The Terrible Terrible Accident

”Time for bed!” I heard from downstairs, while playing Minecraft. Oh boy, not again, I could hear my mom calling me. She does that every single night before I go to bed. How annoying! Well, I know she cares at least, but I’d rather be playing my game than go to bed. “Knock, knock, knock…” I hear on my bedroom door. “Honey, can I come in?” my mom says. I say, “Okay, Ma”, that’s what I’ve called her ever since I could talk. She brings me water and a banana with peanut butter for my bedtime snack. She still doesn’t understand that I hate bananas, so I eat a piece of it and leave the rest on the plate. She tells me to turn off my game every night too. She just doesn’t understand. Oh well, I guess I better get to bed since it’s like midnight. I hear, “Johnny, go to bed right now!” She hates when I’m up late. She’d rather I read a book in bed first, she always says it will help me to go to sleep. Read a book? No one reads books anymore, do they? Well, I guess for school I’ll have to, how boring! I better check my English homework, I’m supposed to read Shakespeare. Can you believe? I’m in Grade 10 and I’m only allowed to use my phone for emergencies! So, no I don’t have my phone with me before bed and it’s so difficult for me to sleep, but apparently the phone before bedtime is bad for you. Something to do with the blue lights; at least that’s what my Ma tells me. But really I think it’s just an excuse so that I can’t have my phone in bed. Finally, I decide to listen to Ma and get into bed. She is right though. I just lay here and cannot get to sleep. Then I hear from downstair, “Just close your eyes, Johnny!” So weird, like how does she even know when she’s downstairs? She says she knows I can’t sleep. I guess she is right again, because I finally close my eyes and am in ‘LaLa Land’.

“Watch out Ma!” “Screeeeeech!!” “Crash….” I wake up sweating from head to toe. Screaming and crying. My Ma runs into my bedroom. She says, “What’s wrong?” “Are you okay honey?” “Ma, Ma…” I’m crying uncontrollably. “Ma, I had a terrible dream!” “You‘re okay. Don’t be silly, Johnny.” “But Ma, we crashed!” “Please don‘t drive ever again. Please, please!” Ma says, “Oh Johnny, don’t be silly, dreams aren’t real!”

The next day at school I tell my best friend about my dream and how scared I am to drive in the car. I was so scared that I even walked to school this morning. My Ma actually let me since I’m in Grade 10 now and the school is close to my home. My best friend’s name is Phil and I told him all about my scary dream. He actually believed me. I mean he’s my best friend so he has to believe me! Right?

But Ma, she just wouldn’t believe me, she still doesn’t. Even this morning she kept saying, “Don’t be silly, Johnny!” It makes me so mad that she doesn’t believe me. I begged her not to drive, so I sure hope she won’t go out today.

“Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash, to the office, Johnny Cash to the office…” I hear over the loud speaker. Oh no, what’s wrong? I’m thinking, I mean I never get called to the office. Are you kidding? With my Ma and how over protective she is and all her rules, I’m like the best kid ever! I never do anything wrong. But truthfully, I’m glad about that. I have a couple of nice friends and I never worry, because all the teachers like me.

Finally, I arrive at the office to see my dad there. His eyes are all red, like he had been crying. If you knew my dad, he never cries! Are you kidding me? He’s like a macho guy, he’s bald, with huge muscles and super tall! No one messes with him! I’m like him though, I’m already six feet tall and still growing. I have thick, brown hair like my Ma and blue eyes, like my dad. My dad‘s name is Robert, Bobby for short. Oh, I forgot to mention, my dad doesn’t live with us right now, something to do with a stupid separation. My parents don’t say much, except that they need time apart for now, but don’t worry Johnny. I hear that all the time too, “Don‘t worry Johnny!” I do remember one day last year, I arrived home from school to hear my parents yelling at each other. It wasn’t fun to hear, so I went in the backyard, I didn’t want them to know I was home from school yet and heard them. Then I heard a car screech out of the driveway only to find out the next day that my dad wasn’t going to be home for awhile, if ever.

Dad says, “Hurry, we have to go!” I get in his black Land Rover and we speed away. “Dad, what’s wrong?” He doesn’t even talk, I just see tears rolling down his face. All he could say was, “Your Mom, she, she was in an accident.” So, I decide to be quiet for the rest of the drive. We pull up to, “St. Joseph’s Hospital” and run inside. I hear my dad say quietly to the first nurse he sees, “Colleen Cash, where is she?” The nurse says, “Oh she’s in the ER, Mr. Cash, follow me.” So she leads us to where Ma is. We find her sound asleep in the private ER room.

All I kept thinking was about my dream a few nights ago. I know it’s terrible, but it’s all I could think about. Even though my Ma was laying there with all these tubes attached to her arms and the beeping noises; it’s all I could think about. I mean it’s like I had a premonition. I knew it, I even told Ma not to drive. I was so scared. My dad just stood there crying, not saying anything. Finally, I started crying too!

That night my dad and I drove home in silence. I mean I still didn’t know what really happened, but at least my Ma was okay. I mean I don’t know what I would do if she was gone. She’s like my saviour. But she didn’t believe me, I mean my dream, it was a premonition. I knew dreams had meanings, but I didn’t know they could be real until now.

The next morning, my dad says I don’t have to go to school. Instead my dad and I go back to the hospital to see, Ma. It’s weird, because I’ve never once been in a hospital. Well, except for when I was born of course, but I don’t remember that. We finally arrive at the hospital and go right to Ma’s room. Today, she’s in a new room upstairs. So we go up in the elevator. It’s so quiet in the hospital, much different than school! I notice my dad has a bouquet of red roses with him. I guess he really loves Ma, I mean I still don’t get why they wanted to separate, but I have stopped asking questions. We walk in her hospital room and her eyes are open. My dad runs over to her and hugs her. He’s crying like I’ve never seen before and Ma is crying too. Wow, that’s what love is, I kept thinking to myself.

My Ma had to stay in the hospital for awhile before she could come home. But my dad finally explained to me that my Ma was in a terrible, terrible car accident. Someone ran the red light; they had been drinking and driving. My dad said that Ma was so lucky to be alive, but luckily the other car swerved and hit her car from the side rather than head on. He kept repeating, “Thank God, thank God, thank God….” Now remember this is a man that you wouldn’t want to mess with!

Finally, the next day my dad told me Ma was coming home. He told me I better get back to school and that I could walk home from school, because he would be picking Ma up from the hospital. She’d be home when I arrived. So that day at school I couldn’t concentrate, all I could think about was Ma finally being home. I couldn’t wait! Apparently, I missed a week of school, but I didn’t even realize it. My teachers told me I didn’t have to worry about the work I missed. They would update me on anything necessary. Oh by the way, I’ve been on the honour roll ever since I can remember, so missing a week was no big deal. I mean I get nineties without even trying.

So, finally I arrived home that day and my dad‘s car was in the driveway. My Ma’s car was a “write-off”. I guess my Ma wouldn’t need her car for awhile. I run inside yelling, “Ma,Ma,Ma!” My Ma says, “Honey, I’m in the living room.” I have never been happier to see my Ma. Oh and my Ma said to me, “Honey, you were right.” I knew she was referring to my terrible dream, but I just smiled and said, “Ma, I’m just so glad you’re finally home, I missed you.” My dad came in the living room and told me he was moving back home and would never be leaving again. I was the happiest kid ever!!