Helping People On the Side of the Road: Is it Safe?

A true story

In my freshman year of high school, my sister and I helped two boys stranded on the side of the road. It was late in the school year, a mere week from my last day, and I awaited summer by anxiously counting down the final days of school. Marya was a senior, and had finished her last day and graduated a week before with the rest of her class. The other grades had been forced to extend the school year due to all of the snow days that forced us to stay home. Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were forced to add those days that we missed to the end of the year while the seniors, with their scheduled reservation for graduation, got those two weeks off. As a result of my sister’s newfound freedom, she would pick me up from school and drive me home so that my grandfather could have a break from that job.

Due to the warm weather, Marya and I liked to bring out our summer wardrobe and experiment with the clothes that had been shoved in the corner for eight months. I wore a tight dress and wedge sandals that made me even taller than I already was. Marya wore a light blue crop top and dark sunglasses to protect her eyes from the sun as we made our way back home in the traffic. My classes ended at 3:15 pm which made our commute across the city happen right in the middle of rush hour. Sometimes it would take an hour and a half on a ride that would have otherwise been only fifteen minutes.

Marya drove our mother’s silver Tahoe expertly through the cars. She got her driver’s license six months before, but only after having three years of driving experience under her belt. I had laughed at the fact that she was so nervous to take the test since she was already an expert, while other drivers with less experience were behind the wheel. Now, I completely understand as I, too, waited way too long. I took my driving test in February before the COVID shutdown, after having an equal amount of years of experience. Unfortunately for me, I failed. Then shutdown happened, and my chances of getting my driver’s license were slim. It wasn’t until I got my first boyfriend that I realized, “maybe being able to drive my significant other is a good thing, instead of having my mom drive around her adult daughter and her boyfriend from house to house”. After that, I went all around the state, passing…