11. Accidents Happen

Previous Chapter

Monday, August 24th
Waxing Gibbous Moon (Two Nights to Full Moon)

On the first day of school, I was hit by a car.

There I was, riding my borrowed bicycle to my biology lab that early evening when it hit me, literally. In all the things I learned that first day, my most important one was never to trust blinkers, or the absence of one. The girl driving the car didn’t even see me as she pulled into the parking lot and I, riding along and minding my own business, didn’t she was turning, so I didn’t pay her any mind as I rode. Once the car started turning, there wasn’t much I could do in my panic of, “Oh crap, that car isn’t stopping.” There was a crunch as the front bumper of the car crushed into the bike. The car finally came to a stop, with my right leg trapped between the bumper and the bike.

A girl with brown hair in a ponytail burst out of the car, crying and screaming, “Oh my God! Ohmigod! Oh MY GOD! Are you okay?”

I started to laugh, because the expression on her face was priceless. She looked like she had just committed the greatest sin in the world when it was only a minor accident. There were tears running down her face as she panicked.

“I’m fine,” I dragged the broken bike away from the car. The back tire was bent and it wouldn’t roll. The frame looked bent too.

“I – I was looking for my class, my windshield is so dirty and there was a glare! Oh, I knew I should have washed it.” She gasped aloud as if she had just seen the mangled bike, “Oh my God! I’m going to Hell! I hit a pedestrian!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I laughed, “I’m not even scratched,” I pulled up my jeans to show her my leg, “It may bruise a bit, but I’ll be fine. It’s the bike that’s hurt.”

She impulsively hugged me, just glad that I was okay, “I’ll pay for it to get fixed.”

I heard the bells on the clock tower chime and I checked my watch. “Oh great, I’m late.”

She looked at her watch and sighed, “Me too.”

“Where were you heading?”

“The science building, well, I was trying to find it.”

“Well that’s where I was going and I know the way, but my bike um…doesn’t roll anymore.” I scooted it along the ground, the rubber of the bent tire skidding along, but not rolling. I laughed, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. I suppose I was giddy with relief that the accident wasn’t as major as it should have been. Plus, the girl was overreacting.

“It’s not funny!” She started crying again. She was visibly shaking.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, wondering what Randall would say when I brought him the bike.

We loaded the bicycle up into the small car with some difficulty and then drove to the science building. We unloaded it and chained it to the rack, not like anyone would steal it in this condition. I told her that my friend, Randall, would come and get it in his truck another time.

“What class are you going to?” I asked her as we walked in. She kept looking worriedly over at me to make sure I wasn’t going to collapse and clutch my leg or something.

“Biology Lab, in section A I think.”

“Same as me,” I said, surprised at this odd turn of events.

We walked into the lab nearly fifteen minutes late. The teacher was lecturing over safety and procedures as we walked in. We grabbed the last two seats next to each other at one of the lab tables. Her hands were shaking and she was holding back tears. She looked pretty awful. I, on the other hand, still thought the whole ordeal was funny. Of all my luck, to be run over by someone heading to the same exact class as me.

When it was time to start the lab, we had to be lab partners, since we were sitting next to each other. I learned that her name was River and she was a Biology major. After the lab, she offered me a ride home and I took it, since it was already dark and I didn’t want to walk alone. I hadn’t been looking forward to riding the bike back in the dark, but at least it had reflectors.

“Where am I taking you?” River asked as we got in her car.

“Dawson, that’s my dorm.”

I finally heard her laugh, a welcome sound after all the crying, “What a coincidence, that’s my dorm too.” She was finally loosening up and not freaking out anymore.

“This has been a strange ordeal,” I commented, sitting back in the passenger seat. I wondered if I was making a new friend. River seemed sincere enough. She was nice and friendly, even if she did have a tendency to overreact.

We went back to the dorm and parted ways, me going to my room and her going to hers. She apologized along the way several times more and slowed down to a crawl every time we saw a pedestrian or bicyclist. When I got to my room, I called Randall.

He was upset at first, but when I told him that I was fine, he seemed happier. “I didn’t get hurt at all, so nothing strange happened.” It could have been worse. I could have cracked a bone and it would have mended before our eyes. “Your bike is a little…injured though.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” He said over the phone, “The bike can be fixed and we have an extra one you can ride. I’m just glad you are alright.”

“Thanks,” I sighed, “I’m sorry for causing this trouble.”

“It’s totally okay, I just get an excuse to come visit you tomorrow after classes. I had a great time at lunch today, I almost wished we didn’t have to go to classes, and then we would have had longer.”

I grinned stupidly at the phone as he spoke. He was such a nice guy, and lunch had been wonderful. The food at Saybrook was tasty for cafeteria food, it was basically a buffet, and you could get whatever you wanted. They even had Blue Bell ice cream and you could get the ice cream and make root beer floats. Not only did I enjoy his company, but it was nice having someone I could talk to, someone who knew my secrets and didn’t judge me. He was just like me, he had the same problems in life and he was happy, friendly, and optimistic.

There was a lot I could learn from him.

Lilith thought my story was hilarious. I told it to her as she was getting ready for class and she had to stop drying her hair because she was laughing so hard.

“The sad part is that it was not even your bike,” She commented.

“Yeah, but Randall wasn’t mad or anything, he was just happy I was okay.”

“True, it is good that you are not hurt. It would not have been good if you would have been hobbling around on crutches for the first bit of college.” She continued to get ready, combing through her short hair and putting on some black ballet flats to compliment her long black skirt and gray v-necked shirt. I was glad to see that she actually had some shoes.

“Yeah,” Well, not really. Instead, I would have been rushed to the hospital and would have had to beg for the Pack doctor so he could tell everyone that my injury was not nearly as bad as the EMTs had thought. I changed the subject, “How did you manage to get all night classes, anyway? When I was registering, there were barely any.”

“My parents and I had to do a lot of petitioning and donating, and they finally made some exceptions based on my medical condition, especially since it is so aggressive that I cannot risk going outside during the day. I have a few night classes as well as some online courses as well as independent study projects.”

It made sense, and I wondered how rich and powerful her family was if they got the school to make special exceptions for one student through donations and petitions. “Well, have fun on your first night.” I went to my room to do some reading and let her finish getting ready. I heard a door open and close as she left to go to her classes and felt a twinge of sadness. Instead of relaxing and doing homework, going out and partying or spending time with friends, Lilith had to go to classes at night. I wondered how hard it was for her to sit in class knowing that most other students were out of class for the day, off having fun.

Next Chapter
-----

A/N: So this really happened to me. The car hit me, the girl got out and freaked out, and we ended up in the same class, lab partners for the semester, and she lived in the same dorm as me. She never did pay me for the bike though... oh well. There's a chapter coming Thursday, it's very short, which is why it's a bonus chapter.

Also, check out my little prompt post over at my miscellaneous/status updates/stories of my life blog. I'm looking to do some short story writing and I need some ideas. I have gotten one idea so far that I'm working on in my spare time. Life has just been a tad bit hectic lately. It'll slow down soon enough, I hope.