall. She’ll be okay, her parents are with her.”

“How long have we been here?”

“Three days, you’ve been sedated for a while.”

“How bad am I?” I could feel the itchy brace around my neck.

“Beside the bruises, both of your legs are broken, your wrist is fractured and so is your neck,” My mom said as if she were tired of repeating herself.

“And Tatiana?”

“Most of the right side of her body is broken, right arm, right leg, and her neck. The passenger door almost crushed her. The car was almost wrapped around a pole.”

“I don’t understand. I’d only had about two drinks. How could this have happened?”

“Two drinks are all it takes, Melodie.”

I was getting a headache. I feel horrible. I’m in the hospital covered in plaster with my best friend. Why couldn’t I have given the keys to someone else?

“Mel, do you need anything? I’m going to go get something to eat in the cafeteria.”

“No, but can you give me the remote to the TV?”

“Here you go,” my mom said passing me the remote before she walked out of the door. I turned on the TV and I flipped through the channels. I stopped at the news.

“Just in! Last night, in Dolton, Illinois five high school students were in a head on collision with an eighteen-wheeler. So far two of the students have been confirmed to have died at the scene while the other three students and the truck’s driver are in critical condition. The students are said to have been coming from a party, where they were supposedly drinking.”

My mind froze on drinking. Two people were dead because of drinking. That could have been Tatiana and me. We were lucky, very lucky. What if we weren’t so lucky? What would that do to our families? What is this doing to the families of those kids who have died?

I turned off the TV and I closed my eyes. I realized the severity of my actions. What if I died? What if Tatiana died? I had so many what ifs.

I could be dead right now, all because of drinking and driving.
I took this thought with me as I sunk into the unconsciousness of sleep.












Hand Over the Keys Please!

“Honk!Honk!”


I was waiting outside Tatiana’s house so that we could get a move on. What was taking her so long? Just as I was about to blow my horn again, I saw her skipping down her driveway in a blue jean miniskirt, a bright red tank top, and about five coats of lip-gloss. That’s Tatiana, I thought. She’s my best friend and that’s her style. Now I myself prefer jeans and a T-shirt.
“Melodie, would you stop blowing that horn?” Tatiana said as she approached the car.

“What took you so long?” I asked sourly.

“You can’t rush perfection,” Her expression was a little smug.

“Oh yes I can. Get in the car.”

“So who’s gonna be at this party?” I asked, turning down the narrow road that led to the beach. I could already see lights ahead.

“Most of our senior class.”

“Are you sure?” I asked doubting her answer.

“Yeah.Why?”

“Because I don’t remember this many people at graduation earlier. We’re here,” I said with a sigh as I cut the engine and got out of the car. Who were all these people?

Tatiana read my panicked expression and said, “Will you loosen up and have some fun? We’re high school grads!”

“Sure!” I replied sarcastically, and then we joined the crowd.


A couple of hours and a couple of drinks later, I was ready to go home. Parties always made me feel uncomfortable. So feeling a little lightheaded I set off to find Tatiana so that we could leave. I think I can drive home. I’d only had a few drinks.

“Tatiana? What are you doing?” I saw her dancing to no music with one of our classmates.

“Heeyyy! Mel-oh-dee, what’s up?” Tatiana’s words were slurred and I could tell that she’d had a lot more to drink than I had.

“Come on Tat, let’s go’” I insisted. I pulled her to my car. When we were buckled in, Tatiana murmured,

“I told you we’d have fun.”

“Yeah right,” I muttered under my breath.

Driving down the road, things were becoming blurry. Tatiana was half sleep so I decide to pull over for a minute. As I was pulling over I noticed something dark and hairy in the road. What is it? Is it a raccoon? It ran towards the car and I swerved to the right. Before I knew it the car was rolling down the side of the road. I let out a scream and I could hear Tatiana scream too as the car flipped over. I could feel my body jerking back and forth along with the car. I noticed that Tatiana’s screaming stopped as the car came to a halt. I hit my head really hard against the steering wheel. My head was throbbing. I couldn’t let myself slip into unconsciousness.

“Tatiana?” I asked but there was no answer.
“Tatiana?” I asked again but all I got was silence. I looked over at the passenger and it appeared that she was unconscious. Immediately, I unbuckled my seatbelt and I tried to open my door. I pushed furiously at the door trying to get out without much success. Finally, I decided to climb out the window. I pushed excess glass out of my way and I could feel a shard of glass cutting my arm as I slid out of the window.

Scrambling to my feet I was rushing to get to the passenger side of the car. I pulled at the door but it wouldn’t open.

“Tatiana?” I yelled while pulling at the door handle. It was dented shut.

“Tatiana? Wake up! Wake up!” I heard a high-pitched shriek of agony. Soon I realized that I was making the noise. I sat on a patch of grass beside my wrecked car. I fumbled in my pocket to retrieve my phone. Luckily, I had a signal. I dialed 911 and I hit the send button.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“I’ve been in a car accident. My… my friend is trapped inside the car.”

Where are you?”

“I don’t know my car went down the side of the road. Come! You have to hurry! My friend could be dying!” I shrieked.

“Calm down. I’m tracing the call. Someone’s on the way.”

The line disconnected. I’d lost my signal. I threw the phone down and I walked back towards the car. I knocked on the windows until my knuckles hurt. Tatiana didn’t move an inch. She’s not dead. She couldn’t be. Could she?

I heard sirens and a minute feeling of relief came to me. I watched the paramedics get Tatiana from the car while another paramedic stitched my arm up. Her body looked still and lifeless as they put her on the ambulance.

On the way to the hospital I was losing hope. It wasn’t a long ride and we would soon be at the hospital. I was having this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to think that she was already dead, but this feeling that I have is telling me that she could be. Then I heard those words.

“She’s gone,” the doctor told me before she even got to the E.R.

Before I knew it I was running. I didn’t wait for Tatiana’s parents or even my parents to come to the hospital. I was running. I didn’t stop running until I was in front of my house. I jammed my key into the lock, twisted it to the left and opened the door. I ran up the carpeted stairs to my room and shut the door behind me. I sat on my bed and cried. It felt as if a part of me was missing. She was my best friend for 13 years. I couldn’t bear to think of her name, so I cried. I cried until my eyes got heavy. I cried until I sunk into the darkness of sleep.



“Honey, wake up it’s the last day of school,” I woke up to my mom’s chipper voice.

“Mom what are you talking about? I graduated already.”

“No sweetie that’s tomorrow. Hurry up, Tatiana’s gonna be here soon.”

“What? Mom didn’t she? Isn’t she de-gone?”

“Gone where? She comes here every morning. Melodie, Are you alright?” my mom looked at me with a confused look on her face.

“Ding dong!”

“That’s her. Hurry up!” My mom said as she left my room.

What is happening? I could’ve sworn there’d been an accident. Why am I in my pajamas? I don’t remember changing from my clothes. I looked over at my closet door and the outfit, (jeans and a pink polo), was still hanging up with the tags on it. Frustrated, I hopped in the shower. The steaming water always seems to ease the tension, if only temporary.


After getting out of the shower and throwing on some clothes I ran downstairs and sure enough, Tatiana was at the counter.

“Hey Mel what’s up?” Tatiana asked getting up from the counter and opening the front door to walk to my car.

“Hi,” I said my voice a little raspy.

“Can I ask you something Tat?” I asked

“Sure.”

“Did we get into a car accident yesterday?”

“No. Why would you ask that? Are you okay?” She said, feeling my forehead.

“Yeah, yeah. Just wondering,” I said slapping her hand down as I pulled off down the street. Was I dreaming or what last night?

“Mel, can you turn on some music?”

“Sure. I have a mixed CD.”

I fumbled, trying to get the CD out of the armrest compartment. As soon as I picked up the CD, it fell right next to my foot.

“Oops!” I said as I bent over to pick up the CD. I could feel the car swerving a little and then, CRASH! That was when I blacked out.


“Sweetie you’re awake!”

“Mom?” I whispered

“Yes, it’s me. Sweetie you’ve been in an accident. You have a fractured leg and a mild concussion.”

“I figured that much.”

“Melodie you’ll be fine. You get released today.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Two days.”

“Did Tat come to see me?”

“Tatiana? Well, honey she’s gone.”

“I don’t get it.”

“She died Mel. She was killed in the accident.”

“No.”

“Melodie she-”

“NO! She’s not DEAD!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs and then I felt someone shake me.


“Mel, wake up. Did you have a bad dream?”

“Mom?” Oh not this again. What is going on?

“Yes dear, it’s me.”

“What happened to me?” I asked warily.

“After your graduation party you got into a car accident. The doctor said you had alcohol in your system.”

“Well, I- I, where’s Tatiana?” I asked changing the subject.

“She’s down the hall. She’ll be okay, her parents are with her.”

“How long have we been here?”

“Three days, you’ve been sedated for a while.”

“How bad am I?” I could feel the itchy brace around my neck.

“Beside the bruises, both of your legs are broken, your wrist is fractured and so is your neck,” My mom said as if she were tired of repeating herself.

“And Tatiana?”

“Most of the right side of her body is broken, right arm, right leg, and her neck. The passenger door almost crushed her. The car was almost wrapped around a pole.”

“I don’t understand. I’d only had about two drinks. How could this have happened?”

“Two drinks are all it takes, Melodie.”

I was getting a headache. I feel horrible. I’m in the hospital covered in plaster with my best friend. Why couldn’t I have given the keys to someone else?

“Mel, do you need anything? I’m going to go get something to eat in the cafeteria.”

“No, but can you give me the remote to the TV?”

“Here you go,” my mom said passing me the remote before she walked out of the door. I turned on the TV and I flipped through the channels. I stopped at the news.

“Just in! Last night, in Dolton, Illinois five high school students were in a head on collision with an eighteen-wheeler. So far two of the students have been confirmed to have died at the scene while the other three students and the truck’s driver are in critical condition. The students are said to have been coming from a party, where they were supposedly drinking.”

My mind froze on drinking. Two people were dead because of drinking. That could have been Tatiana and me. We were lucky, very lucky. What if we weren’t so lucky? What would that do to our families? What is this doing to the families of those kids who have died?

I turned off the TV and I closed my eyes. I realized the severity of my actions. What if I died? What if Tatiana died? I had so many what ifs.

I could be dead right now, all because of drinking and driving.
I took this thought with me as I sunk into the unconsciousness of sleep.