Marcelle Cruzado

English 11 H
Mr. Davis
Period 2
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Dangerous Distractions
While driving a baby blue Volkswagen Beetle, Giselle is rocking
out with her best friend Maxine to the last words of their favorite song.
When the song shifts and is preceded by Alanis Morissettes, Ironic,
Maxine feels inclined to change it. As Giselles attention returns back to
the road after glancing at Maxine, changing the radio station, out of
nowhere, there is a bright, blinding beam of light accompanied by the
sharp sound of a familiar horn honking.
Giselle opens her eyes, with an initial blur, to find that she is still
in bed. She realizes that the source of the honking from her dream is
from her fathers 2012 black Cadillac Escalade. Turning her gaze
towards the alarm clock, her vision sharpens as she sees, 7:43 a.m.
in red blinking lights seventeen minutes before school starts.
Her usual routine would have her awake by 6:00 in the morning.
She would start off with a shower around 6:10, proceeded by choosing
an outfit around 6:30, and eating breakfast by 6:45 a.m., at the latest.
She would then return to her bathroom to brush her teeth and end with
applying her make up.

However, this was not a usual morning. With rushing to get

ready for school with her allotted seven-minute time frame, and only
ten-minutes set aside for travel time, her routine was cut short. All she
had time to complete included: changing her clothes, brushing her
teeth, and a touch of mascara. She ran to her fathers car, phone in
one hand and a brush in the other, with her school bag draped over her
shoulder. As soon as she enters the vehicle, before she even has the
chance to close the door, her father angrily pulls out of the driveway.
She senses the tension. He is upset with her, but he has not
voiced his disappointment, a characteristic not commonly used when
describing her father. She initiates the conversation first.
Im sorry for making us late. My stupid alarm clock didnt do its
job.
Honey, you are going to be 18 years old in 3 days. Do you think
you can learn how to handle responsibilities and stop blaming
others and even objects for your mistakes by then?
She rolls her eyes and looks outside her window.
There it is.
Silence filled the car throughout the rest of the drive, but she would
have opted for that, rather than another stern lecture. The anger would
subside eventually, and everything would be fine.
On Giselles 18 birthday, she woke up to her dream car, the
th

baby blue Volkswagen Beetle. While this car was in lieu of a big 18

th

birthday bash, she was extremely grateful for her parents gift.
However, there would still be a family dinner at the restaurant of her
choosing, later that night. Wanting to take the new car out for a spin,
Giselle

and

Maxine

ventured

on

girls

day

out:

shopping,

manicures/pedicures, lunch, etc. Wanting to post the picture of the two

on Instagram as well as reply back to the several birthday wish tweets
she was receiving, Giselle did not think about the danger she was
placing the two in for a second, as she continued driving. During red
lights on the road, she would glance back at her phone, despite some
caution from Maxine. Little did Maxine know, Giselle had continued
driving as the yellow light was coming to its end. As the light turned
red, with the car still in the middle of the road, a silver Honda Civic
emerged, within seconds, or rather millimeters, of a possible collision.
All of this happened within seconds of Giselle putting her phone down,
but luckily, she had just enough time to notice the other car, avoiding a
collision. They were both in shock.
Oh my gosh! What just happened?!? That car came out of
nowhere.
Thank God you put your phone down in time to see that car and
speed up. That could have been a disaster. Maybe we should
pullover for a second and take a breather.
No, its alright. It was the other drivers fault anyway and we are
already running late to the movie.

Maxine knew that Giselle was the one at fault, but she did not
want to upset her best friend, especially on her 18 birthday.
th

Once they reached their destination, Maxine was still shaken up

a bit. While she tried her best not to show it, in order to prevent
offending Giselle, Maxine masked the trauma by agreeing with her,
claiming that it wasnt so bad. On their way home, with Giselle on
her phone again, Maxine gathers the courage to speak up and cautions
her friend to put the phone down and pay attention to the road. Acting
as if it were a joke, Giselle brushed off Maxines advice.
Chill Maxine, whos the one with the license, here? she says as
she turns up
the radio to one of their favorite songs.
She felt the need to post the moment on Instagram, once again.
Declining Maxines offer to post it for her, she focuses her attention on
her phone, often glancing back towards the road. Immediately after
she hit share, all of a sudden, there is a bright, blinding beam of light
accompanied by the sharp sound of the honking of a horn.
She wakes up in a daze, feeling pain all over, seeing blood
spattered everywhere, with police sirens and flashing red lights
surrounding her. Everything was a blur, but she turns her gaze to
where Maxine had been, with someone on top of her, pounding on her
chest, breathing into her mouth. Everything turns white as Giselle loses
consciousness.

Giselle wakes up in a hospital bed, awakened by the sound of her

parents conversation, whispering as to not her wake up. Her head
begins to pound in her attempt to recollect what had happened.
Look whos up! her mother says with glee.
Are you alright? Do you need us to call the doctor? her dad
asks.
It takes everything in her power to nod. The doctor comes in.
How are you feeling? With accidents like these, you should feel
lucky to have sustained only several fractures and lacerations. It
could have been much worse. We will go into the specific details
later, once you have regained some of your strength, but for now
it would be best for you to get some rest.
Giselle remembers that she was not alone.
Maxine.
Her parents attempt to restrict her, but there is no use. After
countless attempts, they decide to help her into a wheelchair to see
her friend. As Giselle rolls into Maxines hospital room, with her mother
crying at her bedside, Maxines doctor tells Giselle what happened.
Unfortunately, Maxine is in a coma and is paralyzed from the
neck down. All we can do now is wait.
She will never be able to walk again, she cant have children, or
even feed herself, her mother murmurs to herself, completely
breaking up inside.

Giselle heard.
What have I done? I am so sorry Mrs. Mendoza, Giselle states
as tears stream down her eyes.
The mother is too broken up too respond, instead she continues to
squeeze her daughters hand, praying that her eyes will open.
After some time by Maxines bedside, Giselles parents feel that
it would be best for her to rest now. They return back to their hospital
room.
Dont blame yourself for this, darling. This could have
happened to anyone, it is not your fault, the father says in a
solemn tone.
It is in this moment that Giselle finally realizes
It is.