the online magazine for the creative writer in us all

THE COFFEE PRESS JOURNAL
March / April 2008

Our Work, Our Art, Our Lives

Page 5

Chaos by Kahri Halbersma

          My heart thumped.  I slid behind the wheel.  The key turned and the ignition started.  My hands gripped the clutch.  The wheels spun.  I screeched up the road, fearing for my life!  My seatbelt jammed and my father’s face went hurtling towards the dashboard.  “Sorry!” I yelled as I concentrated on keeping aligned with the markings on the tar.  I survived climbing the hill, but what rises must fall.  Grinding the gears, I reversed at the hilltop.  We lurched back the way we began.  Then the lane curved!  It must have seen me coming, I muttered.  Frightened that a car might race around the corner and crash into me, I stopped.  As I halted, my instincts kicked in and I relaxed my foot, releasing the pedal.  The car began rolling away; only I was in the driver’s seat!  I couldn’t find the brake pedal with my toes, so I twisted and reached for it with my hands.  Succeeding, I immobilized the car.  I glanced at my dad, he glared at me, and tears burst forth.  We switched seats and he chauffeured me the rest of the fifty feet home.

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