Joseph Pak

Professor McCarthy

ENGW1111

Proving Nothing
 “Don’t worry. I’m just going to the mall. Yeah, I’ll be careful. Okay… I’ll be home by

12”

I was never happier to wake up with the sun shining on my face and an alarm ringing in

my ears at six-thirty in the morning. After getting up, I ran downstairs, pulled the curtains open

and saw what I wanted to see. It was my family’s car, the 2014 Acura MDX. Purple, magenta, or

red, probably a mix of all, the color of the car complimented the summer trees. All that mattered

was that I could make the trip. My destination? Six Flags.

Whenever anyone happened to mention anything that was related to driving, all you

could hear was an “I’m the best driver” or a “No one is better at driving than I am.” My

perpetual bragging was sincere and when it came down to the challenge, I accepted it; it was my

chance to prove to my friends how well I could really drive. However, my only way to driving

the Acura was to tell my parents to take the car out to drive “for food” at the “mall”. In my

defense, the tenders are always delicious at Six Flags. From Long Island to New Jersey, I

successfully completed the drive in a couple of hours. As I parked, I smiled — I did it.

After riding all the rides and doing what people do at Six Flags, it started to get dark

which meant time to start heading back home. Although it was a warm, summer day, as the sun

fell, the night rose with coldness. I was a little uneasy at first, but as it began to rain, I felt more

and more nervous. Rushing back into the car, my friends and I all dried ourselves as we put the

heat on high. Taking a good look outside, I could feel my hands dampening as they slid against

the seatbelt. I buckled myself in, grabbed the gear stick and moved the stick to reverse.
 As I exited the parking lot, all the things that typically calmed me did just the opposite.

The darkness, the cars’ flashing red lights, the sounds of the rain dropping, and even the soft

Christmas music became intense. But then I thought to myself, I can’t be nervous. If I could

prove to my friends that I could home safely regardless of the conditions, I could officially have

bragging rights. If not now, then never.

Then and there, I knew I made mistakes. As my friends drifted away in their sleep, I was

left with the control of their lives. It was just me, the car, the road, and the clock. My navigation

system displayed the estimated time to travel and at the time, it felt like a bomb ticking away.

until I heard a loud buzz. It was coming from my phone. Soon, I heard the same obnoxious buzz

coming from my friends’ phones. Busy with driving, I quickly took a peek at what this noise

what all about. I finally saw the words

EMERGENCY FLASH FLOOD ALERT - DO NOT DRIVE ON ROAD

If you’ve ever watched ​The Perfect Storm​, in the scene where they see the giant wave

that capsizes their ship, it felt like I was one of the deckhands. Each raindrop was like a mortar

falling from the sky. The sounds smashing against the car were like hammers pounding dents

into the steel as my car screamed for mercy. I couldn’t believe my eyes. No matter how fast the

windshield wipers wiped, it was no match for the rain. Typically, you’re supposed to know

where you are on the road, but I had no other choice but to guess if I was even in the right lane. It

wasn’t about driving anymore, it was about surviving.

Then began the regrets. Why didn’t I check the weather? If I had only known it’d be like

this. No, bad weather or not, I never should’ve driven this far. I’ve only had my license for less
than a year. My parents were right. I shouldn’t be driving far. They don’t even know where I am

while my friends are dead-asleep. Who am I kidding? I decided to drive all the way to Six Flags

to prove nothing to no one.

Finalizing my thoughts on my future eulogies, I saw an exit sign. The words were too

blurry to read but that didn’t matter. Carefully trying to stay in-between the white-dotted lines, I

took my chances and hoped for the best and started to switch lanes all the way to the right.

Moving towards the exit, it felt like as I get closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. Now

noticing sidewalks, I pulled over to the side of the road and slammed the gear shift to park. I took

a breath and looked back. All my friends were sound asleep snoring louder than the music. Not

caring about whether they saw what happened or not, I started to cheer under my breath.

The rest of the way home felt like a breeze. The hard conditioning that I endured finally

came to an end as I safely dropped all my friends home and returned home. Walking through the

doors, my parents said, “Good thing you only went to the mall. It rained a lot tonight, were you

okay driving back home?” As I handed the car keys back to them, I replied: “It was okay.”