Parallel Parking Read Free

Kathy, Doug, and Mitchell.”
    Mads knew Jen as a gym teaching assistant and Mitchell as a frequent substitute teacher, but Kathy and Doug were new to her.
    “Please don’t let me get Mitchell’s car,” Lina whispered. “He subbed for a month last year when Gantner was out having her
     knee replaced.” Mrs. Gantner had been Lina’s ninth-grade English teacher. “After lunch he always had food stuck in his mustache.”
    “Ew.”
    “Before we start, I want you all to understand what a serious undertaking you’re embarking on,” Ginny said. “Driving a car
     is one of the most dangerous things you will ever do—and you’ll do it every day. It’s like operating a killing machine. If
     you don’t learn to do it properly and keep your wits about you at all times, you could end up like this. Hit the lights, please.”
    “Oh, no,” Lina whispered. “The dreaded crash movie.”
    “The what?” Mads said.
    The video started out okay. A man stood in front of a plain blue wall. “What you are about to see is actual footage from real
     automobile accidents. You may be shocked, horrified, and upset. You should be. The victims of these accidents were once happy,
     carefree young people, just like you. They never expected to die in a bloody heap of twisted metal. I imagine you don’t, either.
     But careless driving can have deadly consequences—as you’re about to see.”
    Mads shut her eyes and gripped Lina’s hand. “I can’t look. You know how I get at horror movies.”
    The video continued. Mads couldn’t see what was happening, but she heard the narrator’s voice. “Kenny and Susie were sixteen,
     out on a date. Look what happened when Kenny took his eyes off the road to give Susie a quick kiss. Just one brief second,
     and—”
    Mads heard tires squealing, a loud crash, metal crunching, gas exploding. She winced. The class groaned. Someone tapped her
     on the shoulder.
    “Open your eyes, Markowitz, or you won’t pass this class,” Ginny said.
    Mads opened her eyes a crack, just in time to see the screen fill with blood and body parts. She shut them again.
    Ginny put the video on Pause. “Open them. I’m waiting….”
    Mads opened her eyes. The whole class was staring at her. She could understand why. Anything was better than looking at the
     image frozen on the screen. The top of a car had been sliced off by the bottom of a tractor trailer truck.
    “That’s better,” Ginny said. “And keep them open. I’ll be watching you.”
    The video resumed. Mads’ stomach gurgled ominously. She swallowed, trying to keep down the bile. She knew driving could be
     dangerous. She wasn’t the careless type. She’d always be careful—she promised! If only she didn’t have to see all this gore.
    “Think a stop sign is just a suggestion? Think again,” the narrator said as the consequences of running a stop sign were splattered
     all over the screen.
    “Mads, are you okay?” Lina asked. “You look kind of green.”
    “I think I’m going to be sick,” Mads said. “You’d better get out of the way.”
    She jumped up and ran into the bathroom, making it to a toilet just in time to puke up her lunch.
    “Mads?” Lina had followed her in. “Are you all right?”
    Mads knelt on the bathroom floor, recovering. “I feel better now.”
    Lina helped her to her feet, and she washed up. “The movie should be almost over by now. Are you ready to brave the wrath
     of Ginny?”
    Mads rinsed her mouth out one last time, spat, and nodded. “What can she do, toss me under the wheels of a tractor trailer?
     Let’s go.”
    They slipped back into the classroom. Ginny frowned at them. The movie was wrapping up.
    “So the next time you’re thinking of speeding, or disobeying traffic rules, or driving while under the influence of alcohol
     or any illegal substance, remember this: It’s a horrible way to die.” The narrator looked grim. The words THE END flashed on the screen in red letters.
    “Lights,” Ginny