Mistakes, we’ve all made them. It may be a huge mistake or a silly one. Mistakes are mistakes. Whether you broke one of your mom’s favorite vases, or cheated in an exam. They are still called mistakes.

I too had made a mistake. A big mistake. It was back when I was in high school. It was in my sophomore year i.e., 10th grade. Memories of that night are still vivid in my head. It was late in the evening. I guess it was a little past eight thirty. I was walking back home from my school’s library.

I had missed the last bus which stopped at a bus stop near my house hence; I had to walk down home. My house was five blocks away from my school. It wasn’t a very long walk. I walked for ten minutes before a red mustang pulled over, beside me.

The window rolled down to reveal my best friend Lara. “Hop in. I’ll give you a ride home.” She said, flashing me a smile. I got a bit closer to her car and looked inside. The car looked new and fancy. “Come on get in. We don’t have the whole night.”

“When did you get your driver’s license?” I asked her suspiciously. She rolled her eyes at my question.

“I’m getting my learner’s permit tomorrow.” She said. I arched an eyebrow at her.

“So you are driving without a learner’s permit?” She nodded her head. “Well then, thank you for your offer but I think I’ll prefer to walk.” I said, turning around and continuing to walk.

“Oh come on Mary-Beth!” I heard Lara yell. A second later, her car was driving beside me at a very slow speed. “Get in the car MB.” She said, calling me by my nickname.

“I’m not getting inside that car. You driving without a learner’s permit is considered illegal.” I stated. “I’d like to walk.”

“MB it’s late. It’s almost nine o’clock! There will be strangers walking around the street and delinquents driving their cars recklessly. You’ll get hurt. Please just get inside the car.” She insisted. I shook my head and continued walking. “MB please.” I turned my head to look at her to see her pleading eyes. I sighed in defeat. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to break the law once.

As if reading my mind, Lara squealed and stopped the car. She unlocked the door. I got inside the car and put my seatbelt on. Lara smiled at me before starting the car. We drove in silence for two minutes before she decided to break the silence.

“So, what were you doing out here so late at night?” She asked.

“I was in the school’s library, doing my homework. You know how things are going at home. With my little sister, Debbie, always crying it becomes hard to concentrate.” I replied. Debbie was my two month old baby sister.

“Yeah, it must get a little annoying to hear a little baby cry all the time.” I nodded my head in agreement. “How’s Mrs. Parker?” She asked turning to face me.

“Mom’s good. A little stressed from carrying and taking care of Debbie.” I replied.

“Oh. I haven’t seen her in ages! Every time I come over, she’s always busy with Debbie.” She said moving her hands around.

“Hands on the steering wheel.” I scolded her. She chuckled at me.

“Sure mom.” She said turning to face me. We had stopped at a stop sign near a roundabout for a second before she accelerated. She somehow lost control over the steering wheel and the car spun around before coming to the stop. I had my hands clasped over my heart. I turned to look at Lara to see her holding the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles had turned white. We let out a sigh of relief simultaneously.

I looked out of the window to see that we were blocking the exit of a lane. The car was horizontally parked. I furrowed my brows and turned to Lara. “Start the car.” I instructed. She tried starting it but it failed. I groaned in frustration. “See? This is what happens when you break rules.”

“Hey, rules are meant to broken.” She joked but I gave her an annoyed look making her clasp her mouth shut. “Now?” She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders not knowing what to do. Suddenly Lara’s expression turned from confusion to fear. Her face looked pale.

“Hey? You okay?” I asked her. Lara pointed at something out of the window. I followed her gaze. It was set on a car. A speeding car to be precise. It was heading in our direction.

“Get out of the car.” She yelled. She quickly undid her seatbelt and got out. I, on the other hand, was frozen in my place. No matter how much I tried to move, I couldn’t. I tried to get my hand to undo the seatbelt but it won’t budge. I felt my sides being pushed away as the speeding car collided with Lara’s.

It was the biggest mistake in my life. I should’ve made more effort and jumped out of the car. I shouldn’t have let my body go numb. I shouldn’t have agreed to get in the car with Lara nor should I have let her drive without knowing how to. Maybe then I wouldn’t be in the state that I am.

That night, the driver of the speeding car too lost control over his car. The accelerated had gotten jammed. It wasn’t his fault. It was nobody else’s fault but mine. That night, two people got badly injured while one survived without any injuries.  Lara got away just in time. The driver ended up getting a concussion. Nothing very severe. But one girl ended up damaging the part of her brain which enabled to hear. She ended up becoming deaf. That girl was me.