MUSTANG

         “Hey, my Dad’s out of town,” said Jesse. “I’m going out riding tonight in his Mustang to celebrate my 16th birthday. Wanna come?”  Jesse yanked off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his ebony hair before returning the cap to his head.
         “Your Dad’s prized Mustang? How did you manage to get your Dad to let you drive it?” asked Cody suspiciously.
         “He didn’t…and he won’t know.”
         “I don’t know, Jesse.”  Cody raised his right eyebrow and pouted.
         “Come on…It’s no big deal,” Jesse insisted. “We’ll cruise around, pick up some babes and drive up to the Overlook.” 
                “What if you scratch your Dad’s car?” Cody argued.
         “Nothing will happen. Trust me.”
         “O.K.,” Cody hesitated. “I’ll meet you at your house tonight.”
         Cody arrived at Jesse’s house around 8 p.m. “Where we going?” he asked.
         “Get in…I know the perfect place to go,” Jesse slid into the driver’s seat, turned the ignition switch, and revved the engine of the sleek red Mustang.  “Sweet.”  He backed out of the driveway, sped down the street, and turned onto Route 80 West.  It began to drizzle and the road glistened from the rain. 
         “Don’t you think you’re going a little too fast?”  Cody asked.
         “Nah…Mustangs are built for speed,” Jesse said as he shifted gears.  Just then, a red glow flickered through the night sky and sirens blared behind them.
         “Move to the side of the road…” The officer announced over the speaker. 
         “Oh snap!  We gotta get outta here!” Jesse yelled as he pressed on the gas pedal. He sped off and attempted to outrun the police.
         “Jesse! What are you doing?  Are you crazy?  We’re gonna get caught!”
         “Yeah…that’s why I’m running.  I’m not going to juve again!”
         The car began to swerve from side to side.  Jesse attempted to take control of the car and turned the steering wheel to the left.  Instead, the car began to spin out of control.  The Mustang slid across the slippery road, crashed into the concrete median with a horrifying thunder before coming to a sudden halt. Moments later, Jesse slowly looked over at Cody. Cody was bleeding and motionless. “Cody…” Jesse barely whispered before losing consciousness. 
         “Cody!” he shouted as he sat up in his hospital bed.  Visions of Cody’s blood-drenched face haunted his thoughts.  At that moment, the doctor entered the hospital room. “Cody…Is he ok?” Jesse asked.
           “Kid’s lucky to be alive.” The doctor said sarcastically.  “Room 206. Don’t think you should go see him now.  Go home. You’ll be fine.”
         “What’s wrong?”
         “He’ll have to tell you,”  he said and left Jesse alone in the room. 
Jesse, eager to see Cody, finished tying his sneakers and ran to Cody’s room.
“Get out! I don’t want to see you…ever!”  Cody shouted and turned his head away when he saw Jesse.
         “Cody…I’m sorry…I…I was wrong,” Jesse pleaded.
         “I told you.  Get out!”
         “Are you ok? How are you feeling?” Jesse said as he stared at Cody. 
         Cody turned his head to meet Jesse’s gaze. “You see…that’s just it.  I’m not feeling.  Thanks to you, I’ll never walk again.  I’m paralyzed. How’s that!  Are you satisfied? Get out!”  Guards came running into the room.  “Get him out of here!” screamed Cody.
                Unable to contain his tears, Jesse plopped himself on a nearby bench outside the hospital and sobbed.  “What have I done?” 
Confined to his wheelchair, Cody stared out of the living room window.  It had been two weeks since the accident.  He watched Jesse come up the walkway and looked away. Jesse peeked into the living room before coming in to join Cody. 
“Cody…I know you’re angry at me and I don’t blame you.  I’m so sorry.  Tomorrow I’m going to talk to the students at an assembly about what happened.”  Cody sat by the window listening, but didn’t respond. Jesse walked closer to Cody. “I know I have no right to ask you this…but I was hoping you would come with me and we can tell everyone what happened.”
         After what seemed like an eternity to Jesse, Cody coldly responded,  “No.” 
         “But Cody…I…we could make a big impact on the other kids if they see you.”  Jesse said softly.
         “No! I’m not a show and tell project.”  Jesse never expected Cody to reject his request.  He blinked back tears and left the room without another word.
         The next day, the students gathered in the auditorium to listen to Jesse’s speech.  Jesse tearfully revealed the sordid details of the accident and its outcome.  Some of the students sat with their mouths wide open while others cried along with Jesse. Cody hid behind the auditorium’s oak door and listened to Jesse’s confession from the hallway. 
         Just as Jesse finished, Cody was wheeled into the auditorium; tears trickled down Cody’s cheeks.  “I’m sorry, Cody…Please forgive me.”  Jesse sobbed into the microphone. He jumped down and walked up to Cody.
“It’ll be some time before I can trust you again.” Cody said coldly.
         “I understand…I don’t want to lose your friendship.  I know what I did was stupid.  I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
         “I don’t know if we can ever get that friendship back again.”
         “I’m willing to try.”  Jesse said.