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“In Her Car”
She sat in
her car
back row
last spot on
the end
her left arm
limply hanging
out of her
driver’s door
window
a cigarette
loosely held
in her fingers,
she didn’t really
watch the movies
at the Drive-In
it was more
of a place
just to get
away
she thought of
it
as renting space
better than
hanging out at
the mall,
she turned up
her car stereo
not full volume
just enough
to drown out
the noise
from all the
other speaker
boxes
echoing across
the lot,
it was a
Wednesday night
and she just
didn’t want to
be at home
tonight
her bedroom
has ceased to be
a sanctuary
for her
from the constant
bombardment
of questions
her parents
seem to volley
at her
ever since she
turned fifteen
she’s seventeen
now
and the questions
are getting even
more intrusive,
she looks towards
the snack bar
in the center
of the lot
follows the
streaming light
from the projector
all the way
to the giant
screen
the target of
the projector’s
aim,
she brings the
cigarette
to her lips
wetting them
with her tongue
before taking
a long slow
relaxed drag
bringing her arm
back down
and tapping the
end
of the cigarette
on her side view
mirror
till the ash
drops away
she then lets
her arm fall
back into its
limply hanging
pose
her cigarette
so lightly grasped
it looks like
its on the
verge
of slipping from
her fingers
at any moment,
her phone
lights up in
the passenger
seat
she can see
it’s a text
from her mom
just more
questions
she doesn’t want
to answer
she turns her
stereo up
even more
trying to cover
up
her nagging phone
with sound
as she watches
the colors
on the screen
mix and transform
themselves
her mind
not really working
on
making them into
objects or shapes
she’s happy to
just let them
dance across the
screen
looking like globs
of Fruity Pebbles
which after a
few minutes
has her mind
drifting towards
food
and whether or
not
the snack bar
has cereal,
the lights of
a car
leaving early
flash across the
inside
of her car
she starts to
look in her
rear view mirror
to see if she
recognizes
the car
then she hears
its stereo blasting
country music
and figures its
no one she would
know
her eyes linger
in the rear view
she tilts it
towards herself
looking at her
face fondly
“I’ve got really”
“sexy eyes”
she says
turning to the
passenger seat
as if she had
a friend sitting
there with
her
she returns the
mirror
to its normal
resting position
her left arm
still hanging from
her window
she finally
just lets the
cigarette drop
and brings in
her arm
and pulls the
lever
to recline her
seat
going
all the way
back
till she’s staring
at the roof
of her car
she closes her
eyes
listening to the
mixture of music
and movie
soundtrack
that’s hanging
in the air
then she reaches
for her phone
reads her moms
last three
texts
asking her when
she’s coming
home
she hides behind
a small lie
just to cut
down
the number of
nighttime
interrogation
questions
when she does
get home
“still at work”
she types in,
she lays there
staring into
the black fabric
of her car’s
upholstery
when her mom
replies right back
“ok, I just worry”
she shakes her
head
at the typical
mom comment
she’s guessing
her mom is
23% worried
30% just doing
standard mom
protocol
47% trying to
make her feel
guilty
“do we have milk?”
she sends off
she gets a
quick
one word answer
of “YES”
“I’m on my way”
she snaps her
chair
back up
with a renewed
motivation
removes the
speaker
from the passenger
side window
starts the car
turns the stereo
all the way up
leaves the windows
down
and her headlights
off
as she makes
for the rear
exit
and as her
front tires
roll over the
one-way spikes
on her way
out
she thinks
“I should have asked”
“if we still got”
“any Fruity Pebbles left”
she turns on
her headlights
as her rear
tires
roll over the
spikes
and she thinks
of nothing else
but Fruity Pebbles
all the way
home…
Tom Allen…12-25-2017…
She sat in
her car
back row
last spot on
the end
her left arm
limply hanging
out of her
driver’s door
window
a cigarette
loosely held
in her fingers,
she didn’t really
watch the movies
at the Drive-In
it was more
of a place
just to get
away
she thought of
it
as renting space
better than
hanging out at
the mall,
she turned up
her car stereo
not full volume
just enough
to drown out
the noise
from all the
other speaker
boxes
echoing across
the lot,
it was a
Wednesday night
and she just
didn’t want to
be at home
tonight
her bedroom
has ceased to be
a sanctuary
for her
from the constant
bombardment
of questions
her parents
seem to volley
at her
ever since she
turned fifteen
she’s seventeen
now
and the questions
are getting even
more intrusive,
she looks towards
the snack bar
in the center
of the lot
follows the
streaming light
from the projector
all the way
to the giant
screen
the target of
the projector’s
aim,
she brings the
cigarette
to her lips
wetting them
with her tongue
before taking
a long slow
relaxed drag
bringing her arm
back down
and tapping the
end
of the cigarette
on her side view
mirror
till the ash
drops away
she then lets
her arm fall
back into its
limply hanging
pose
her cigarette
so lightly grasped
it looks like
its on the
verge
of slipping from
her fingers
at any moment,
her phone
lights up in
the passenger
seat
she can see
it’s a text
from her mom
just more
questions
she doesn’t want
to answer
she turns her
stereo up
even more
trying to cover
up
her nagging phone
with sound
as she watches
the colors
on the screen
mix and transform
themselves
her mind
not really working
on
making them into
objects or shapes
she’s happy to
just let them
dance across the
screen
looking like globs
of Fruity Pebbles
which after a
few minutes
has her mind
drifting towards
food
and whether or
not
the snack bar
has cereal,
the lights of
a car
leaving early
flash across the
inside
of her car
she starts to
look in her
rear view mirror
to see if she
recognizes
the car
then she hears
its stereo blasting
country music
and figures its
no one she would
know
her eyes linger
in the rear view
she tilts it
towards herself
looking at her
face fondly
“I’ve got really”
“sexy eyes”
she says
turning to the
passenger seat
as if she had
a friend sitting
there with
her
she returns the
mirror
to its normal
resting position
her left arm
still hanging from
her window
she finally
just lets the
cigarette drop
and brings in
her arm
and pulls the
lever
to recline her
seat
going
all the way
back
till she’s staring
at the roof
of her car
she closes her
eyes
listening to the
mixture of music
and movie
soundtrack
that’s hanging
in the air
then she reaches
for her phone
reads her moms
last three
texts
asking her when
she’s coming
home
she hides behind
a small lie
just to cut
down
the number of
nighttime
interrogation
questions
when she does
get home
“still at work”
she types in,
she lays there
staring into
the black fabric
of her car’s
upholstery
when her mom
replies right back
“ok, I just worry”
she shakes her
head
at the typical
mom comment
she’s guessing
her mom is
23% worried
30% just doing
standard mom
protocol
47% trying to
make her feel
guilty
“do we have milk?”
she sends off
she gets a
quick
one word answer
of “YES”
“I’m on my way”
she snaps her
chair
back up
with a renewed
motivation
removes the
speaker
from the passenger
side window
starts the car
turns the stereo
all the way up
leaves the windows
down
and her headlights
off
as she makes
for the rear
exit
and as her
front tires
roll over the
one-way spikes
on her way
out
she thinks
“I should have asked”
“if we still got”
“any Fruity Pebbles left”
she turns on
her headlights
as her rear
tires
roll over the
spikes
and she thinks
of nothing else
but Fruity Pebbles
all the way
home…
Tom Allen…12-25-2017…