"Janna, you're going to be late!" My father yelled up to my room as I hastened to fix my appearance.
It was the last week of senior year and I had stayed up almost all night finishing up an assignment for English class. I brushed my silver hair, threw it in a messy bun on top of my head, threw on a bit of mascara, and pulled on a pair of Converse shoes.
Running down the stairs to our small little house I almost hit my father at the bottom. Causing him to chuckle negligibly as he hands me some toast with jam on it, which I waste no time getting into my belly.
"Janna, I know you're doing your best sweetheart, but maybe try to do your assignments earlier when you get to university so you can get more rest please." He patted my shoulder softly. "It's your last week of high school already."
He trailed off looking a little sad but perked back up instantly.
"Dani is outside waiting, you should head out before she leaves you here." I wish Dad good luck at work and run out to find her waiting in her car in the driveway, adding lip gloss to her lips with the help of her mirror.
She beeps the horn and yells for me to hurry up and rush to sit in the vehicle beside her. Her black hair is loose today and her cloud-like grey eyes are thickly surrounded by eyeliner and shadow. She'd gotten up early to put time into her appearance today. I could tell, so I murmured a compliment, hoping to spare myself her wrath.
"Christ Janna! It's the last Monday of the year and you're still late? Get it together girl!" She screeches, looking me up and down, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, before she pulls the car onto the road and guns it for the school.
"I had classwork to finish last night, sorry, but I remember last Monday we were late because you didn't wake up at all so shut it!" I grumbled back at her as we got closer to the central part of town.
Driving by the elementary school was part of our morning commute, and I frankly loved watching all the kids playing. I watched them running around in their cute little coats and backpacks, and smiled softly to myself.
"Well, we need to start making plans for your Birthday! If you leave for school this will be the last one we celebrate together for god knows how long!" Dani chattered excitedly.
She slowed the car down as we drove by the school, being extra cautious with the children present, but whoever was behind us got closer and closer to the back of her vehicle.
They revved the engine before trying to speed around us. It was all happening so fast, the children playing on the grass right beside us didn't notice and were chasing the ball right into the path of the car!
"No!" That was all I could yell as I flung my hands out toward the children.
Dani slams her foot on the brakes. The tires squeal as our car grinds to a halt, and a loud crunch sounds out beside us. I slam my eyes shut, and take a few deep breaths before taking in the scene.
When I opened my eyes I looked out of the windshield and met two sets of terrified ones looking back at me, a golden aura surrounding the children quickly faded. It made me question if I ever saw it at all. Shaking, my hand opened the passenger door and I stood on wobbly legs outside the car to better see what had happened.
The little girl and boy who had run into the road were completely unscathed, but the same couldn't have been said for the offending vehicle. The front end of the car had caved in as if it had been driven into a concrete barricade or something!
It was destroyed, but not a single piece of it had gone toward the children, some had even scraped the side of Dani's ride. It just didn't make sense. A man exited from the wreckage, a small cut on his forehead bleeding slightly.
"What happened!" He shouted. "There was nothing there!"
The man didn't look so good, but turning to see other onlookers of the event on their phones meant that someone was probably coming to help.
Still, shaking I walked up to the children to see if they were alright, a teacher had run to them once they saw what was happening and was checking them over for injuries as they held onto her.
"Are they alright?" I asked her. "It all happened so fast, are you two alright?"
The children were crying and shaking as they held onto the teacher, but managed to nod at me. The sound of sirens drew nearer, and soon multiple police cruisers were surrounding the vehicles.
Paramedics began to inspect the children and the man, smelling alcohol on him, even from here I knew he was getting a shiny new bracelet very soon.
I saw Dani giving her statement to an officer, twirling her hair around her finger, she always did say she liked men in uniform, guess a cute guy was all it took for her to calm down.
I noticed an officer approach the teacher with the two kids, and ask them for their versions of the story.
"I honestly don't know what happened, I was sure the car was going to... but then there was a sparkle... and it just...crumbled." she sputtered to the man, blushing furiously when she realized how it sounded.
So I'm not the only one who saw it, weird.
Wandering back to lean against the passenger door I waited for my friend to finish with the officer, there was no point in fretting now, we were super late and there was no way they will hold it against us, at least no one got hurt, it just doesn't make sense. There was nothing to hit, those two should be goners.