Driver Ed

"Whatever you say," Scarlett kidded.

  I checked the clock on the dash. "She's not coming-let's go."

  "Let's give her a few minutes," Scarlett said, scanning out the windshield.

  A minute later I pointed at a girl running from the field across the parking lot towards us. "There she is."

  "She'll know this is the right car," Scarlett said. "I strapped the Midtown Driving School sign on the roof again."

  "Sorry I'm late," Kat said, jumping into the back seat with her bag. "I wanted to get some pre-game interviews done with the Mustangs."

  I gave Scarlett a nod as if to say, 'Told you so.'

  "You must be Katrina," Scarlett said.

  "Yeah, that's me," Kat said, still panting.

  "Ed has told me all about you."

  I furrowed my brow and shot a sideways glance at Scarlett.

  "He has, has he?"

  I looked in the rear-view mirror but I couldn't tell if Kat was smiling or frowning. I assumed she was shooting dagger eyes into the back of my head.

  "There's not much to tell," Kat said. "Straight A grade eleven student, football fan and reporter." Kat rattled off the list. "Say, is there any way I can get back for the end of the game? I've got some more interviews I want to do."

  "I can't promise," Scarlett said, turning to face Kat in the back, "it all depends on how well you guys drive."

  "Then you better not screw up Warnicki," Kat said, practically breathing down my neck.

  Scarlett gave me a nod. "Shall we start the lesson Ed?"

  I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and grabbed the steering wheel. I knew I'd have Scarlett and Kat watching my every move. I took a deep breath and looked around the parking lot to make sure I was in the clear. There were no pedestrians and no traffic. The entire school was at the game. I started to pull away when something caught my eye-or should I say didn't catch my eye. Trey's red Mustang wasn't parked in its usual spot. It was gone.

  Chapter Twelve

  "Let's head downtown so you can show me how your parking is coming along, Ed."

  This should be a breeze. This was my chance to impress both Scarlett and Kat. I turned right onto Main Street and started driving towards the center of town. Suddenly cars and trucks were whizzing by in both directions-something I wasn't used to. Up until now all my lessons with Scarlett had been on quiet streets.

  "Looks like a lot of traffic," Kat said, her face pressed against the rear passenger window.

  I gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "It does seem a lot busier."

  "There's an opening up ahead," Scarlett said, pointing to an empty parking spot on the side of the bustling street. "Parallel park there, Ed."

  I put on my signal, stopped just ahead of the spot, shoulder-checked and shifted the Civic into reverse. Piece of cake. I backed into the spot and stopped with a big grin on my face. "That should do it."

  Scarlett tilted her head at me and raised an eyebrow. "That would do it if parking five feet away from the curb was considered a good thing."

  "Impossible," I said, hopping out to see that I was nowhere near the curb but parked practically in the middle of the street. I got back in the car wide-eyed. "I don't know what happened. I did this perfectly at home."

  "There aren't a hundred other cars zooming by at home," Scarlett said. "Let's try again."

  I pulled out, stopped, and was about to back up again when a Mini Cooper zipped into my space. "He's taken my spot!" I said, shaking my head in frustration.

  "Great," Kat said. "Could this take any longer? We're going to be here all day and we haven't even parked once."

  "Sorry," I said, catching Kat's cold stare in the rear-view mirror. She was sitting impatiently with her arms crossed. It's a good thing she was strapped into her seatbelt otherwise she'd be strangling me.

  "Keep going Ed," Scarlett said. "As a driver you can't get mad, you just have to remain calm and change your plan. Don't worry, we'll find another place to park."

  I put the car in drive and started on my way again, crawling down Main street looking for another spot. The driver of a red car behind me must not have liked the slow speed I was going and started to lay on the horn, honking over and over again.

  "I don't blame him," Kat said, under her breath.

  Suddenly the red car pulled out and roared along side of us. Clouds of blue smoke billowed from its spinning tires just before the car darted in front and cut me off. I jammed on the brakes hard and we jolted to a squealing stop, the smell of burning rubber wafting all around us.

  Scarlett thrust her hands against the dash. "That was close," she said, watching the red car blast by another vehicle ahead. "I never trust people driving Mustangs. Ed?Kat, you guys okay?"

  Everything had happened so fast I didn't really have a chance to see the model of the car that blew by us. But sure enough a bright red Mustang was up ahead zigzagging between traffic. I exhaled and kept driving.

  "There's something familiar about that car," Kat said, sitting forward.

  I picked up speed to keep the Mustang in sight.

  "That Mustang is painted Midtown red!" Kat said, surprised.

  I narrowed my eyes to focus on the car racing ahead. "And there's only one car painted that color in the whole city."

  "What does that mean?" Scarlett asked.

  I shot a quick glance back at her. "It means we're following Trey Redmond's car."

  "Isn't he the Mustangs quarterback?"

  "He sure is," Kat said, a little too much in awe for my liking.

  Scarlett looked puzzled. "But isn't there a game on now? How can he be playing and driving at the same time?"

  "He can't be," I said, keeping my eyes glued to the red Mustang.

  A look of recognition swept across Scarlett's face. "What are you saying Ed? That the car is-"

  "That's right-stolen."

  "We have to do something!" Kat said.

  "Like what?" I said, shrugging. I didn't think anyone's car should be stolen but if a car was going to be stolen, it might as well be Trey's. In some ways I thought he deserved it. Especially after he said the Rams couldn't steal a win even if the Mustangs handed it them.

  "We should call the police," Scarlett said, pulling out her phone.

  "Yeah but it will be too late!" Kat had leaned all the way forward and now her eyes were shooting panicked looks back and forth between Scarlett and me. "We can't let them out of our sight! We have to go after them! What if it was your car being stolen, Ed? I'd go after them."

  "You would?" I glanced over and saw tears welling in Kat's eyes. I may not have given a crap about Trey but I thought Kat was pretty cool, even though I was never going to admit that to Kat. Or to Scarlett. "Well, maybe I could follow them until the cops get here."

  Chapter Thirteen

  "Hello 9-1-1?" Scarlett spoke calmly, her phone pressed tightly against her ear. "I'd like to report a stolen car. A red Mustang with license plate QB22. Last seen heading east on Main Street."

  I stepped on the gas to keep the hijacked car in view. The Mustang had bolted around two more cars and was now five vehicles ahead.

  "He's getting away!" Kat said.

  "We're starting to lose him," Scarlett said into her phone.

  "No we're not." I clenched the steering wheel and swerved out of my lane, pulling up beside the car in front.

  Scarlett shot me a look. "Ed, we haven't practiced passing yet!"

  "Seems now is as good a time as any."

  My eyes popped wide. A big oil truck was barreling straight at us in the same lane. I put the pedal to the floor and we rocketed forward, flying by the startled driver of the car ahead. I pulled back into our lane, my heart pounding as the long truck whooshed by.

  "That was a little too close for comfort," Scarlett said, letting out a big breath.

  She held the phone back up to her ear. "Roger that." Scarlett nodded to confirm orders from the 9-1-1 dispatcher. "We'll make sure to keep a safe distance." She gave me the eye when repeat
ing the word 'safe'.

  "We're catching up, "Kat said just inches from my ear, almost like she was thanking me. "Wait a minute, he's turning left!"

  The Mustang squealed around the next corner narrowly missing an approaching pick-up truck. I put on my turn signal, saw the coast was clear and hung a sharp left through the intersection. "Hold on everyone!" We all leaned to the right as the car careened around the bend.

  "The suspect is now driving north on Division Street," Scarlett said, relaying the latest coordinates of the getaway car.

  "Do you think he knows we're following him?" Kat asked.

  "No way." I imagined myself as some kind of super spy combination of James Bond and Jason Bourne chasing a bad guy. "No one knows when James Bourne is on their tail."

  Kat thumbed open her phone and started to speak clearly, "Time: 4:31 pm, Thursday afternoon?location: blue Civic Driving School car?subject: tracking stolen vehicle."

  "What are you doing, Kat?" I asked.

  "Are you kidding? I'm filing a report. This is the story of the year and I'm getting an eye-witness account of how it's all going down." She held up her phone to video the escaping red Mustang ahead of us. "Suspect traveling at high speed?destination unknown."

  We shot past a green road sign. "Looks like they're headed to Riverside," I said. "It's the next exit."

  "Suspect a possible Riverside student," Kat said. "Could be payback for quarterback Trey Redmond's post-game stealing comment."

  The Mustang banked sharply to one side as it blasted around the corner then shifted into a higher gear and roared away.

  "I think I know where they're going," Scarlett said, eyes peeled to the road. "This is the way to Riverside High. I have some driving students there."

  "Makes sense," Kat said. "They knew no one would be watching Trey's car because he and everyone else would be at the football game."

  "Could be the same guys that sprayed the graffiti," I said. "They knew where the car was parked."

  I made the turn to Riverside and kept the Mustang in sight, following about half a dozen cars behind.

  "We'll never catch him at this rate," Kat said. "Can you go any faster Ed?

  I looked down at the speedometer. "I'm already doing the speed limit."

  Scarlett nodded. "Just like you should be, Ed."

  Kat spoke into her phone again, her voice tinged with frustration. "Pursuing in slow vehicle?suspect could be getting away."

  For the first time I heard sirens wailing in the distance. I glanced in the rear-view mirror. "Looks like the cavalry is coming."

  Kat and Scarlett twisted their heads and looked out the back window.

  "Finally." Kat sighed heavily. "Time: 4:53?police in hot pursuit."

  "Looks like our 9-1-1 call has paid off," Scarlett said, putting down her phone.

  Red and blue lights flashed beside us as two cop cars raced by, passing the line of cars ahead. The red Mustang started to weave in and out of traffic trying to escape. Soon the two black and whites were right on the Mustang's tail. The stolen red car made one more dangerous turn and screamed towards Riverside High. The police cruisers stayed with them.

  I followed a short distance behind and less than a minute later all three cars screeched to a stop leaving long black skids on the parking lot pavement. The Mustang's driver and a passenger leapt out and started running but they were quickly tackled by two of the cops who had chased them down. By the time we had parked the two suspects were being led back to the squad cars in handcuffs.

  "They look so young," Scarlett said, pointing at the two thieves being forced to duck their heads into the back of the police cars. "I wonder what the psychology is that makes them do it."

  "Just like we thought," Kat said, shaking her head. "Riverside students." Kat spoke into her phone one more time. "Chase concluded at 5:10?thieves apprehended in Riverside parking lot...stolen Mustang looks to be in good condition."

  Suddenly two more vehicles sped into the school parking lot and came to a screeching halt near us. A reporter and cameraman from the local CTV and Global TV stations jumped out of each van and ran after the two police cruisers. But they were too late. The squad car with the two student suspects was pulling away while the officer from the other black and white was on the two-way radio with police headquarters giving details about the stolen Mustang. He waved the reporters away.

  "What do we do now?" the CTV reporter asked, frustrated she had just missed the arrest. She spun around looking for witnesses. That's when she spotted us. Holding her microphone out front she made a beeline for our car, her cameraman hustling only a few steps behind. I rolled down my window but didn't know what to say. I was a better driver than talker. And I sure didn't want to be seen on the six o'clock news. Luckily I knew someone that did.

  "We heard there was a car theft and then a high-speed chase," the woman TV reporter said, out of breath. "Does anyone know what the story is?"

  Kat hopped out and beamed into the camera. "I thought you'd never ask."

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning I racked my bike in front of the school, shouldered my backpack and headed inside to my locker. After the adrenaline rush of yesterday's car chase I was sure things would settle down and this would be just another boring day at Midtown High.

  I rounded the corner and stopped dead in my tracks. The entire football team was huddled around my locker with the star quarterback in the middle.

  "There he is!" Trey said, pointing straight at me.

  I froze like a statue. It wasn't a habit of mine to walk into traps. My brain was on high alert screaming Danger! Danger, Danger!

  Trey waved me closer. "Ed, get over here!"

  Ed? What happened to Beanpole or Toothpick or, on a good day, Warnicki?

  I approached cautiously and the team quickly surrounded me like they were taking me prisoner.

  "This is the guy," Trey said, an unexpected smile widening across his face.

  "Yeah, this is the guy," Fish repeated, somehow having weaseled his way into the group.

  Trey put his big arm around my shoulder. "After the game when I first discovered my car had been stolen, I couldn't believe it. I was totally bummed. But then later when I got my car back and I read Kat's story how you followed the thieves until the cops cornered them at Riverside High, I couldn't believe it again-but in a good way. I never thought a guy like you could pull off something like that. But you did. I had you all wrong Eddy."

  "Yeah, Eddy," Fish said. "We had you all wrong."

  Trey shot Fish a look. "Give us some space wouldya man?"

  Fish made a face and stepped back into the crowd. I started to relax knowing I wasn't about to be pummeled by Trey and his team of muscular jocks.

  "There was a story in the Midtown Weekly?" I asked. "About me?"

  "Sure was," a girl's voice said. "A great story, as usual."

  "Hey Kat," Trey said, pulling her to his other side. "Why don't you read a bit so Ed can hear what a hero he is."

  Just for a split second I thought Kat had written a story about me because she couldn't get me out of her head. That she thought I was worthy boyfriend material. But when I saw her arm in arm with Trey I knew she was doing it because she was happy that Trey had got his prized car back. Whatevs.

  Kat tapped her phone a few times until the story flashed on her screen. "Here's the headline and first amazing paragraph," she announced before starting to read in her reporter's voice.

  "CAR THIEVES TRACKED DOWN BY STUDENT DRIVER HERO.

  "Not all the action was on the football field Thursday night. While the Mustangs were stealing a second game from the Riverside Rams another theft was taking place on the streets of Midtown City. Trey Redmond's custom red Mustang was stolen as he was quarterbacking his team to a hard fought 21-20 victory. His car might have disappeared forever if not for the driving heroics of Midtown High student Ed Warnicki. 'Following Trey's car was just the right thing to do,' the humble Warnicki told this reporter who was al
so along for the ride during the dramatic chase."

  "If you ever need anything," Trey said, squeezing my bony shoulder one last time, "you just let me know buddy."

  Just then, all eyes turned to the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the hall. Two burly police officers dressed in their blues were marching down the corridor toward us. Everyone could see their holstered guns and hear the jangling of their handcuffs attached to their belts. The protective huddle of players that had formed around me suddenly split wide open leaving Trey and me exposed in the center.

  "We're looking for Ed Warnicki," one of the policeman said, his voice stern and official.

  My heart started to pound. Maybe I had been speeding. Maybe I had made a wrong turn. Maybe I had been passing cars illegally. I got ready for the cuffs to be slapped on my wrists and hauled away.

  "I'm Edward Warnicki." I used my formal name thinking that would appear beneath my police mug shot.

  "I'm Sergeant Miller and this is Sergeant Adams. We've come by to thank you for your bravery yesterday."

  "To thank me?"

  "We never could have caught those two thieves from Riverside if it wasn't for your quick thinking and excellent driving skills," Sergeant Adams said.

  Sergeant Miller reached into his pocket. "We'd like to thank you in a more substantial way as well."

  "You don't have to do that," I said, expecting a handshake.

  "We had a Crime Stoppers reward out for any information leading to the arrest of the car thieves," Sergeant Miller said, handing me a white envelope. "I'm pleased to present you with this check for $5,000."

  I could hear the whole football team gasp. "You're kidding," I said, my eyes popping wide.

  "No, the money is all yours Ed. It's what happens when citizens like you do the right thing," Sergeant Adams said, turning to leave. "Have a rewarding day."

  There were a few seconds of silence when no one knew what to do or say. Everyone was in shock including me. I stuffed the check in my jeans pocket hoping that by making it disappear, people would stop staring at me. But they didn't. I didn't want all the attention. I had to get out of there.

  I pushed my way through the players and started to make my escape down the hallway. Then I heard it, softly to begin with. My name being chanted first by Trey, then by Kat, and then by the whole team.