Page 47 of Trading Paint
“All right, let’s do this!” she shouted gaining focus. “Clear. Go!”
I took off like a rocket downCloquallum, turned onto ElmaMcClearyroad past the racetrack and the Rusty Tractor restaurant. Cars on the road stopped, people looked, and bystanders on the streets covered their ears at the roaring of my sprint car.
I laughed.
This was more amusing than I thought it would be.
Throwing my car sideways onto Oakhurst Drive, my left rear bounced up on the sidewalk and knocked over a stop sign. When I came flying down E. Young St. I threw the car into the sheriff’s lawn where I did a burn out, hopped the curb and then made my way back the way I came. The same onlookers watched as again as I made my way back.
The Sheriff speeding past me going the opposite direction would have been humorous except for the fact that he was chasing my dad’s brand new Aston Martin Vanquish with Emma driving. A car he wouldn’t even let my mom drive let alone any of us kids.
When I pulled into the driveway, my tires smoking from the burnouts, Sway ran over to me. “Did you see Emma?”
“The shit is about to hit the fan.” I told her not so calmly. “Help me get this in the shop. If Jimi sees my car out, he will know damn well what I did.”
It took us a good twenty minutes or so to get my car back inside the shop when Emma came walking down the driveway, crying, without my dad’s car.
Sway walked inside to find Spencer. We were going to need help with this one.
Emma threw herself face down into the grass.
I wandered over to her, not sure how to comfort her but I thought I’d give it a try. Emma and I never had heart-to-heart talks but I did protect her. She was my little sister.
“Where’s dad’s car?” I asked standing next to her.
“The impound...I panicked when the sheriff turned his lights on and saw your sprint car going down the road doing a wheel stand.”
I smiled. That was the best part.
“Why were you in his car in the first place? You have your own?”
“I wanted to see Nathan tonight and dad wouldn’t let me.” Nathan was Emma’s boyfriend who dad did not approve of.
“So you took his car...a car he specifically told you not to drive, to see a boyfriend he doesn’t like?”
“I know!” she wailed.
I dropped down beside her. “Um, you need to stop that.” I awkwardly patted her back. This was not what I had planned at all. I was no longer thrilled with my prank on the sheriff and now I was worried about Emma. Something I never did.
“Now what do I do?”
“I don’t know.” I said unconcerned with her problem. “That’s not my responsibility.”
“Will you come with me and talk to him?”
“No,” I answered. “You tell him. I just terrorized the city in my sprint car. I doubt I’m on his good side.”
“Please, it will be better if you’re there.”
“I highly doubt that. Did you not hear what I just told you?”
She started to cry again as Sway walked up.
“What did you do to her?” Sway asked.
“Why do you automatically assume I did something?”
“Because you always make her cry,”
