Warned by Louise Arnott,soda

As Tyler pulled into the parking lot in his brother’s blue Honda Civic, Kara bounded out of Dairy Queen at the end of her shift and leaned in through his open window.’ Wow, Tyson let you have Civi tonight? I want behind the wheel. Come on. You know I’m a good driver. Just for a while. Please.’

 Tyler hesitated. Kara would likely dump him if she didn’t get her way but if Tyson found out, Tyler would never be allowed to borrow Civi again. Which would be worse - losing the girl or his car privileges?

Knowing in his gut this was a bad idea, he specified, ‘O‑kay, but no speeding, no fooling around.’ He eased out from behind the wheel.

Kara shoved past him, adjusted the seat and fiddled with the rear-view mirror.’ You are so not fun.’

‘You can only drive for a few minutes. Pay attention to what you are doing.’

Kara turned the key in the ignition, shoved in the clutch, revved the motor, and shifted, landing in third rather than first gear. The car lurched and stalled.

She giggled. ‘Oops, missed.’

Tyler protested, ‘I thought you knew how to drive a stick shift. Let me…’

‘I’ve got this, Tyler.’ She ground the gears, finally landed in first, popped the clutch and gave the car enough gas to keep it going. The car lurched forward.

Tyler grumbled. ‘Don’t ride the clutch. You’re going to burn it out.’

Kara stuck out her tongue. ‘Don’t be a backseat driver. I said I’ve got this.’

‘Don’t go past the shop - Tyson’s working, that’s why I get to drive her.’ Tyler drummed his fingers on the dashboard.’ And don’t go by my house. If Mom sees us, she’ll tell him.’

The next three shifts were smoother and Kara brashly headed for the highway exit.’ Let’s see what Civi will do. Tyson will never know.’

‘He will. He checks the odometer before and after I’ve borrowed her.’

      She rolled her eyes.’ Does weird run in your family?’ Rhythmically tapping her fingers on the steering wheel she said, ‘you should just turn back the mileage. I bet there’s a you-tube about how to do it.’

Tyler shook his head in disgust. What was with her and rules, anyway?

He suddenly saw what Kara was about to do and shrieked, ‘Don’t.’

Too late.

She recklessly swerved into traffic, missing a Fed-Ex truck by inches. The driver laid on the horn and Tyler dug his fingertips into the dashboard.

Kara cracked up. ‘You’re an old man at seventeen.’

‘Stop it. Keep both hands on the wheel.’ Tyler sat, knees locked, right hand in a death grip on the ‘oh shit’ handle. ‘Kara, watch the road. You’re gonna get us killed.’

Blue flashing lights in the rear-view mirror and the whoop of a siren startled Kara. She over-steered, veering into the right lane. The car pulled in behind her and the siren whooped again. A no-nonsense voice came through the police car’s public address system.

‘Pull over and stop the car. Immediately, Kara.’

‘Rats. It’s my dad. Why’s he out on patrol?’

Frantic, Tyler searched for Tyson’s insurance and car registration in the glove compartment. Kara checked her makeup and fiddled with her hair in the rear-view mirror. She impatiently revved the car engine.

‘Oh man, oh man, oh man! Shut off the engine, Kara. Now. We are in so much trouble. Kara, don’t anything else. I never should have…’

‘Cool it, Tyler. It’s just my dad. He’ll give me a blast and tell you off for letting me drive with only my learner’s licence.’

‘Learner’s?’

‘Yeah, but I get my Novice one next month.’

Sergeant Grayson walked along the passenger side of the car and lit up the interior with his Maglite.

‘Tyler Morrison, I thought you’d have more sense. Does your brother know what you are doing?’ He took the paperwork from Tyler’s shaking hand.

‘Yes, Sir, I mean, No sir, Mr. …um Sergeant Grayson.’

Sergeant Grayson shifted his flashlight, illuminating his daughter’s face. ‘Licence.’

‘Oh, Daddy, don’t be silly. You’ve known me my whole life.’

He snapped his fingers. ‘Licence.’

She pulled out her wallet and tossed it in his direction. Tyler caught it and handed it over.

‘Here, Sir. I’m sorry, she didn’t mean …Sorry, Sir.’

Sergeant Grayson took the wallet and paperwork and strode to the police car. He was gone for several agonizing minutes.

‘Are you brainless?’ Tyler wrenched the keys out of the ignition.

Kara shrugged; Tyler was history.

The Sergeant returned the paperwork to Tyler. ‘I could have the car impounded. The driver, with only her learner’s licence, was recklessly driving an uninsured vehicle, which is not yours. And, your right taillight is burned out.

Tyler held his head back to keep the tears rimming his lower lids from falling. ‘I’m really sorry, Sir. I…’

‘I’m letting you off with a warning, Tyler. You know you aren’t qualified to supervise her.’

‘I thought she had her licence, Sir, or I never would…’

‘Well, now you know.’

Kara grinned. ‘See, I told you Ty…’

Her father ripped her licence in two, leaned across Tyler, and handed her a ticket and her wallet.

Kara pulled back and stared at him. She barked, ‘What are you doing? You can’t …’

Sergeant Grayson held up his hand, palm forward. ‘Don’t.’

Kara wheedled, ‘Give me a warning like Ty. I won’t do it again. I promise.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You sure?’

She simpered. ‘Thanks, Daddy. You are the best.’ She crumpled the ticket.

 ‘Better not, you’ll need it when you go to pay the fine.’ He held her gaze. ‘And sweetheart, if I see you driving recklessly or hear about any new misdemeanours, you’ll be grounded until you are at least twenty-five.’

She shrugged off his meaningless warning.

      He leaned back and smirked. ‘And, Kara. Consider yourself fortunate it wasn’t Mom who pulled you over.’

Kara, silent for once, slid out of from behind the wheel and stomped around the front of the Honda. She glared at her father, and mouthed, ‘I hate you.’

He raised one eyebrow and spoke to Tyler. ‘I don’t need to follow you, do I? Take her straight home, then stop at the shop and fill your brother in on your escapades of the evening. Or I will.’

Tyler’s voice squeaked. ‘Thank you Sir.’

Mike Grayson rapped his hand on the roof, signaling dismissal. He returned to the police car and, sighing heavily, called his wife’s direct line at the detachment.

When he opened with, ‘Staff-Sergeant Grayson, ask our darling daughter…’

Paula Grayson knew it was going to be a long night and interrupted him. ‘What’s Kara done this time?’

      He continued, ‘How she spent her evening. I doubt her recollections will match mine.’

Paula came back with, ‘Mike, I can’t always be the enforcer. We need a better way of dealing with our recalcitrant daughter.’

Mike offered no argument. ‘Let’s grab a coffee after work and we can figure out how best to deal with this kid before she is completely out of control. After tonight’s run-in, I’m fully on board with your tough love approach.’

 

About the author 

Louise moved from land-locked Calgary, Alberta to Victoria, British Columbia to enjoy ocean views. Instead she spends hours in her basement writing-room considering the uncommon in the commonplace. 

Did you enjoy the story? Would you like to shout us a coffee? Half of what you pay goes to the writers and half towards supporting the project (web site maintenance, preparing the next Best of book etc.)